gkull, I am going with 12 inch wheels with 315/35/17 wheels from Boyd Coddington, in the rear. I have ZL1 flares front and rear. While we are talking about wheels, how much back spacing can I get away with considering I have offset trailing arms? I have herb adams sway bars and I was told that they limit the back spacing to some degree. They don't seem to protrude any more than the lower strut mount from what I can see, however. For the front I am considering 9.5 inch wheels. Is that the maximum one can use and still fit under the flared fenders?
Thanks for the advice, Black Sheep. By the way, I have a 1982 vette also (in addition to the '68 I have been talking about). The '82 is all original though, so I am not going to modify it (39k miles). I am not sure how titanium rotors perform and that was the original purpose of this post.

 

The real reason to go with 18 inch rear wheels is you have more selection of tire diameter.

The 315/35's are only 25.7 inches in diameter. In 17's they make a 325 or 335 width and maybe they are a little taller. 27 inch dia really fills the wheel well better. 10X28 inch slicks actually really look nice.

I run 4.0 bs on 9X17 on the front with 27 inch tall tires. You could get away with 4.5 bs if you ran 26 or less fronts. I needed ground clearance because i kept hitting the nose down with my one inch shorter 550 inch pound springs.

5 inch BS on the rear and you won't have a problem

 

Here's Car & Driver's experience with titanium rotors...

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=8

This quote from the article is interesting "The titanium-brake setup didn’t perform to expectations. We weren’t surprised because titanium rotors can’t match iron for thermal capacity or conductivity."

But then the tuner (Mallett) goes on to blame the pads, so who knows.

 

okay....unspring weight..nice and all but those rotors are really expensive and if you want to spend that much money get some decent brakes and less unsprung weight, not just the weight and keeping the stock calipers...which are very heavy. Reducting unsprung weight is always a good thing.

But, what bothers me is the fact that there are quite some people here that think bolting on the entire VB&P catalog, polyurethane this and that results in C5 or 6 like handling..in that case.. newsflash. it ain't gonna happen. The reason? Geometry, the stock geometry is nowhere near as advanced as the later stuff and a set of different arms and stuff won't cure it, the stock geometry is retained so unless you get into building totally custom stuff you're stuck with what the General had to offer.

If you want the best brakes available get some 8 pot APs or Brembos and carbon discs...if you have the money to go with those you can afford the custom hat (for floating rotor) for the spindle.

 

Both F1 and the C6R team use carbon fiber rotors..

Remember, both pads AND rotors are consumable.

If it were my money, I'd go with a less exotic material for a consumable. I'd do 13" or 14" vented iron rotors on aluminum hats with billet aluminum calipers. You could do the whole system for the price of one set of titanium rotors. Maintenance wouldn't involve a trip to a loan officer, either.

If you're serious about losing ratating mass, do it at the WHEELS/tires/flywheel/crank/rods/driveshaft/axles/pistons/valves/....

 

Twin Turbo, I do not agree with you. Obviously C5's have an inherent advantage stock vs. stock. However, there are lots of modifications available for C3's and I personally don't think a C5 handles all that great. My car is set up quite stiff and it would not be very good on a bumpy course. On a good surface it is like a go cart, though. When I have driven C5's (I drove a Z06 in 2004) or C6's (I drove one about 3 months ago), they feel much more compromised to me. A C6 is a much better car overall and is a hell of a lot quieter, more comfortable, etc. I am talking about pure performance, though. When I drive a C6 it feels quite large; more like a muscle car than a sports car. A C3 feels much smaller and lighter to me (after mods). Do you think a C6 would beat a Shelby Cobra? I personally doubt it. A Cobra is a car from the 60's and can still beat about anything on 4 wheels.

CG Gorman, you made some good suggestions. I believe that the aluminum hats reduce about 3 pounds per rotor. The calipers would reduce another 5 pounds or so (not bad).

 

Sorry but if you think that your C3 will outhandle even a stock c5 or C6 you're kidding yourself. I have done a lot of modifications, in fact I'm willing to bet that i have the most tricked out suspension from anyone around here..it hasn't been on the road but if it handles like the C5 I will be very happy...very very happy indeed.

The 2006 Z06 almost beat the Porsche Carrera GT on the Nordschleife, only 1 sec difference w/ old tires. W/ new ones it would have beaten the Carrera GT...so if your car will outhandle that w/ just VB&P stuff you must have one marvelous car and it must be completely unlike to what all of us others have here.

 

Apparently, Corvette Fever did an article on titanium rotors made by Red Devil, on a C5 vette in August of 2004. Braking distances from 60 - 0 were an astronomical 84-95 ft. while a stock setup was in the 120-128 range. When Car & Driver tested a Cadillac and said the titanium rotors were not impressive, they used the wrong pads. Red Devil makes specific pads to be used in conjunction with the ceramic coated titanium. If other pads are used it will not work and they will merely smudge up the rotors. The rotors are between 8-9 pounds lighter than cast iron. I called Red Devil and got this information from them. I will be putting them on my car in the near future and will let you guys know how good they are. I will pump up my dental insurance beforehand in case I bury my teeth in the windshield during testing.

GKull, what size rims are on your car. Do you have 5" bs on the rear of your car and are you using a sway bar in the rear?

 

Why would they put old tires on a C6? Were they circa 1969 bias ply tires? Exactly what do you mean by old? Your profile says you have pics of your car but I do not see them. What's up with that, mystery man? Why don't you sell your C3 and buy a C6 if you like them so much? Surely your C3 would sell for enough to make a healthy down payment.

Sorry to upset you but my LS6 is much more powerful than what a C6 has under it's hood. The Z06 with 505hp should be up to par. We'll see.

 

Old for race tires is 20 laps...

 

Do a search on the internet, maybe there's a text or vid on the test of the 2K6 Z06 on the Nordschleife, Jan Magnussen drove the car...then you can see what I mean.

Mystery man? My profile says nothing about pics..where does it say that? However..my pics are all over the forum if you look for them. A downpayment eh? try 150.000$ for a C6. And selling it? after I have over 4 years of blood sweat and tears in it? no way I will sell it..ever.

But here's a pic for you...who do you think has the most advanced suspension here...




and no..this does not come from a catalog.

 

I first would like to say a couple of things about titanium first off it will not give long term stability simply because of the metallurgy that is used in such a metal they tend to work harden and get brittle or soft depending on there loads. That is also why it is not a good idea to run titanium retainers on the street as they will either pull through or break. Now for a race only application where they are changed out often then it might be a good idea. But from everything I have read the carbon fiber ones are the way to go if you want to keep things light. But then there are also the aluminum hub rotors that offer light weight at a decent cost and good life.


As for your suspension being bouncy over rough road that only means your spring weights are a bit too stiff. There is a couple trains of thought on suspensions which are usually debated. One is to run heavy springs and smaller sway bars which will usually give you what you describe. The other is to run softer springs and big sway bars. This does two things one is that with the softer springs it allows your suspension to be in contact with the road more and give a better feel and ride without the bouncing effect you mention and the big sway bars keep the car planted.

A good person to talk to on the board about brakes is Norvell. He even made his own if you do a search you may find his thread of which I feel you will find interesting.


I would also like to add do not be so harsh on the members of this forum as there are a bunch of good people here with good info and are willing to share what they know. Twin Turbo is one of them.

Darn broke the soap box lol.

 

$160,000? Z06's are only going for 65k, aren't they? I live in Florida so I could care less about bumpy roads. I have both stiff springs and Herb Adams sway bars. If a dump truck crawled on the passenger side of my car, it would not pitch!
I agree that the new Z06 seems to be an awesome car. When I refer to a C6, I am not including that monstrosity. If only it had titanium rotors!
Twin Turbo, your real name is not frankenstein is it? Your suspension that you are boasting about seems a bit frankensteinian, in my humble opinion. Let us know if it works when you are finished. Watch out for the trees, buddy!

 

Another news flash...the world is bigger than just the US of A....... since you checked my profile Isuggest you read it again..especially the location part. As for the bumpy roads, a rock stiff suspension is not synonimous with good handling, what you are doing is masking all the geometry flaws and bump steer effect by severely limiting suspension movement. The fastest cars are those that are able to go down the track/road w/ the softest suspension possible to have the tire on the road most of the time...when you're flying over a bump any steering input is of little use.

 

Here we go with typical USA bashing from the dutch! Texas, one of 50 states in the USA, is 3 times the size of your country, Turbo Man! Lets put it in perspective, shall we? I don't drive my car all over the world. I drive it where I live, in Florida. That was my point. My car is beefed up considerably so there is very little deflection in turns. For the area in which I drive at the moment, my suspension works wonderfully. If the road gets bumpy then I will drive my 2005 GMC 4X4. It's nice being in a rich country like this.

 

Welcome to the forum. Titanium rotors are a waste. Carbon fiber for drag racing or big heavy duty for repeatability in stopping on a road racer.As far as any c3 running a lap with a c6 BS. Never happen unless the driver sucks.You have little chance beating a c6 or beating my car with your ls6.Everyone on here can appreciate someone being proud of thier car but not thinking they outclass everyone else.There are a lot of bad cars on this forum and knowledgeable people in drags and road racing.TT is one of the tops.I have both cars to compare with yours anytime you like.A twin turbo c6 and my drag c3. I have a friend who would drive the c6 on the roadcoarse as he is more capable.Lets see some pics of your machine.

 

The typical US bashing? OMG LOL ...where was I bashing the US. If it's on the news over there it doesn't mean everyone here is like that, not everyone here is anti bush, not everyone thinks your country sucks. You don't know me at all so don't even try to judge me.

Oh yes..rich country..we are **** poor. That's why people here can afford brick houses, gas that costs 7$ a gallon and otehr whopping taxes..and then afford to drive a foreign car which is expensive to maintain both in labour and parts...yeah, it's a real 3rd world country here.

 

Alexarz everyone on the forum can see that you have no respect for the knowledge of the good members on this forum or even simple manners. If you wish to keep this type of behavior up I suggest that you find another forum to vent in.

Or wait is this GEORGE lol.

 

550 springs are not that stiff. Do you have some evidence your car will corner the way you think? Have you even been on a roadcourse yet? Do you have a roll bar?

We are trying to teach you here. You need to listen more and quit all the exaggerations.

 

I read about that brake kit in one of the Coevette Magazines, and it did make a huge difference on a C5, for some reason they didn't test the C3.

I just did a google for Titanium Rotors, this forum had an interesting responce from the inventer of a particular Titanium system.
http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=95224&page=3

My advice is to try them, but ask if they will let you return them if they don't work well. That is a lot of money just for rotors. It's not a very common material for brake rotors. Porsche and Ferarri use ceramic, and race cars use carbon fiber. Those are all "money is not an object" type of applications. I don't know why Titanium is so rare if it works as well as Red Devil claims.

Do a search on the forum for racing, and big brakes, ther was a great discussion several weeks ago. The guy on the forum who was kicking lots of modern car but on the race track had a fairly simple system using stock brakes in the rear, and a 13" or 14" rotor and Wilwood caliper system up front. The kit is prom Pricision barake company, a forum sponcer, and the cost is from $1500 to $2000 (depending on 4 or 6 piston caliper) for a complete Front kit. The kit includes everything you need, master cylendar, balance control, lines, pads, and brackets.

I don't know why this thread has such a hostile tone! I hope we can stay on topic and make it a profitable discussion.

~Jay