I’ve read a few very interesting discussion threads on the C3 forum related to brakes but a lot of the discussion revolved around HIGH DOLLAR upgrades. I know that most C3 owners, myself included, are not willing to spend an inordinate amount of money on their brakes yet desire increased braking performance.
My brakes work “OK” but I thought that I would do some reading to learn more about what options are available. I found the articles titled “Brake Service I” and “Brake Service II” (corvettefaq.com) to be particularly interesting. Following the techniques outlined in “Brake Service I” along with the addition of some high performace brake pads should work wonders. Pads such as the HAWK high performance street or the EBC Greenstuff “Road/Sport” pads should produce a very noticeable difference without costing a fortune.
So tell me, is there anyone on the forum that has added a set of high performance pads to an otherwise healthy C3 braking system that is yielding results worth bragging about?

Below are some related links from the Corvette Forum and elsewhere:
Which racing brakes r best for our Vettes?
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=163529
Figured I'd get in on the popular subject today. Which brakes should I get?
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=164070
SSBC Brakes for C3s
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=127637
Baer Brakes Products fo C3s?
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=125960
Raybestos Brakes
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=125960
ARTICLE By Jon Whiteley. “Thems the Brakes” (near bottom of Web page)
http://ncrsrmc.org/news9903body.htm
Brake Service I (corvettefaq.com)
http://www.idavette.net/hib/BBfHInet12.htm
Brake Service II (corvettefaq.com)
http://www.idavette.net/hib/BBfHInet13.htm
Excellent article titled “BRAKES” from Grassroots Motorsports
http://www.grmotorsports.com/brakes.html
Stainless Steel Brake Lines Explained
http://fp.enter.net/~suncoast/Brake%20lines.htm
EBC Greenstuff “Road/Sport” Compound
Award-Winning, Dust-Free Kevlar Brake Pads $100
http://www.ebc-brakes.com/products.htm
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/ebc/greenpads.jsp
HAWK HPS - High Performance Street $44
http://www.hawkbrake.com/
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/hawk/pads.jsp
Evaluation Program for Patrol Vehicle Brake Pads
2000 Evaluation of Replacement Brake Pads for Police Patrol Vehicles
http://www.nlectc.org/National/brakepads.html

 

Auto zone sells Performance friction pads. Be sure to get the steet compound if you have a daily driver, They are prone to squeal and I really didn't see any stopping difference over the GM pads. I tried the harder compound but they took a lot of pedal pressure AND were not good at all until they warmed up. Most high performance pads need to be "bedded" or broken in. If they are not, they will not work as they should. The best pads I ever had were some cheapies that came "free" with a set of S/S calipers. They wore fast but they stopped the car great with no screeching. I have tried a lot of pads over the years and unless you road race, you are better off with GM or equivalent pads. That is only my opinion, I drive my car daily and do not race it.


[Modified by silvervetteman, 5:23 AM 11/18/2001]

 

The AC Delco, Raybestos and Hawkhead pads and many others seemed to do pretty well in this document: "Evaluation Program for Patrol Vehicle Brake Pads" http://www.nlectc.org/National/brakepads.html
http://www.hawkhead.com/
These EBC Greenstuff “Road/Sport” Compound pads also sound interesting. http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/ebc/greenpads.jsp

You are absolutely right, I don't want to use a pad designed for "racing" applications. They would stink on a daily driver but based on some of the reading it seemed as if there were some pads that claimed to perform significantly better than average without the squeeks and dust.
My brakes are sort of a "back-burner" issue right now but it will be good to have my choices narrowed down for when the time comes!