I am needing to replace the backs on my car. I have been thinking about getting the drilled and slotted ones from Wholesale direct as advertised here.
Any one use them
comments
or should I just use basic brakes
Not racing it at all
just fun driver
Thinking semi metalic pads as well or should i pay up and go to ceramic?
Thanks

Dave
dbs_55@yahoo.com

 

I opted for the ceramic pads. Never used them before and read good things about them. Will be putting them on in the spring.

I bought new standard rotors because I read about a lot of potential cracks with the drilled and slotted rotors. Since you don't race, I don't think it will be a problem.

Good luck,
Dino

 

Just stick with the basics For a "fun driver" that's all you need IMHO.

This is especially true if you have never found yourself "running out of brake" in the past. Don't waste your money

seeya

 

For $260 for rotors and pads shipped.w/ a yr warranty against cracking and warping, I figured I couldn't go wrong, so I ordered them. Can't wait to get home next month and put them on.

 

Don't use cheapo drilled rotors. If you insist on drilled, maybe go for AC-Delco durastop from rockauto.com, but they still won't stop better than undrilled rotors. I don't have experience with those or any other brand other than what I've read here, but it's probably a safer bet.

There are no ceramic pads for the 85. Consider Hawk HPS semimetallic or another performance pad.




If you want the best performance, get your stock rotors turned at pep boys for $8 each, and put good pads on. And flush the fluid, and clean/lubricate the caliper pins. With the money you saved you could get a performance bias spring for $20 and see some real results.

 

somebody must have put some hi-po pads on my car. they do not respond on the first push. which caused some problems when i almost rear-ended a bus full of "special children".

don't go for race pads if all you are looking for is street response. race pads have to be warmed up before they grab well. apples and oranges. maybe the wrong metaphor--jackals and arabs.


anybody get the kafka reference? i already used one from shakespeare that went without comment. what's the use of a lit. degree if all i can do is get a job at the aol tech dept. is this all i can hope for?


whining frog.

 

We're not well read. I enjoyed english lit to an unhealthy degree once, but it doesn't pay the bills and nobody appreciates it.

 

I also have an '85, it has new pads on it. They're just the OE style ones and they work great for daily driving, even when you need to stop really quick. I've heard the only great thing about ceramics are the lack of brake dust.

 

If you don't do a lot of racing and just street driving, I would go with stock replacments. The front brakes do most of the work anyway.

 

Hi.
My experience:
I have an 85 z-51 4+3 and live in Norway.
When I bought my 85 10 years ago I really got sweatpearls on my upper lip because of he very bad brakes. I investigated a lot and everybody I talked with told me that the brakes on the 84, 85 and 86 was very bad. I thoughtthat it had something to do with glazing of the pads.
I am used to drive the european cars (BMW,Volvo and SAAB)which have fantastic brakes.
I measured the vacuum to see if there was something wrong there. Everything ok. I drove other corvettes with the same result(bad brakes). I checked the brake booster(ok). Then I changed to semimetallic pads, a little better. I was still not satisfied at all.
Then I talked to a guy who said that he had had good experience with the EBS greenstuff pads (kevlar based compound). Then I changed the rotors and put on the new pads from EBS. That was a difference. Now I get the sucktion when driving slow and much better braking. I have to say that the brakes are still not good for a high performance car. Driving fast and braking is not good. I have changed the brake fluid to racefluid to avoid overheating and proper bleeding with stainless steel brake hoses. Everything seems ok so it must be the singlepiston aluminium caliper that makes them bad. The diameter on the rotors should give much better brakes.
If anybody could give me any ideas of improving the original brakes I would appreciate it.

 

janerik, put one of these $13 parts in there for some shorter stopping distances and more heat holding capability.

http://www.dougrippie.com/drm/brake_...akeBias Spring

GM really had their head up their *** on these brakes. You think ours are bad, check the 4-disc Camaros, no rear brakes at all.

 

this seems to be a popular mod.

 

 

i'm looking into brake upgrades myself. i'm doing it the right way: that is with no money and a set of 16'' tires to wear down first. i can't jump on the first bus that comes along.

logic has to be that a set of dual calipers will outperform the overall force of a single caliper--plus, two pistons allow for larger pads with greater gripping force: even with the same size rotor.

in my opinion, the corvette started competing in an international league beginning with the c4. there have been steady upgrades to keep up with and finally try to match a market beyond the straight line performance and mediocre handling of the 60's and early 70's, to the increased awareness of gm to move the vette into being a worldwide competitor since its market competition was broadened in the 80's. plus, i think the vette has become a matter of pride with gm execs and engineers. i hope it is one brand name that gm will not abandon--as it has demonstrated it will with others within the past few years.

from what i've read here, a c5 upgrade is definitely warranted--that is if you need one. if you don't push your c4 to the sweaty lip phase: then don't bother. i've seen pictures of the c5 rotors and pads laid against the c4's. and all i can say is, if you need it, bigger and firmer is definitely better. but it's gonna cost you money to upgrade to bigger rims and rotors and calipers and maybe spacers too. there is plenty of advice on this mod. do a search.

 

Hi Thanks all of you for the input.
Does the installation of the bias spring ivolve much problems?
Are there any descriptions on how it is done?
Parafrog: Thanks. I thought of upgrading the brakes, but that involve change of wheels to at least 17". I would very much like the car to look stock with the original wheels, good or bad. The change to kevlar pads did a lot, but they are not comparable with the brakes of high performance cars or even european every day cars yet. I am not talking about managing heat but the feeling when braking from high speed. But I must say I love the Corvette!!!!