Brake Rotor
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,752
Likes: 62
From: New Madison Ohio
Brake Rotor
I am putting on C6 Z06 wheels on my 84 and I know that I am going to see the caliper and rotors thru these wheels. I was wondering if I could get by with putting bigger rotors on and leaving the stock calipers? I know that my rotors are either 11 or 11.5 inches, maybe either going to a 12 inch rotor. I will either paint or have the calipers powder coated. I am also thinking of going the stainless hoses also. Looking for some assistance on this. Thanks.. 
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,290
Likes: 6
From: St Marys GA
You should have 12" rotors all around...unless I'm mistaken. You can get the J55 Heavy Duty (HD) front rotors and calipers, which are 13", and also provide better braking. These were optional on some C4's, and standard on 94-96 IIRC. You may be able to pick up a set for cheap from someone who has upgraded their brakes from them.
You'll need the rotors, calipers, and caliper mounting brackets. You can't use your 12" calipers with the J55 rotors.
For the SS lines, I bought a set from Mid-America for around $100, maybe a little more. Haven't gotten around to installing them yet, but they should look good!
You'll need the rotors, calipers, and caliper mounting brackets. You can't use your 12" calipers with the J55 rotors.
For the SS lines, I bought a set from Mid-America for around $100, maybe a little more. Haven't gotten around to installing them yet, but they should look good!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,188
Likes: 13
From: Wallingford Vermont
Nope, early vettes had the 11.5" rotors. No HD options back then. 12" started in 1989 IIRC. ****I stand corrected, 12" started 1988.*****
On the early cars you need an adapters no matter what you step up to.
On the early cars you need an adapters no matter what you step up to.
Last edited by DanZ51; Aug 24, 2008 at 09:47 AM.
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 222
Likes: 0
From: Toronto(Don Mills) Ontario
In fact, the original C4 rotor sizes remained at 11.5" diameter thru to 1987. In 1988, that was upsized to 12", and the HD brake package with thicker 13" was available with the Z51 option package(and maybe the Z52 package as well??). Cheers.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 34,873
Likes: 487
From: Lacey WA RVN 68-69
NCM Sinkhole Donor
You can't "mix and match" rotors and calipers of different sizes. The caliper mounting brackets determine where the caliper sits in relation to the rotor.
Caliper bracket adapters are needed to mount later brake assemblies on the 84-87 cars. With the 84, the bolt eyes for the caliper mounting bracket on the 84 spindle is not as thick as the 85-87 cars. This makes the spindle slightly weaker at the mounting holes.
While adapter brackets are available for 85-87 cars, the 84 bracket may be hard to find and may even have to be custom built.
With C6 wheels, I would try to upgrade the front spindles to the 85-87 design and then use a C5 front brake setup. With the C5 calipers, you can get the Z06 calipers (already painted red) and use the early brake hoses. There are all sorts of C5 rotors to suit either a look or performance need.
Caliper bracket adapters are needed to mount later brake assemblies on the 84-87 cars. With the 84, the bolt eyes for the caliper mounting bracket on the 84 spindle is not as thick as the 85-87 cars. This makes the spindle slightly weaker at the mounting holes.
While adapter brackets are available for 85-87 cars, the 84 bracket may be hard to find and may even have to be custom built.
With C6 wheels, I would try to upgrade the front spindles to the 85-87 design and then use a C5 front brake setup. With the C5 calipers, you can get the Z06 calipers (already painted red) and use the early brake hoses. There are all sorts of C5 rotors to suit either a look or performance need.
