Brake upgrades
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 246
Likes: 6
Brake upgrades
So i am planning some upgrades to my 96 coupe. I have read about some shortcommings of the OEM brakes. I am no brake expert and wondeted what the experiences of the group were about stock and upgraded systems.
This comes to me at a time i am looking at wheels. I am told to know what brakes you want BEFORE choosing wheels as the brakes need to fit inside the wheel. Makes sense.
My car is a 96 LT4 6spd hardtop if that info is necessary.
This comes to me at a time i am looking at wheels. I am told to know what brakes you want BEFORE choosing wheels as the brakes need to fit inside the wheel. Makes sense.
My car is a 96 LT4 6spd hardtop if that info is necessary.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 6,111
Likes: 1,994
From: St. Charles MO
Honestly, the stock J55 that should be on your car are good. The key to making them work well for your needs is pad selection, and of course general brake system maintenance. Regarding the latter first, if you haven't done so I recommend a flush and fill of fresh, good fluid (I like Motul 600). Braided steel brake lines will make for a nicer pedal feel. The stock ABS system is really very good, so I don't recommend disabling it. For street driving or autocrossing, this is all you need (plus appropriate pads - see below).
Entire books can and have been written on pad selections. There are multiple threads here about them. My advice is not to go crazy with pads that have really high friction coefficients, as they can be hard to modulate and the ABS isn't always happy with them; and not to look for pads that have to be warm to work, as they will be hard on rotors and not give you good stopping power in most normal street driving. The latter are intended for track use, where brake temps get high and stay high, not for street driving. If you only plan to drive your C4 on the street, I'd probably look for ceramic pads that have a wide temperature range, are fairly quiet, and don't create tons of dust. If you also plan to autocross or do "spirited" street driving (like blasting up and down canyon roads), you might consider a little more aggressive and performance-oriented pad. I am using Powerstop Z26 pads front and rear on my stock brakes for street and autocrossing, and they fit the bill well. This is on very grippy 200tw tires, with lots of power, and we have some of the higher-speed solo courses you'll find - meaning I am stressing my brakes more than most autocrossers. If stock J55 brakes with Powerstop Z26 pads can handle my needs in those conditions, then I believe they will be more than adequate for you needs. In fact, if your car is stock and not on race-specific tires, but you plan to autocross or do spirited driving, you could easily step down to the cheaper Z23 pads (same compound, no metal backing shim, so less heat resistant; but roughly half the price).
Only if you are really going to hammer on your brakes (meaning repeated max-effort braking many times per minute, with minimal opportunities to cool down) will you need more. Basically, this means you don't need bigger/fancier brakes unless you are doing lapping sessions or competitions on road courses. At that point, you could benefit from aftermarket front rotors and calipers, in particular. My first advice would be to look at Wilwood, as they have setups that will fit inside the aftermarket 17" GS replica wheels (I have a 6-piston that fits), although they don't fit inside the OE sawblade wheels. I would recommend talk to Todd at TCE, as he knows the situation. I think a lot of other big-brake kits require at least an 18" wheel to fit. Note that my Wilwood brakes are relegated to track-only duty. All my street driving and autocrossing is done with the stock J55 brakes and decent (not even "great") pads (the above mentioned Z26 pads).
Entire books can and have been written on pad selections. There are multiple threads here about them. My advice is not to go crazy with pads that have really high friction coefficients, as they can be hard to modulate and the ABS isn't always happy with them; and not to look for pads that have to be warm to work, as they will be hard on rotors and not give you good stopping power in most normal street driving. The latter are intended for track use, where brake temps get high and stay high, not for street driving. If you only plan to drive your C4 on the street, I'd probably look for ceramic pads that have a wide temperature range, are fairly quiet, and don't create tons of dust. If you also plan to autocross or do "spirited" street driving (like blasting up and down canyon roads), you might consider a little more aggressive and performance-oriented pad. I am using Powerstop Z26 pads front and rear on my stock brakes for street and autocrossing, and they fit the bill well. This is on very grippy 200tw tires, with lots of power, and we have some of the higher-speed solo courses you'll find - meaning I am stressing my brakes more than most autocrossers. If stock J55 brakes with Powerstop Z26 pads can handle my needs in those conditions, then I believe they will be more than adequate for you needs. In fact, if your car is stock and not on race-specific tires, but you plan to autocross or do spirited driving, you could easily step down to the cheaper Z23 pads (same compound, no metal backing shim, so less heat resistant; but roughly half the price).
Only if you are really going to hammer on your brakes (meaning repeated max-effort braking many times per minute, with minimal opportunities to cool down) will you need more. Basically, this means you don't need bigger/fancier brakes unless you are doing lapping sessions or competitions on road courses. At that point, you could benefit from aftermarket front rotors and calipers, in particular. My first advice would be to look at Wilwood, as they have setups that will fit inside the aftermarket 17" GS replica wheels (I have a 6-piston that fits), although they don't fit inside the OE sawblade wheels. I would recommend talk to Todd at TCE, as he knows the situation. I think a lot of other big-brake kits require at least an 18" wheel to fit. Note that my Wilwood brakes are relegated to track-only duty. All my street driving and autocrossing is done with the stock J55 brakes and decent (not even "great") pads (the above mentioned Z26 pads).
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,060
Likes: 80
From: Fort Mill, SC
Honestly, the stock J55 that should be on your car are good. The key to making them work well for your needs is pad selection, and of course general brake system maintenance. Regarding the latter first, if you haven't done so I recommend a flush and fill of fresh, good fluid (I like Motul 600). Braided steel brake lines will make for a nicer pedal feel. The stock ABS system is really very good, so I don't recommend disabling it. For street driving or autocrossing, this is all you need (plus appropriate pads - see below).
Entire books can and have been written on pad selections. There are multiple threads here about them. My advice is not to go crazy with pads that have really high friction coefficients, as they can be hard to modulate and the ABS isn't always happy with them; and not to look for pads that have to be warm to work, as they will be hard on rotors and not give you good stopping power in most normal street driving. The latter are intended for track use, where brake temps get high and stay high, not for street driving. If you only plan to drive your C4 on the street, I'd probably look for ceramic pads that have a wide temperature range, are fairly quiet, and don't create tons of dust. If you also plan to autocross or do "spirited" street driving (like blasting up and down canyon roads), you might consider a little more aggressive and performance-oriented pad. I am using Powerstop Z26 pads front and rear on my stock brakes for street and autocrossing, and they fit the bill well. This is on very grippy 200tw tires, with lots of power, and we have some of the higher-speed solo courses you'll find - meaning I am stressing my brakes more than most autocrossers. If stock J55 brakes with Powerstop Z26 pads can handle my needs in those conditions, then I believe they will be more than adequate for you needs. In fact, if your car is stock and not on race-specific tires, but you plan to autocross or do spirited driving, you could easily step down to the cheaper Z23 pads (same compound, no metal backing shim, so less heat resistant; but roughly half the price).
Only if you are really going to hammer on your brakes (meaning repeated max-effort braking many times per minute, with minimal opportunities to cool down) will you need more. Basically, this means you don't need bigger/fancier brakes unless you are doing lapping sessions or competitions on road courses. At that point, you could benefit from aftermarket front rotors and calipers, in particular. My first advice would be to look at Wilwood, as they have setups that will fit inside the aftermarket 17" GS replica wheels (I have a 6-piston that fits), although they don't fit inside the OE sawblade wheels. I would recommend talk to Todd at TCE, as he knows the situation. I think a lot of other big-brake kits require at least an 18" wheel to fit. Note that my Wilwood brakes are relegated to track-only duty. All my street driving and autocrossing is done with the stock J55 brakes and decent (not even "great") pads (the above mentioned Z26 pads).
Entire books can and have been written on pad selections. There are multiple threads here about them. My advice is not to go crazy with pads that have really high friction coefficients, as they can be hard to modulate and the ABS isn't always happy with them; and not to look for pads that have to be warm to work, as they will be hard on rotors and not give you good stopping power in most normal street driving. The latter are intended for track use, where brake temps get high and stay high, not for street driving. If you only plan to drive your C4 on the street, I'd probably look for ceramic pads that have a wide temperature range, are fairly quiet, and don't create tons of dust. If you also plan to autocross or do "spirited" street driving (like blasting up and down canyon roads), you might consider a little more aggressive and performance-oriented pad. I am using Powerstop Z26 pads front and rear on my stock brakes for street and autocrossing, and they fit the bill well. This is on very grippy 200tw tires, with lots of power, and we have some of the higher-speed solo courses you'll find - meaning I am stressing my brakes more than most autocrossers. If stock J55 brakes with Powerstop Z26 pads can handle my needs in those conditions, then I believe they will be more than adequate for you needs. In fact, if your car is stock and not on race-specific tires, but you plan to autocross or do spirited driving, you could easily step down to the cheaper Z23 pads (same compound, no metal backing shim, so less heat resistant; but roughly half the price).
Only if you are really going to hammer on your brakes (meaning repeated max-effort braking many times per minute, with minimal opportunities to cool down) will you need more. Basically, this means you don't need bigger/fancier brakes unless you are doing lapping sessions or competitions on road courses. At that point, you could benefit from aftermarket front rotors and calipers, in particular. My first advice would be to look at Wilwood, as they have setups that will fit inside the aftermarket 17" GS replica wheels (I have a 6-piston that fits), although they don't fit inside the OE sawblade wheels. I would recommend talk to Todd at TCE, as he knows the situation. I think a lot of other big-brake kits require at least an 18" wheel to fit. Note that my Wilwood brakes are relegated to track-only duty. All my street driving and autocrossing is done with the stock J55 brakes and decent (not even "great") pads (the above mentioned Z26 pads).
I would and just did in fact install slotted and drilled rotors on cuz they look cool as hell and I wont ever crack them because Im not gonna drive like a fool on the street.
$220 front and rear with ceramic/carbon fiber street pads.. how can you pass this up??
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,751
Likes: 276
From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hi You should already have the 13'' J55 heavy duty brakes, I use them and track my car never had any issues always confident they will work real good lap after lap after lap. I use Hawk hp plus brake pads for the track and Dot 5 brake fluid, the high friction brake pads bite really well hot or cold. Expect increased rotor and brake pad wear, that is what high friction does more dust but you will never be worried about stopping power.
Ceramic brake pads are not recommended for track use, they break up with the high track temperatures.
Ceramic brake pads are not recommended for track use, they break up with the high track temperatures.
Last edited by gerardvg; Jan 7, 2018 at 03:59 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,649
Likes: 863
Honestly, the stock J55 that should be on your car are good. The key to making them work well for your needs is pad selection, and of course general brake system maintenance. Regarding the latter first, if you haven't done so I recommend a flush and fill of fresh, good fluid (I like Motul 600). Braided steel brake lines will make for a nicer pedal feel. The stock ABS system is really very good, so I don't recommend disabling it. For street driving or autocrossing, this is all you need (plus appropriate pads - see below).
Entire books can and have been written on pad selections. There are multiple threads here about them. My advice is not to go crazy with pads that have really high friction coefficients, as they can be hard to modulate and the ABS isn't always happy with them; and not to look for pads that have to be warm to work, as they will be hard on rotors and not give you good stopping power in most normal street driving. The latter are intended for track use, where brake temps get high and stay high, not for street driving.
Entire books can and have been written on pad selections. There are multiple threads here about them. My advice is not to go crazy with pads that have really high friction coefficients, as they can be hard to modulate and the ABS isn't always happy with them; and not to look for pads that have to be warm to work, as they will be hard on rotors and not give you good stopping power in most normal street driving. The latter are intended for track use, where brake temps get high and stay high, not for street driving.
Matthewmiller knows what he's talking about !!! I have a 92 C4 that I track - it has the 13" brakes on it, and while I use a pad that can take real temp - the brakes do hold up, and believe me - they get used HARD !!! YES, there are a number of cars that can outbrake me on the track - but most of them have massive brakes, and even stickier tires than I run - so unless you are planning to track your car - it's HIGHLY unlikely that you will find the limits of the factory 13" brake system.
There are lots of good high performance street pads out there - Hawk, Performance Friction, Wagner, Raybestos, Cool Carbon, and many others all make pads that will probably perform better than the stock pads for normal street use (to include the occasional autocross or spirited driving session).
So - IMHO - get a good set of pads from a reputable company - properly prep the rotors (you don't need to turn them - or to replace them unless they are warped - but you need to give the new pads a good surface to break in against). Then do a good brake fluid flush to get the old fluid out of the system, and replace it with a decent DOT 4 fluid, and see what you think. Are you able to fade the brakes ??? Does the pedal get soft when the brakes get used a bunch - those are the signs that the system is near it's limit....
