When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I'm running 19's and 18's on my C4 and as you can see, the stock calipers and rotors look rather puny in comparison. I'd like to upgrade to larger rotors and either 4 or 6 piston calipers. I know there's resources for C6Z brake upgrades but is that still the way to go or is there a better upgrade path? I'm not looking for competitive performance but I would like better performance than stock. The plan is to upgrade the brakes and suspension first and then work towards 400-500 RWHP and I don't want to worry about brakes not being good enough. I don't do any competitive driving, though, so the "bigger" desire is mainly for appearance sake.
Wildwood and others make some nice kits, but c6z brakes are an awesome option too. Probably don't need wilwoods if you're not gonna track it. That said, beefier brakes don't stop you faster, they stop you more often.
As Fauee said - "bigger" brake rotors and "physiclly larger" calipers do not offer guaranteed improvements in stopping power. If your current braking system is capable of locking the wheels (or engaging the ABS) - then the brakes are able to generate more clamping force than the tires can deliver grip. "Bigger brakes are about being able to accept and dissipate more heat, and offering better pedal feel under extreme braking conditions.
One other thing to keep in mind - "racing" brake calipers normally do not have dust seals on the calipers - the "expectation" is that you'll be rebuilding the calipers so regularly they aren't needed, and caliper seals can be destroyed by the intense heat that racing brake systems are typically generating, and when they get cooked - the dust seals CAN interfere with the brakes releasing properly. But - for street use - dust seals are a pretty useful thing - as they keep lots of crap away from the "O"-Rings that are sealing the brake fluid inside the caliper. I'm not saying that if you do not run dust seals on a street driven car - you'll need to rebuild the calipers every 5,000 miles - lots of people are in fact running racing calipers on the street - but pretty much every "OEM Caliper" comes with the dust seals - why do you think that is ....
As Fauee said - "bigger" brake rotors and "physiclly larger" calipers do not offer guaranteed improvements in stopping power. If your current braking system is capable of locking the wheels (or engaging the ABS) - then the brakes are able to generate more clamping force than the tires can deliver grip. "Bigger brakes are about being able to accept and dissipate more heat, and offering better pedal feel under extreme braking conditions.
One other thing to keep in mind - "racing" brake calipers normally do not have dust seals on the calipers - the "expectation" is that you'll be rebuilding the calipers so regularly they aren't needed, and caliper seals can be destroyed by the intense heat that racing brake systems are typically generating, and when they get cooked - the dust seals CAN interfere with the brakes releasing properly. But - for street use - dust seals are a pretty useful thing - as they keep lots of crap away from the "O"-Rings that are sealing the brake fluid inside the caliper. I'm not saying that if you do not run dust seals on a street driven car - you'll need to rebuild the calipers every 5,000 miles - lots of people are in fact running racing calipers on the street - but pretty much every "OEM Caliper" comes with the dust seals - why do you think that is ....
In that case, the C6Z setup should have dust seals since they are generally built for street use, right? FAUEE is right, I probably don't need a Wilwood kit and at the very least, the calipers for a C6Z can be found on Ebay for as little as $1,000...I don't need the best of the best in terms of rotors and pads like carbon ceramic (which push costs above $5,000...), anything OEM-equivalent should be fine.
As far as the rear setup goes, I've seen this post but I can't find the product mentioned. To be fair, the post is from 2011 so is there any newer products or setups to swap the rear setup and keep e-brake functionality?
Lol. The wilwood setup is cheap as far as
brakes go if you want true 6 piston brakes. They have a 14” front / 13” rear option
dont get steered into the c5 brakes. They arent true 13’s . They are smaller diameter (12.8” vs 13” for c4 j55).
See about adapting c6z brakes if you are on a budget since you already have 18s
I mean, the Wilwoods aren't super expensive at ~$3,500 but if I can get a set of C6Z calipers off of Ebay for $1,200, some pistons, new steel brake hoses, and OEM-equivalent rotors and pads for ~$600 and that should be fine, right? Still doesn't solve the problem of what to do about the factory e-brake setup.
The e brake adapter is like 1000$..if you search eBay you can probably find a set of brakes with pads and rotors for about a grand. Pretty solid option for 2 grand honestly.
The e brake adapter is like 1000$..if you search eBay you can probably find a set of brakes with pads and rotors for about a grand. Pretty solid option for 2 grand honestly.
I mean, the Wilwoods aren't super expensive at ~$3,500 but if I can get a set of C6Z calipers off of Ebay for $1,200, some pistons, new steel brake hoses, and OEM-equivalent rotors and pads for ~$600 and that should be fine, right? Still doesn't solve the problem of what to do about the factory e-brake setup.
this site has good resources for c4 options. Many manufacturers dont support c4
After looking at Wilwood's kit, they only use ~12.88" rotors in the rear compared to C6Z 13.4" rear rotors which is disappointing. Once I'm ready to do the project, I'll reach out to StreetShopInc and see if they can create any more adapters.
street shop is the vender but the adapters are not on the web site, you need to call and talk to trey. he also told me that the oem brake cables will fit if you pull them real tight but i didn't like that scenario so i am going to get a longer pair made up.
this bracket is where the e-brake cable gets locked in
this is the adapter plate with the brake shoes
this is the c4 rotor overlaid on the c6 z06 rotor. the c4 rotor is .8" thick and 12" diameter. the c6z rotor is 1.05" thick and 13 3/8" diameter.
the boss on the adapter for the lower caliper bolt needed to be milled down .300" for the bolt head not to interfere with the abs sensors.
Late C4 -- Beefier Brakes
