I want to upgrade my brakes to cross-drilled rotors. I am wondering what has worked best for others? I see many different types on Ebay and other places, but not sure who is providing the best quality. I have the 13" heavy duty brake package front and rear. Should I upgrade the calipers/lines as well. If so will I really see any improvements in braking with different calipers? I was told the calipers that I have on the car factory are great already.

 

The front brakes you have are the same as the ZR-1, LT-4, and all 96s. You will also see Baer selling these as their track kit. The rear brakes are all the same.

If you want the best rotors for this setup, look no further than Baer's Eardispeed rotors. The biggest difference will be by changing to heavier duty pads. I have tried performance friction, Hawk, EBC, and SBS. From experience, the best is SBS, but I got their race pads and it was very annoying, very very squicky and uncomfortable for street use. But if stopping power is what you want, go with SBS, or else I would just go with Hawk or EBC red pads.

Bais springs will help a lot as well, but I kept getting leaks out of my master cylinder because of it so I took it out. SS Lines also help. Get some good fluids while you are at it.

 

thanks for your help, you have helped to guide me, and I appreciate it much.

 

Cheap drilled rotors will crack around the holes and may fail at some point. Extreme braking that is repeated like you would see on road courses will kill cheap drilled rotors in no time. The cheaper rotors are cast iron and the holes are drilled later which weakens the metal around the hole.

Baer Eradispeeds are good rotors as are Wildwood. Some rotor manufacturers will specifiy a certain pad material for use with their rotors so read any documentation that comes with them.

Stainless steel brake lines will help by providing a firmer pedal feel. If you have the original lines on the car, it's probably time to replace them anyway and stainless lines from Earl's or Goodridge are cheaper than facory rubber lines.

For brake fluid, use a good quality DOT4 fluid. ATE Super Blue or Motul should be easily available in Germany. DO NOT use synthetic fluids! This DOT5 fluid will cause problems with the ABS pump and create air pockets from cavitation caused in the ABS pump. I use Speed Bleeders on the calipers so I can bleed the brakes by myself for track days or autocross events.


The J55 system is a very good HD brake setup and lots of people with the earlier C4's upgrade to this system or even to the C5 setup. Rotors are much cheaper for the C5 and might be something to consider as opposed to just C4 drilled rotors.

 

As long as you have wheels that will clear the calipers, the C5 upgrade is the way to go. If you're still using the stock sawblades then you have to factor in new wheels (A-molds, or any C5), which will add considerably to the conversion.

 

I am really just looking to upgrade rotors/pads. So I am trying to distinguish what I should be looking for. Especially if I buy through ebay, but I am kinda woried that I will get rotors that are made the way c4cruiser says. By the way C4cruiser, I used ot live in Lacey. The car is actually stored in Yelm right now. I am stationed over here in Germany right now. Maybe you could help me out a different way though. Can you read my post about a vibration in the car, and let me know what you think?

 

I would stay away from those rotors that you see on eBay. Most are junk and I don't know how you can tell which ones are the good ones, if any. If you're set on cross-drilled rotors go with Baer EradiSpeed. There is a sale going on right now from TByrne Motorsports. They can also make you a deal on some Hawk brake pads.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=929732

 

thanks Admiral, I think the Baer website has them just a little cheaper, I think I just want to upgrade rotors/pads front/rear and use new stainless lines.