Is it a good Idea to put SS Brake lines on a C5? I did on my 98 with no problems. Is there any negatives? I have a 03 now with 12000 miles on it.

 

lurker here...

I'd like to know too. Always wondered how much of a diff they made..

 

I installed them on my open-track Mustang and it made a world of difference in braking.
Rubber lines "bulge" when under high pressure conditions like real hard braking and your pedal will get some mushy feeling. The SS lines don't, so the pedal stays firmer.

However, for the street, I see no real advantage. If you do get a set, I would look for a DOT approved set. More rigorous test and assembly standards.

 

Ditto. I'm thinking about putting them on my 98 vert when I do a brake job shortly. I'll watch for feedback too.

 

The brakes on my 98 were better with them. At least somewhat firmer. Not sure who has the best ones. I will check the forum Vendors first.

 

when I had my OEM calipers I looked into switching over because I do a lot of track days. What I found was mixed reviews. Some people said they had a firmer pedal, others said it made no difference. The question I had that no one answered was for the guys that said it made a difference, how often did they bleed the brakes. A fresh bleed on the brakes will make a world of difference in pedal feel. What I did find was several storied of good high quality SS brake lines failing at the track leaving guys with no brakes but I have never heard of a single example of an OEM line having total failure (there was one forum member that said he had been using the same OEM rubber lines for 7 years of track days and when he replaced them, he kept them around just incase). Another thing to think about is how often do you check your brakes lines. If the lines are not protected, Dirt can get between the steel brade and the line inside and as it moves around, will wear a hole through the line so you need to check them. Also, while it is not good for the rubber lines to let the calipers hang, it's much worse on SS lines, so make sure you know the guy doing your brake work knows what he's doing and doesn't get lazy on you.

For a street car, I'd leave it alone. For a Track day car, I'd think pretty heavily about it.

 

I heard that some of the SS brake lines conduct static electricy and can potentially cause issues with ABS, and AH/TC.

There is a GM Tech Bulletin on the issue - and if this situation is detected and the customer has SS brake lines - it's a "Customer Pay" service...

http://corvetteactioncenter.com/kb/q....php?qstId=526

I read somewhere that the Goodrich SS Brake Lines don't cause this problem.

 

Some of the forum vendors do sell ready to install kits. What they really are is a teflon tube that is surrounded with a stainless steel wire braid, and nicely machined end fittings. Over the years I have had them on most of my cars, and the brake feel is ALWAYS better. There are several companies that make the component parts that are used to make these lines. The two most famous suppliers of hydralic line stuff for racing cars are Earls Supply and Aeroquip. Most oftem the high grade prefabricated kits I have seen are made up from parts either of there firms. I doubt very much that the actual prefab kits are actually DOT approved, but rather that the component parts are. I do not yet have them in my C5, but I plan on it in the next 3 or 4 weeks. We will be bulding our own up from parts and hose made my Earls Supply that I have picked up at our local race car supply shop. Unless you are familiar with how to put these hoses together, you would be better served to buy a preassembeled kit.

In my book, they are a good safety mod, being more robust than the reinforced rubber hose supplied OEM.. It's just frosting on the cake that you get much better brake feel.

Still and Forever an unabashed car girl .....