JR-01

Today I was cruising down a country road about 60 when an oncoming truck started to turn into a driveway right in front of me. I figured this was it. I jammed on the brakes as hard as I could and thought about should I go left. He panicked and stopped with half his truck in both lanes and then decided not to turn. The ABS worked great since I still had control, but there wasn't any place to go but the ditch. At the last second he straighten into his lane and I went right as I was almost stopped.. As I passed him he gave me a scared grin . I am convinced if I had been driving my truck I would have hit him or had to take the ditch.

Fcar 98

Glad everything turned out good for you and no damage was done to your car or anyone was hurt. That is how abs is suppose to work. Brake hard and still able to steer. My original pads and rotors were terrible. I changed out the whole system after the first year of ownership.

ArmchairArchitect

Agreed, the brakes are really good for street use, and the car being lightweight helps A LOT.

JR-01

I still have the original brakes with 80K miles on them. Still plenty of pad left. Probably due to mostly highway miles.

70RT440

A C5 Corvette weighs about 500 pounds less that a bare bones 4 cylinder Mustang and about 1000 pounds less than a fully optioned Hellcat.

The brakes on a C5 are perfectly good in all but the most demanding applications. Sure...they look a little goofy through the wheels (especially the rears), but having taken my Vette down a couple of mountain twisties...I can tell you that the stock brakes are decent for street applications.

I would venture to say that with some good pads and better rotors, the brakes would be up to almost anything you threw at 'em outside extreme racing...but they still look pretty goofy.

FYRARMS

Actually, thank your TIRES.

JR-01

Tires had a big part in it for sure. I run Bridgestone Potenza summer tires and they are plenty sticky.

mark4cam

Brakes were the first thing I did when I bought my car. Pads, SS lines and fresh ATE fluid. I never mess around with brakes, and I over-maintain and replace them. Of everything on your car, brakes and tires are the two things you never cheap out on.

Vetteman Jack

'Shifter

Good on you both, the Bowtie Gods were looking over you today.

FYRARMS

Tires had the biggest part, as they are what stops the car! But yes, the OEM C5 brakes are more than capable of making the tires lock up. Even my big Wilwoods wouldn't have been any help in that situation. Bridgestones are great! For sure, the ABS and good tires kept your baby from being intimate with the truck! Glad it all worked out. Hope you had brown pants on. LOL

Route99

Great you were able to avoid the truck and fortunate he moved back into his lane.

DDaaryl

I had one similar panic stop attempt and found the brakes very adequate for street driving, The ABS did what it was designed to do.

JeremyGSU

On the street they are good. For track use, not so much.

Z06Berlin

In Germany I regularly drove at 150 mph and one time had to stop real fast as another car pulled out in front of me, the car slowed down real fast, the German that was chasing me went across the field to stop from hitting me. I found that when you hit 160 mph the front end tends to lift. I had a 2003 Z06 then.