Anyone used the late model ss 1le six piston calipers to the c5 corvette?

 

I think there was thread where a member was swapping in A-arms and knuckles from a C7 but the steering arm length is different so I dont know if that worked out or not. I have ran a brake conversion business since 2004 and many C5 and C6 guys ask for this (GM Brembo swap) I picked up a C6z06 late this summer so I of course have more interest in this swap as well now so...
I am working on a bracket set to do this, picked up my prototype samples today actually and I have knuckles to modify, looks very doable to me. The front conversion looks like it will be cake, the rear will be a little more involved with the park brake and axle shaft but I think its going to work out just fine. This swap will entertain most all of the later model Gm brembo brakes offered, SS 1LE/ ZL1 C7 JL9,Z51,Z06,Z07 and keep the ABS intact and park brake should work with the stock cables I dont want to get to ahead of myself but yes it`s on my front burner

 

Sounds like a money maker too.

 

The issue with the Camaro Brembos off the shelf is that they have longer mounting tabs on them making them sit too far out to be practical (would need like a 15.5" rotor or something stupid to make it work). If someone could make a bracket to move the caliper closer to the hub it would work well. I just dont know if the market is there to justify the time and development.

 

I`m completely aware of the differences in the mounting points, so spindle modification is required no doubt. If it were easy it would have been done already of course. I came up with a late GM Brembo swap solution for the 2nd gen F body CPP C5 spindle a few years ago and continually sell out of those. Generally I would not pursue a conversion for the corvette spindle but interest has always been there with more than a few emails a month for a conversion for the base C6 and C5 cars. Ultimately it was the lack of a park brake solution that left this unexplored, now with a solution for that I believe it is worth investigating at least and like I mentioned there is some personal interest as well. I have a set of knuckles from a c6 showing up this week and sample parts are cut already so I`ll be working on it as time allows, I have a set of 16+ ZL-1 camaro brakes to use for test fitting as well as a set of Z51 C7 brakes, I`ll update with some progress as it happens if there is interest

 

I'd say the demand is there and the time is right.

The nos C6 Z06 caliper supply seems to have dried up and left folks only able to source used or rebuilt outside of a few shops which have them in supply still.

You have people grasping at straws with the Caddy ATS calipers now which works but isn't ideal.

So to come to market with a better setup than the old PBR Z06 kit and keep it in the same price ballpark would be a solid move. C5s have been bottom of their price swing and many are committing them to track use or modifying the bolts out of them for the street. I wager you'd see plenty of sales. Sounds as though you run your own shop, but something like this could get some added marketing through Brian Rosenberg @ FI Performance (https://fiperformance.com) I bust his chops for pushing the Silvers so exhaustingly online, but I'm glad he's a go-getter and he is a big seller of quality niche products who LIVES online to market.

 

C7 brakes have been done. Search and you should be able to find the thread. If I remember right I believe they swapped to all c7 control arms/hubs and had to modify the steering arm. Think he had to use or elected to use a c7 parking brake setup as well. If someone came up with a kit already modified it might do well as I dont think c6z calipers are being made anymore

 

You are dead on, I sold that c6 Z06 conversion for the F body for years, it was a good seller to guys that wanted to put that size wheel on the car , mostly I dealt with F body's ..so native rim sizes play a huge role there...mostly why the 98-02 Camaro brakes are a almost natural upgrade for the 82-92 F body which had the worst brakes ever. These brakes C6Z06 have become basically unattainable for all practicable purposes like you said... Never was a fan of the C6Z06 calipers to begin with, the pad-lets and pins etc... and it was given the C7 was headed toward better brakes with a C6 Zr1 being Brembo based. I`ll check out that link, thank you. Funny you mention "Niche" because it is one of the key words of what I do, create (if possible) where there is a need for something not available, again I do not want to get too ahead of anything as this is just still a "lets look into this" sort of thing but looks promising to me.

 

I did mention that in my first reply to the thread originator, not sure if it was just a one off or if it really came to fruition or not, but last I looked it looked like it never panned out.. I could be wrong...seems to me modifying knuckles and bolting on brackets would be an easier solution than swapping a whole knee assemblies at every comer and modding the steering arms- I dont know though. Typically the more propitiatory modifications that are involved or cost that exceed the benefits involved, the less likely any individual is likely to commit. Obviously had that C7 conversion been affordable or easily obtained the more likely there would be no need for anything further.

 

The C7 spindle has different geometry (steering arm to ball joints) from the C5/6, which means you have to move the rack or similar to get rid of the bump steer using them "as is" would cause on a C5/6

 

I`ve been looking at these C7 knuckles, I think it would be a lot easier to use those with some mods then modding the C5/C6 knuckles to take the brembo brakes...

 

Today I was able to get some time to try out the samples parts I had cut and modify a spindle to mock up with, it`s doable, there are some small problems to solve still but nothing that would stop this conversion from happening. Like I had mentioned earlier, I found a backing plate that really sparked this off, making a front conversion bracket was pretty simple. Having a solution for the park brake is the key.

Here is the stock C6 knuckle- with the sample bracket Thank you Norcal auto in Rancho Cordova

 

Cutting the original ears off , I tried a few different blades , none really liked cutting the aluminum, took some time but it did happen eventually, eventually I had it to a point where I could get it mounted on my small mill and found milling it was way easier and faster, so I just cleaned up the back to make it level so the bracket has a surface to sit flush and square. Bolted down the hub that came with it and it looks good so far

 

Good and crusty isn't it ? ...So I have a few different brake set ups sitting around why not try the biggest first right ?

390MM 16+ ZL1`s





Now the ZL1 camaro has a 67.4mm pilot hole in the rotor, I had to open that pilot to fit the C6 hub..(70.6mm) but after that it fits it perfectly





Everything is looking pretty happy, it actually needs the bracket sunken in about another .050 of an inch and rotor alignment will be perfect !

 

I've not used them as I lack any cad experience, but SendCutSend.com gets a lot of traction for custom laser cut parts. Select material and width and send them your file.

This looks pretty cool, my man....!

 

A quick RockAuto search came back with J6H brakes being
555 front caliper
258 rear caliper
396 front rotor
131 rear rotor
247 front pads
97 rear pads

Looks like $3024 for the ZL1 brakes before this mod based on GM original parts.

 

Thanks! Yea that place (link) looks pretty awesome, I have a local guy that does it all but for one offs I might start using them, hate to bother the guy I use for one or two parts...but he always does it. I learned CAD but only 2D, I needed to learn it to make parts, so it was like anything. change a ball joint tune a carb..learn to tune a E38 PCM...you do what you have to do right?

 

Brembos off of GM`s- they all use the same mounting points..so you can use just about anything your budget will allow. Yep these are pricey and I can show other set ups I have that are far less $. JL9 C7 base front rotors I see for 60.00 each or less at some places, the ATS calipers for just over a hundred each, you could spring for the corvette logo JL9 calipers too....not too bad for a 4 piston budget upgrade, add the mods and the brackets and yes they will fit into a 16 or 17 inch barrel wheel, not a 18"+ when you do the straight bolt on way I saw in another thread a day ago or so...these ZL-1`s would need a 19 at least.

 

The rear, thats the meat and potatoes..again this is just mock up but looks way promising to me. I went ahead and left the two park shoe anchor bolt holes in the bracket I drew..the studs of this backing plate are coming up short but I only planed the back surface of the spindle...I could install longer anchor studs maybe or mill the spindle down more to get more stud exposure....maybe just leave off that portion of the bracket? that would give it more exposed length for sure..but anyway onto the mock up up pics...these are 370MM rear 16 + ZL-1's The caliper needs some stand offs to center, thinking maybe cut a 3/8 thick steel bracket and drop it into the aluminum knuckle that depth ? what do you think?





I have to explain something here...the rear rotors I have I did not open the pilots on..so they are stock 67.x mm pilots. I have a 6th gen hub and it has the same pattern as the C5, C6 and C7 so I checked it height- same ! So mocked up with it to check this rear bracket out. and it looking good...the backing plkate dictates the caliper clocks higher up- yea I could change that and drop the caliper down, the backing plate tin would just need to be cut to allow the caliper to sit lower . THE GOOD is look at that park lever and cable mount !! It`s aligned perfectly :-)

 

Glad you're going through with this