Asterios Anagnostou

Hey all,
So after some research, help from many forum members, and some headache, I finally got the process going for converting my c5 brakes to c6z brakes. I'm not particularly good at this sort of thing, but I'm going to try and put together a write up on how I did it so as to clear up as many questions or concerns as I can that others may have if they're inclined to perform the same upgrade. Also, I'm going to try and record some of it on YouTube.

Just a side note, I have a YouTube video up already on how to upgrade the c5 base sway bars and end links to c6 z51 sway bars and links. It's painstaking to watch because I talk a lot lol, but hey, I was nervous as hell. Also, you get to see my messy work bench. IT'S AN ORGANIZED CHAOS, I TELL YOU!

I'll try and get everything up within the next couple weeks. Thanks ya'll.

Edit: here's the video, write still in progress. Holidays are taking up most of my time lol.

Asterios Anagnostou

Ok everyone! Brake conversion is done and I made it to my local Starbucks relatively crash free! The car stops wonderfully. Quite impressively actually. I did take some video of the process and so I'm going to go ahead and do some minor & amateur editing and post it up along with a minor & amateur write-up, lol.
Psssssst officers, make this a sticky. I've never had a sticky. =D

jrob56

In for the write up

Asterios Anagnostou

Hey bud, thanks! Should be coming soon. Gonna try and make some time this week. Gotta edit the video too.

'Shifter

Looking forward to your take. Mine was pretty straightforward....except the brake hose incident (I got C6z hoses, which fit the calipers, but not the car).

Asterios Anagnostou

Thanks man. Mine was too. There were a couple hiccups, but they weren't serious. Well, maybe except for one. I don't think the front calipers are centered to the rotor because the wear seems to be uneven. It's easy to tell on mine because the rotors sat long enough to rust a little. I heard on the forum somewhere that someone had a similar issue and they milled a little off their knuckle to center the caliper. I still have to do more tests to see if this is actually happening or if the uneven wear is caused by something else. If it is that, I think I may shim the back of the rotor because it's only max .030. I would rather not take more material off of the knuckle because it's already thinner than the knuckle these calipers were designed for. Another option would be to go ahead and purchase the 2012 knuckles and be done with it. Idk, we'll see. I made a video of all of this and I still need to go through it to get some stills for the write up. I'm going to try and get it done within the next couple weeks.

romandian

i read a thread recently where somebody said stock c5 brakes were better than c6z brakes, at least for racing. what do you say?

Asterios Anagnostou

Honestly I don't see how that can be the case. What was their reasoning? It's a 14" rotor with much more surface contact area for the pads. That makes for less heat, easier stopping (for the brakes, I mean), and less fade over time. At the risk of being redundant, the more surface area there is, the less pressure needs to be applied for the same braking power, the less heat there is, the less fade there is. The only argument I can see against the brakes is the weight, but that's negligible. I put an a&a kit in my 01 Coupe and just wanted to make sure I could stop quickly from high speed and last longer on a track.

romandian

its a recent thread in the roadracing section, cannot find it offhand, opinion being put forward by one of the "experts". but everybody is replacing the c6z brakes, so it seems (i have stoptechs myself). sure interested in your feedback on the performance difference.

Asterios Anagnostou

Huh that's strange. They seem to work great on the road. They feel like the old brakes just cruising along with light braking for traffic lights, but when I really put my foot down, they definitely have more stopping power. I haven't taken the car to a track yet and I'm not sure when I will because of my work schedule. That's about all I know at this point. I'll have to look up that thread. Apart from manufacturing defects or bad workmanship, I can't imagine why they'd think the stock setup is better. My curiosity is piqued!

romandian

its probably in here, but im too tired to reread it all:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...he-brakes.html

'Shifter

Maybe from a track standpoint....I use mine hard, but not for racing, mostly just hardcore mountain-blasting, and the C6z's are better than the C5's were, not by a huge number, but better.

If I were to do it again, I would go with the Stoptech set-up though.

ASRoff

I want to get some Carbon ceramic ZR-1 brakes... so, in for the write up.. P.S. from my research the C6 spindals need to be used because they are "beefier" the C5 spindals tend to flex and shimmy.... (came from former Corvette Brake engineer Tony May)

Asterios Anagnostou

That's absolutely right. The c6z knuckles post 2009 are beefier and don't flex much. You don't HAVE to change them, especially if you're not tracking or canyon carving the car often, but if you are, it's recommended. I will do the swap, but I don't plan on tracking quite yet. In the meantime, they work just fine. Write up is coming folks! Stay tuned!

Asterios Anagnostou

Hey all,

Ok, I have the video up. Admittedly, it may be painstaking to watch, lol. I'm going to be working on getting more to the point in my future videos so that people aren't staring at a car part for 3 minutes listening to me stumble over my words, LOL. Anyway, hopefully this helps ya'll out. I still intend to do a write-up, but it'll take some time because I need to go through the video again and extract some stills from it. See below and lemme know what you think.

jrob56

Wow never knew it had those 6 tiny pads, mind blown. Wonder how much more pad surface area you really have on the rotor with a setup like that vs stock?

Asterios Anagnostou

Hey Jr,

I would say it's not too much more, but ultimately the reason it brakes so much better is a combo of the pad surface area, the larger diameter of the rotor, and the 6 pistons distributing the pad's surface with more uniformity onto the rotor. It started raining pretty hard today and I thought it would be a good time to exercise the ABS module (because these have a tendency to stick if they're never used and when you need them most, they may not work properly) and test the brakes out. MAN, it was absolutely amazing how quickly the car stopped. Abs kicked in and the car stopped as if the ground was perfectly dry. Haha I didn't know it was six pads either. I was surprised when I picked them up.

Tm1986

About time there is a video on this. Thanks👍👍 .I'm also doing this upgrade to. I have a set i just purchased.

'Shifter

There are also a few manufacturers that offer 1-piece pads to ease any fears. (I run the 1 piece Hawks)

rjs209

Nope, Not True.