Time to replace the original brake pads on the 05. Looking for something a "little more" aggressive..... right now I feel that the stopping power is very vague .....the more you push on the pedal, the more it stops. Would like something that I can feel grabbing the rotors.. Not too worried about rotor wear since car is not drive much. Suggestions on pads you've had good luck with?

 

Damn, the original pads on a 2005! 18 years on the original pads it really good I suppose regardless of how many miles. LOL

 

Pretty much a hanger queen all its life.......

I know there metal sinter pads, pads that make lots of dust, dustless ceramic....etc, but really don't have any practical experience with any of them recently. Looking for a good recommendation.

 

Start with a fluid flush if that hasn't been done lately, and new rubber (or braided) lines.

I'm a big fan of stoptech steet.pads, but it sounds like you want something with a lot more initial bite. Stoptech do have some good initial bite, but not offensively so.

 

The OEM pads are semi-metallic and that is what I have always replaced my 07 with as I am willing to accept some brake dust on the wheels to have optimal braking performance.

Everybody and their grandma on here will tell you to go with ceramic because they presumably brake just as well without the dust. Never tried it out. Many suggest AutoZone Duralast ceramics.

I usually go with Wagner ThermoQuiet MX-series semi-metallic pads.

Watch out for true performance (sinter, carbon) pads as they are not designed for normal street use. I think they must be heated up quite a bit before they are effective. As they would be done before a track day run.

 

Does your car have the Z51 package? Same size pads, but the factory pads on the Z51 are more aggressive, so that'll give us a starting point of where you're at. If you have JL9 (base) brakes, it's really not hard to get more aggressive. J55 (Z51) pads are actually a pretty good performance pad, the complaint about them is dust

 

. I tried those on my C5 many years ago and although they were pretty much dustless, but they didn't feel like there was any real bite to grab the rotor.

 

Autozone Duralast and change fluid . You will be pleased.

 

I went with these and they are ceramic. Braking is good but obviously won’t give you the bite a semi metallic pad will. Mine is a queen as well and seldom gets pushed very hard so these work for me. Oh yea and very little dust.

 

Auto Z... pads, their best have all turned to smoke with mild / aggressive braking similar to what you may need to do to avoid an accident or short stop to get through the next corner while the competition ends up off road.
One hard use on a Auto Z... pad is asking too much from a pad built on compromise so your rims do not get dusty.
The GM Z51 pads I have will take the hard occasional use and drive to work the next day. They are unlike Auto ...., they are not cheap.
If you will not use your Vette as a sports car then feel free to put dust free pads on that will not be there should you need to call on them.
The 2 words from Diamond D..., AutoZ... and pleased will not be spoken in my home. Maybe we have an Auto Zo.. employee pool here trying to get free advertisement for parts that do not belong on a Vette?
I would not get cheap on brake pads. Also plan on rebuilding calipers and seal off brake line so ABS does not run dry while the calipers are off.

 

Our most popular selling "street" pad that performs as good or slightly better than the OEM pads are the Hawk HPS 5.0's

They work great and produce moderate brake dust.

--Aaron

 

For a high quality low dust performance street brake pad take a look at the Carbotech 1521 brake pad 100% non-corrosive dust will not harm your wheels, paint or rotors. Carbotech brake pads are 100% made in the USA and contain NRS Technology Here is a link to explain further what NRS technology is exactly: http://www.nrsbrakes.com

Carbotech brake pads can be ordered by calling me at 216-780-8825 Or order direct Here Ampd Autosport | One of the Largest Internet Retailer of Carbotech Per – Amp'd Autosport Use promo code z28 at check out for your forum discount.

Part numbers for C6 base and Z51.

F: CT731.00 $148 Less 5%

R: CT732.00 $128 Less 5%

The Carbotech Bobcat 1521™ is our high performance street compound that is our most successful compound. The Bobcat compound is known for its awesome release and modulation, along with unmatched rotor friendliness. Like our AX™ & XP™ line of compounds, Bobcat 1521™ is a Ceramic based friction material offering minimal rotor damage and non-corrosive dust. Bobcat 1521™ offers outstanding performance, even when cold, low dusting and low noise with an excellent initial bite. This compound’s virtually perfect linear torque production provides incredible braking force without ABS intervention. Bobcat 1521™ operating range starts out at ambient and goes up to 900°F. Bobcat 1521™ is suitable for ALL street cars, perfect for your tow vehicle, police cruiser. The Bobcat 1521™ compound has been found to last two-three times longer than OE pads you can purchase at a dealership or national retailer. That’s one of the beauties of Carbotech Ceramic brake compounds. Bobcat 1521™ is NOT recommended for any track use.
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Adam Adelstein
Amp’D Autosport.com
Internet's largest retailer of Carbotech Performance Brake Pads.
PH:216-780-8825.
Email: sales@ampdautosport.com
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If not tracking the car, go with a ceramic pad for the brake dust reduction issue. Carbotech #1521 is a great pad that I have used several times.

 

As stated, need to back it up, since we need to know if JL9 or J55 brakes to being with. Both use the same size pads, but the J55 are HD pads with higher working temp range/more aggressive pads that give better bite and pedal feed back over the JL5 pads.

Also, power bleed the brake fluid, including cycling the ABS pump and ABS valves if this has not been done for the two years. The brake fluid will absorb water out of the air (humidity) and this will cause a great deal of problems to start with (needed pedal pressure and pedal feed back to start with).

As for pads, the J55 pads have a higher working temp range over say the Bobcat 1521 pads, but the 1521 pads will have less brake dusting instead. As for initial grab/pedal feed back, its close between the two once the pads have mated in correctly.

As for pad mate in, the rotors will wear faster on the outer surfaces than inner surfaces, and depending on the mileage that the rotors have been used, may still have enough meat on them to be turned, to square both sides back up to each other. Its does not take much to square the surfaces back up, but this parallelling of the surfaces to each other has the pads matting in a lot faster, with less pad initial matting wear as well.

If the rotors are too worn to be turned, and you need to buy new rotors/have JL9 brakes in play, then easy to change out the caliper mounting brackets on the Jl9 calipers to use the larger J55 rotors instead. With the slightly larger rotors, will slightly increase better initial bite stopping power and pedal feed back as well.