I've been looking online for the past couple week or so and havent really been able to find what Im looking for as far as brake a better performing pad option for the street.

My car is not a daily driver so I im not concerned at all with the dusting issue. I am looking into adding the Z51 brake upgrade (for looks mainly) and am looking for a better performing street pad that offers more performance. The car is street driven and most likely will not see the track. Im not really interested in going the ceramic route as I like to do spirited driving and dont want to worry about glazing or fade from braking on high speed runs. The only thing that I must not have is brake squeal. Any pad recommendations?

I read in a couple older posts of people running C5 Z06 pads on their C6. Has anyone had experience with these? Will these work with the Z51 setup? Im assuming they would since Im not changing the caliper; only the rotors.

Thanks in advance

Adam

 

I have an 05 with the Z51 and I "DO" drag Race it on week ends... when I had the OEM pads on it stopped fine, however I would get a lot of dust, and squeal... BOTH of which I HATE.. I'm too OLD to be cleaning the wheels after every ride ...

I took a chance and called Gene Cully, and got a set of "ceramic" pads (which I see you do not want) but I'd give them another thought, When I race (granted I only go straight for 1/4 mile, & have 1/2 + mile to stop, so I AM easy on my breaks....

I too enjoy "Spirited" driving but NOT 9/10 or taking it to any type of road course!

The ceramic pads have been GREAT FOR ME NO squeal, or dust, they stop fine when cold or HOT... I need good holding power at the starting line and the breaks are cold .. after sitting for 1 or 2 hrs.

I usually trap at app 115 mph, and in bracket racing there are times when you HAVE to use the breaks HARD at the top end 100 mph + & they (ceramic) do the job great for me....

Its your car, and only you know how hard you drive it, but based on your post I'd give the ceramic pads a shot .. hell they are only $106... how can you go wrong... + there is NO dust, & I am lazy and NO squeal which I hate more than my wife's cooking!!

As a side note Gene Cully has a special a set for all 4 wheels $106 + shipping...

 

And I wouldn't use the ceramics if only because the one time you get in too hot and the brakes have been well used, you're in trouble. (Me and John know how to disagree but not be disagreeable! )

Know your limitations, and your car's. Yes, you will pay more, double, triple in some cases, but it's your car and your life when you hit that brake pedal.

I'd look into Porterfield, Perf Friction, Hawk, Carbotech, etc. Ask questions esp. the ones like your first post: good stopping, don't care about dust, zero squeal. Note the last item is sometimes a matter of breaking them in correctly and/or doing it occasionally to reseat.

 

carbotech bobcats

 

I will climb out on a limb here and say that properly installed and maintained OEM Z51 pads do not squeal.

I have 36,000+ miles on mine and a backup set waiting when these finally go. Mine have been absolutely silent with the exception of a couple of week period where I got some minor squeal. That was fixed by taking them out and reinstalling them about a month ago. They do produce lots of dust as everyone is aware of.

 

Thanks everyone for the information. I have not completely counted out the Z51 pads as I have seen on this forum a mixture of people having squeal issues and people not having any issues. If I choose the
Z51 pads, do I need to follow a special bedding procedure? I wasnt sure since these are OEM pads if they need the same bedding process as an aftermarket brand.

Thanks again everyone.

Adam

 

I've got a Z51 and although I now run Z06 calipers with Hawk ceramics and DBA 5000/4000 rotors, I upgraded to Hawk ceramics with the stock Z51 set-up to do away with the OEM Dustmasters and here's my thoughts: The stock Z51 pads had very good stopping action, but the dust was totally unacceptable, and the squealing made it sound like an old taxicab. The Hawk ceramics with the Z51 package also had great stopping action with almost NO dust, and no squeal. Unless you're doing some serious rolling on a circuit track, the Hawk ceramic pads or the stock pads shouldn't be problematic in as far as braking capability. I can't speak to the issue of other ceramic pads on the C6 because I don't have any firsthand knowledge of them on the vette, but I can say that I have been running ceramic pads on a variety of vehicles which I've owned in the past without issues under normal operating conditions--occasional drag racing, but mostly street driving.

Your mention of 'glazing' however is a different matter. What is commonly called "glazing" is a result of one of two things: (l) Improper bedding, and/or (2) Incompatibility of brake pad composition with the rotor surface composition. Since you're running stock rotors which are, for the most part "all purpose", and you haven't suggested anything exotic for brake pad composition such as metal scintered, etc. you will not experience incompatibility issues. Please know this: The most important thing you can do with new pads and/or new rotors is to BED THEM PROPERLY upon installation--not later on down the road but at the point of installation. If you do this, you will not have the glazing to which you allude.

 

I would recommend the GM ceramic pads to anyone. I have them on my 2005 Z51. No dust, quiet, and seems to stop fine.

Unless you plan to use the car in competition, I don't see any reason not to use cermanic pads.

Proper bedding is a key.

 

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I will try the ceramics.

Thanks again.

 

yep..... 100%

 

Thanks for the referral. I'd be happy to help anyone out with the brakes or pads of their choice.

 

you are not going out on a limb, I have 23K on mine, nary a sound

The problem is that proper break in of brakes is seldom discussed, and when it is, there is often more misinformation than sound advice. The first problem is that when brakes are new the brakes must be used gently, lightly, and evenly for about the first 50 miles. Never use the brakes to come to a complete stop at this time. This allows bonding material in the pads to burn away and surface material in the pads to abrade away evenly, increasing the likelihood of two flat surfaces against one another.
After this the brakes can and should be used firmly, but still evenly, to transfer material from the pads to the discs, still without coming to a complete stop. This is what is meant by “bedding”. It is this even and consistent transfer of pad material that is important to properly break in of brakes. Part of the friction in braking causes pad material to be abraded away from the pad but the heat generated bonds it once again to the disc, so basically your pad material gets recycled to an extent.
With used discs and pads this is problematic because the old disc likely has high and low spots. In addition the new pad likely is not of the same material as the old pad making transfer difficult if not impossible. If the old material, still imbedded/bonded to the disc surface is incompatible with the new material it will make for an unhappy union.
The solution is to have the discs turned to get a flat surface and remove the old pad material. Often when people talk about “bedding” the new pads, what they are really saying is that they are wearing their pads down to match the disc surface. When the new pads are installed braking is poor as the new flat pads make less contact with the uneven disc. The “bedding” procedure abrades the pad down to match the disc which gives the impression of improved braking. It is better than it was initially, but certainly not as good when both pads and rotors were relatively new and broken in properly. Many auto parts stores have learned that if they charge a low price for turning, it increases sales of brake pads. There is more profit in doing both instead of just selling pads.

 

if "bedding in the pads" is such a big deal why isn't it done at the factory before you buy the car or in the owners manual?

 

takes time, would lower profits

some after market high performance pads come "ready to bed"

page 89 of my 2007 owners manual says to avoid making hard stops the first 200 miles. "Bedding" is overblown IMO, more do it wrong and cause premature wear, just driving the car sanely will do it, the main thing is to take it easy on the brakes when new, I took museum delivery and basically the 900 miles home was the break-in for my brakes, used them like they were made of glass and would shatter if used too hard.

 

This is a good thread..lots of good info

 

Does anyone have some instructions as to EXACTLY bed a new set of pads...?

I was told to get it up to app 40 mph, & press on the break pedal firmly (NOT HARD) and slow to 15 mph.. then accelerate to 40 and repeat.. do this app 4 times, & let the breaks completely cool... then repeat another set of 4 stops... ?

Anyone know or hear of something different?

 

Here are the directions from the Factory Service Manual:

Burnishing Pads and Rotors


Caution

Road test a vehicle under safe conditions and while obeying all traffic laws. Do not attempt any maneuvers that could jeopardize vehicle control. Failure to adhere to these precautions could lead to serious personal injury and vehicle damage.

Caution

Refer to Brake Dust Caution in Cautions and Notices.
Burnishing the brake pads and brake rotors is necessary in order to ensure that the braking surfaces are properly prepared after service has been performed on the disc brake system.

This procedure should be performed whenever the disc brake rotors have been refinished or replaced, and/or whenever the disc brake pads have been replaced.

1. Select a smooth road with little or no traffic.
2. Accelerate the vehicle to 48 km/h (30 mph).
   Important
   
   Use care to avoid overheating the brakes while performing this step.
   
3. Using moderate to firm pressure, apply the brakes to bring the vehicle to a stop. Do not allow the brakes to lock.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until approximately 20 stops have been completed. Allow sufficient cooling periods between stops in order to properly burnish the brake pads and rotors.

As for brake squealing, some brake pads squeal and some do not. I wouldn't worry about it. I don't give a xxxx whether they squeal or not and I care even less what other people think. Usually the better pads squeal. Only people not in the know worry about brake pad squeal.

Bill

 

OEM is your best bet.

 

http://www.hawkperformance.com/performance/hps.php#