I want to put new life into my 2006 vette , I want to put the big brakes instead of the stock ones what do I need to do?

change wheels to fit brakes? what mfr and size?
rotor change?

brake lines?

Thanks guys

 

The bigger brakes are only as good as the grip on the tires.


So before you do anything, power bleed the brake lines: to push the old moisture contaminated fluid out, and replace it with new fluid isntead.


Now with this done, go find a long straight area, get the car up to around 60, then stand on the brake pedal hard!!!! The ABS is going to kick in, and the pedal is going to start to vibrate as the ABS is working to keep the tires from skidding. Also to note, if the fluid in the brakes before the power bleed was very old, the car will stop much faster with less pedal pressure needed before you into the ABS system.

So now once you got into the ABS system on braking, this is the amount of grip that the tires have before they loose traction and start to skid/the ABS kicks in to keep the tires from skidding. Hence with bigger brakes on the car and the same tires, all that is going to happen is your just have to put less pressure on the brake pedal before the tires loose grip and the ABS kicks in instead (read car not going to stop any faster).


So, unless your going to put race rated tires on the car (say R6's) to increase the grip of the tires to the ground, larger brakes on the car are not going to make a bit of difference, and just get you into the ABS system with less pedal pressure needed isntead.

Hence the base Vet already out brakes just about every normal car on the road to begin with, and the problem that most run into with the brakes, is they are not flushing the brake lines to remove the old moisture contaminated fluid that makes the brake work less that ideal, with new fluid that gets the brakes back up to speed isntead. The second problem, they are changing the pads out to cheap cermic pads, that have less initial bite and over all feed back that even the base pads that came with the base models.


If the game plan is to just change the rotors for show (to larger rotors), then just get some Z51 caliper brackets so you can install the larger Z51 rotors isntead. The Z51 J55 brackets will push your base JL9 calipers out the needed distance for the J55 rotors.


Lastly, if you are going with cheap ceramic pads so the pads are not dusting so much, here alone your giving up a ton. Hence the J55 HD pads fit into the JL9 calibers, and the difference between the pads in initial grip and feed back are night and day (even more so if you are using the low dusting Duralast ceramic brake pads isntead).

 

use the search button?

 

If you are doing it for looks and fun of the project, more power to you, go for it. Don't be expecting some great difference in performance though. As Dano said, you are limited by the grip of the tires on the pavement currently.

 

its all for looks not sacrificing performance.

Shall we begin with the original question

Many Thanks

 

Dano pretty much spelled it out for you in the last two paragraphs.
You can look in the C6 parts forum for J55 caliper brackets (commonly called Z51) or buy both brackets and J55 rotors from any GM dealer, either online, in person, or from Cultrag here on the forum. Aftermarket J55 sized rotors are available from several suppliers and cost ranges from cheap to outrageous. Your choice.
You also might find everything you need in the parts forum, if someone is switching from J55 to J56 (aka Z06/GS) brakes. It never hurts to place a WTB ad either.

If you switch to J56 brakes, you won't need the brackets, but you will need calipers, rotors, pads, wheels, tires, fenders, bumper cover, quarter panels, and then the paint to match the car.

You can retain your pads and have a slightly improved performance or buy semi-metallic pads for a noticeable increase.