StevieK

Picked up my new Z51, 2LT, 7spd last night from a dealer here in Florida which was a courtesy delivery as I bought the car from one of the large Forum dealers I didn't have them wash the car or much else when I picked it up so this morning when I was washing the car I noticed in the trunk a package with two 8 1/2" diamater rings in a plastic envolope which said they were Z51 Front Brake Rotor Cooling Rings. I haven't a clue what they are used for so if anybody can shed some light on this I would appreciate it. I'm wondering if it was something that should have been installed at the dealership or would it be used it I was going to track the car?

The car is great, love the ride with the MRC compared to my C6 which didn't have it. Interior is a vast difference and I think Chevrolet finally got that right.

I was very pleased with Tommy Jr. at Mac Maulkin Chevrolet as that really treated me great and the turn around time for the car was incredible. Order was placed on Sept. 24th and the car was built, bayed and invoiced on Oct 26th. Hard part was waiting for the car to be shipped as they needed a full truck to bring it down to FL. I guess I placed my order just at the right time as I had no difficulty with the Z51 restraints. It pays to buy from a dealer with a huge allocation like Mac Maulkin.

AVETTE

Yes do I need to install these?

mark1107

Only the track for track events fellas.

TacDoc

If you notice the design of the new rotors you will notice what look like spokes instead of a solid hat. Air from the deflectors pass through these spokes instead of the cooling vanes of the rotors. When tracking the car the SS rings wire tie on the spokes in three places and deflect up through the cooling vanes on the rotor to cool them.

BlueOx

They are made to help reduce brake fade at the track.

Jay_Davis

Its in the owners manual.

Of course I think its pretty dumb considering the effort required to put them on. Plus it says you shouldn't leave them on because they will rust, so that means you have to take them off at the end of a track day. I guess its OK if you have your own pit crew, but for the rest of us...??

track junkie

The Corvette Stingray Z51 will arrive at the dealership with a package of aluminum rings and wire. These are called out as brake rotor cooling rings. These rings are to be provided to the customer and are not to be installed during the PDI process. The cooling rings are for customer use if they elect to use the vehicle in a competitive driving event. The directions are outlined in the 2014 Owners Manual under "Competitive Driving". The rotor rings are for off road use only and must be installed to prevent brake fade in competitive events.


Caution: Do not leave rotor cooling rings installed after a track event, as this can cause corrosion with long-term use. Rotor cooling rings are for race track use only. Race track driving without the rotor cooling rings may result in brake pedal fade.

Installation:

1. Remove the front wheels.
2. Cut three 150 mm (6 in) lengths of safety wire specified to T304 Stainless Steel, 0.041 in nominal diameter, not included.
3. Form each into a U shape with a 20 mm (0.75 in) flat area in the center of the wire.
4. Place the rotor ring in the gap between the rotor brake plate and rotor hat, with the holes on each side of the rotor spoke on the outboard side of the rotor.


1. Place the U-shaped wire through the holes in the rotor cooling ring.
2. Bring the ends of the wire tight around the corresponding rotor spoke.
3. Twist the safety wire into six to eight twists per inch.
4. Bend the twisted wire so it is flush with the inside of the rotor ring to prevent contact with the caliper or brake hoses.
5. Verify that the rotor rings and safety wire do not contact any other components.
6. Reinstall the wheel using the specific lug nut torque. See Capacities and Specifications in SI.

If additional brake cooling is required, the grill mesh in the lower corners of the front grill in front of the brake duct can be removed. This is not reversible, and a replacement grill will not be covered by the warranty. If this is done, it is recommended that the gap between the fascia and the cooling duct be taped over.

StevieK

Thanks for all the great replies. My apologies for not reading the manual first but as I get older my patience for reading manuals has waned quite a bit. Eventually I'll get to the reading but I try to figure things out first. I kind of thought they were for track use because if they were that important for daily use I believe that GM would have installed them at the factory instead of leaving it up to a dealer who might not take the time to install them.

I did however get the installation wire that you had mentioned in Instruction 2 of Installation above. It was included in the plastic bag.

BlueOx

I would guess it makes sense to just take it to the track without them and see what performance you end up with as I suspect this brake fade is if you are really hittin' it very hard.

Certainly, if you are a dedicated tracker, I think it makes a lot of sense to put them on. I know I will never need them!

bikevette

That's a lot of work just to spend a day at the track. Why not just let the brakes cool some between circuits? Unless you're a highly competitive tracker, are these cooling rings really necessary?

Flying22low

Yes they work, i have not used them and had brake fade, with them no fade. It takes about 15 minutes to take wheels off and put cooling rings on

Skidplate

My '15 Z51 went to the dealer for squeaky brakes and slight steering wheel wobble. The front rotors were determined to be out of spec and replaced with the newer one piece rotors and fresh pads. I was told that with the newer rotor style, cooling rings were no longer needed. Does that sound correct?

The squeak and steering wobble went away after the service.

Rooster OG

You don't need them with the one piece rotor. From the 2017 manual:

themonk

they are given to Z51 optioned cars to be put on temporarily for track use, held on by "wire" (wtf?), why they are put on permanently I have no idea, perhaps because of replacement costs....makes no sense to me.

Skidplate

If I remember correctly, the reason for not leaving the rings on all the time was rust.

themonk

I heard that too so why not make them stainless steel? They say don't leave them on because of the wire that's used to hold them on for track use will deteriorate over time so that's why I wonder why not attach them more permanently?

egp

Because the heat transfer coefficient of carbon steel is 3 times that of stainless steel. http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/th...ity-d_429.html

themonk

but these are cooling rings, glorified fans, no friction occurring what so ever.

Maxpowers

I'm not the type to read manuals or instructions either but the C7 manual is a must read. With all the tech and features you'll want to take full advantage of what you bought.

egp

Cooling rings work by conducting heat away from the rotors and increasing surface area to convect and radiate the heat away. As a rotating flat ring, there isn't much fanning effect.