dvandentop

very nice

JRitt@essex

Finally, I saved some of the best news for last. Our kit shaves approximately 10 unsprung lbs. from the rear of the car when compared to the OEM CCM setup...5 lbs. per side! We weighed the OEM rear caliper, disc, and complete corner vs. our setup. In my haste when snapping pics, I forgot to throw our caliper bracket on the scale. We went back and weighed it at 0.75 lbs. So the pics are ever-so-slightly misleading.:p That said, the OEM pads were almost completely cooked, so that thickness difference would pretty much make it a wash. A fresh set of pads would have made them weigh about 0.5 to .75 lbs. more.



OEM rear c7 Z07 CCM brake corner





Essex Designed CP9450/365mm rear corner weight

fleming23

After some shipping confusion, UPS delivered the rear kit today.

Everything went on pretty easily, just a little trimming to the rear deflectors. The brake lines were easier to swap than the fronts in my opinion. I did not have to remove the rear bracket to either remove/reinstall the lines or to install the brake line clip. I still haven't gotten around to getting the clips installed on the front after that PITA. On the rear clip I was able to just use my fingers to push it down and secure the line.

The rear kit is probably overkill but at least now the expensive carbon ceramics are off and I have a much better selection of (less expensive) brake pads.

Now the car is ready to go race in New Orleans next weekend!

thebishman

And I can guarantee you won't have leaking brake bleeders with the AP kit!

fleming23

Finished up all my other track prep so I cleaned the car up before loading it up in the trailer.

I miss the look of the big carbon ceramics and red calipers, but am very happy to have such a high caliber brake system on the car! Looking forward to seeing how well they perform on track next weekend!

four0nefive

I think the GA1Rs might be some of the best looking wheels available for the C7. Love how the cars looks with the dark grey wheels and the Long Beach Red paint

Poor-sha

Came home from work to find mine in the garage. I put them on this evening and loaded the car on the trailer. The worst part of the install is trimming the air ducts and it seemed to always need more trimmed nowhere near where I last trimmed.

I bled them 4 times but am not convinced I got all the air out. I'll be at the track tomorrow for a real test and will try to snap some pics on the car as well.

As an aside, I didn't trim the backing plate on the rears as I was in a bit of a rush. Were we supposed to trim that on the front setup as well? That's a new recommendation to me.

fleming23

I did not do that either. Fully admit I didn't even read that part of the instructions.....

JRitt@essex

We always recommend removing or trimming any OEM splash shields. All they do is trap / reflect heat back onto the disc/caliper. On the front of the C7Z there is a small one that covers about a third of the lower disc. If I remember correctly, that one just unbolts.

I'll check and see if there is any mention of that in our install manual. We usually include some commentary on splash shields, but it may have been overlooked. If so, I'll make sure we get it in there asap.

Thanks, and definitely give us an update after trying the rears!

JRitt@essex

Could everyone please do me a HUGE favor and tell me what wheels/specs you are running with our front and rear kits, and if you needed a wheel spacer? I want to add them to our database to help other customers considering our brake kits. For example:

Front= Forgeline GA1R 18x11 +44, no spacer

or

Front= Forgeline GA1R 18x11 +50, 5mm spacer

Thank you very much!

Poor-sha

Finspeed F110 18x11 F and 18x13 rear

JRitt@essex

Thanks Porsha, but I really need offsets, particularly with custom wheels. Otherwise nobody will know what to order! Thanks.

fleming23

Jeff,

You have my fronts, and I was able to confirm the rear but I'll restate here (no spacers).

Forgeline GA1R
Front - 18x11 +44
Rear - 18x13 +62

JRitt@essex

Hi Guys,

I created a thread in the AutoX/Road Race section dedicated to wheel fitment and pics for our AP Racing brake systems. If you own one of our brake systems, please visit this thread and add your information. You'll be doing your peers in the community (and us) a big favor. Thank you very much!

Bill Dearborn

Jeff,
I will visit the thread. I just wanted to let you know I keep getting high praise for the way the brakes work on my car. After visiting you a couple days after I got back from the Glen I went to VIR for three days to run the North Course. This is no where near as hard on brakes as the Glen so I now have 8 track days on my front DSUNO pads and 6 days on the rear DS1.11 pads. The fronts still have about 13 mm of thickness so I will more than likely get through another two days running the full VIR course with NCM next week. The rear pads have about 10 mm thickness remaining now and should easily last through the two days.

After 12 track days the front rotors are starting to show some heat checking while the rear rotors still look new after 6 days.

I was able to give rides to 5 people and they all exclaimed how well the brakes worked.

I am really pleased with the brake performance. I know I have a video of a late pass into T1 and an audible comment from the passenger about how well the brakes worked I just have to find it before I can post it.

Bill

thebishman

For anyone wanting the very best in brakes on the C7 Z06/7 the AP Racing kit is the only way to go. Fantastic stuff as always.

And kudos to Jeff who is a huge asset to this site re: braking questions/answers.
Bish

JRitt@essex

Excellent Bill, and thanks for the great feedback! I'd definitely love to see/hear the video. Your discs looked perfect when you stopped by after that healthy beating at the Glen, and it sounds like you have plenty left in them.

Reminder...for anyone who isn't certain about the health of their discs, I wrote a blog article on that topic last summer:
When is it Time to Replace my Iron Brake Discs

Daniel Stagg from Essex will be heading to the NCM event at VIR, so if anybody needs him to bring pads, discs, or fluid, please let us know!

Thanks again.

JRitt@essex

Thank you very much for the kind words Bish!

grecoz06

I would love to know how these pads are for Street driving? Any downsides? Also how bad is the brake dust compared to CCBs? Thanks in advance

JRitt@essex

To which pads are you specifically referring? We (essex) supply a range of Ferodo pads to suit different environments. The Ferodo DS2500 is the best option for sport use on the road, AutoX, etc. They have no downsides for that type of use. They barely make any noise (only the occasional peep at the tail end of a stop when they're bed-in properly), they are easy on discs, they have great cold bite, etc. They are moderately dusty, but any pad that will actually have some grab is going to have some dust. More of the dust on your wheels is the disc material being shaved off than it is the pad material being ground down. Please also note, our complete AP Racing Radi-CAL brake kit weighs less than the OEM CCBs, and you can fit them inside 18" wheels. Let us know what other questions you have. If you haven't checked out our Corvette brake kit buyers guide, please do so below.