nickpe

I heard you might be able to use the C5 front brake calipers on my 1985 C4.

Any one know if you can & if so what needs to be changed to complete this upgrade

As always ....Thanks for your help,

Nick

vader86

Start with the adapters for 84-87 years, buy the new brake hoses for your 85, then buy up the C5 parts. I did it on my 86 and have them on my 88.

nickpe

thanks,...are the adapters for mounting the calipers

nickpe

hi again...where can i purchase the adapters

dclafleur

Ebay usually has a few on there.

c4cruiser

The adapters are needed to mount the C5 caliper brackets to the C4 spindles. Use the large caliper bracket bolts to mount the adapters and torque them to about 150 ft-lbs. Then use the stock C5 caliper brackets, the C5 guide pins, and the C5 calipers. The C5 rotors simply fit over the wheel studs.

Vader86 has an excellent suggestion for installing new hoses. But I would also suggest replacing the rear hoses at the same time and doing a complete brake fluid flush. A quality DOT3 fluid will work for street use.

vader86

Ebay, Exotic Muscle, several others. Ebay likely cheapest.

dizwiz24

ChumpVette

blackozvet

tps motorsports sell the whole kits to any level you want.

ElisTwoCents

dizwiz24

kael

May have missed someone else mentioning this, need to consider your wheels. If running the original 16", the calipers won't fit.

Certain 17" wheels should work, but really need to check the clearance early. I installed C5 brakes under 18" Advanti Kudos, they didn't clear well and I ended up with longer wheel studs and a 2mm or 5mm adapter plate to get 3mm of clearance. I had changed to Temkin wheel hubs at the same time, they didn't help, as they are a mm or two wider than stock. This caused the adapter to not quite match up to the rotors, had to shim, which pushed closer to the rims. In addition, the Kudos are +40mm offset, part of why I needed the plate in the first place.

Overall, the C5 brakes do provide a good improvement for the simple reason the rotors are wider and are not expensive either.

Mike Holmen

I'm running C6 Z51 brakes on my 85 and 2010 vette Z06 take off wheels (still has decent rubber on them 285/35/R18 and 325/30R19). I probably have around $1200 into the entire swap over. I used ebay adapters for the front. Lots of C6 stuff out there. The fronts will bolt on just like nothing. The rear I had to weld up new brackets onto the rear to get them to work. I found new C6 powder coated calipers on ebay cheap. When my tires are worn out, I'm gonna sell them and buy C7 take-off wheels.

dclafleur

Mike what did you use for a parking brake?

For a lot of folks commenting on marginal improvement, I'd also like to point out the '85 had single piston front calipers, the C5 caliper and rotor is a substantial improvement and has a ton of support for cheap.

c4cruiser

The OP has an '85 and if he has the OEM 16" wheels, he will have to change the wheels to at least a 17" diameter or maybe 18". A 17x9.5" wheel will work and the 275/40-17 tire size has nearly the exact dimensions of the old 16" tire. Will the cost be $3K? Hard to say but he will need other wheels and tires....

Also, a C5 front brake conversion will need to have a different brake bias spring installed in the master cylinder. Doug Rippie Motorsports has them. For the '85, make sure the spring is for a non-ABS car!!

Mike Holmen

I liked the upgrade in braking power vs the stock stuff. Yes the stock stuff works pretty decent, just the newer stuff just gives you more breaking power. I dont have a ton of money into my set-up, so I don't have to justify how much better this or that. I haven't maxed out these brakes yet so I don't really know how much better it really is.

I have no parking brakes for now but the stock stuff isn't that great. I'm thinking about going to a mechanical caliper like this
https://www.wilwood.com/Calipers/Cal...o=120-12069-RD

I'm gonna make my own caliper bracket.