Cheapest way to upgrade brakes???

[Ryanater]

It's about time for my ws6's first brake job. But I don't just want to turn and replace the rotors. What I really want is to put some bigger brakes in it. I looked on summitracing.com and the bigger brake kit is like $1,700 just for the front. So what are my options for bigger brakes?

I have heard of putting z06 brakes on our cars, does that work and how much would it cost?

And what about putting those stock size cross drilled rotors on? Do they help or are they just for looks.

Any help is appreciated.Thanks!

[rdtce]

I purchased Baer Eradispeed rotors, Z06 calipers (not the C5 brake upgrade, just all 4 calipers), Hawk Ceramic pads, Earl's stainless brake lines and an extra set of caliper brackets (had them powdercoated black) and I spent around $1,600 but the brakes look unbeatable all the way around! I did not want to spend $1,700 for the Baer C5 brake upgrade to only upgrade the appearance of the fronts (yes a bit larger too) and have to cut on my steering knuckles. Also, Baer C5 calipers are simply Corvette calipers that had the "Corvette" machined off, powdercoated then etched "Baer"... You can get a full set of all 4 Z06 calipers for $324

[Ryanater]

Thanks alot! How much bigger are the z06 brakes? I think the standard ss/ws6 rotors are like 11.75 inches in front.

So do the z06 brakes perform very much better?

[Ryanater]

I did some research...

Stock Camaro front rotors= 11.9in Stock Corvette front rotors= 12.8in

Stock Camaro rear rotors= 12.01in Stock Corvette rear rotors=12.01in

So it looks like there is a big improvemnet for the front but the back is the same.

[rdtce]

The calipers are identical except for the lettering, mounting tabs are a tad thinner (does not matter) and the veins on the exterior run all the way to the front of the calipers. LS1 F-body calipers have reduced veins to accomodate 16 inch wheels. The rotors, brackets and pads are different which is why I just swapped calipers.

[Ryanater]

???

so if I want to swap brakes to z06's, then I only have to do front calipers and rotors right? The back is the same as an fbod.

[astyles]

i did the drill/slotted rotors from the ws6 store(169.00 all 4)and ceramic pads from autozone 80.00 and love how much better my car stops

[Silver Streak]

Just watch those drilled holes.. mine cracked in under 2000 miles!

[Ryanater]

So I have been looking on the internet and I think that the z06 brakes would be the best way to go. They are 12.8in so they are a lot bigger and the price would be better than other upgrade kits.

What do I have to replace when doing a z06 conversion?

[rdtce]

Swapping to C5/Z06 calipers is mainly a cosmetic upgrade. If you do the "C5/Z06" whole brake conversion, you are changing to larger rotors, pads and brackets in addition to calipers. I did not do this because you have to cut the spindle such that you cannot go back to LS1 brakes unless you get new spindles. My Dad has the C5 whole brake conversion offered by Baer on his SS and I cannot tell much of a difference in stopping compared to my setup...

[Corey1987]

ive heard stainless steel braided lines make a world of difference, might wanna try that first before u go droppin big money and cutting up ur stock spindles for better brakes.

[rdtce]

The stainless lines are awesome!

[hydo4433]

Where can yo ubuy the zo6 calipers talked about above for 324 and what modifications have to be made?

[rdtce]

There is a guy/gal running an eBay store called thepartsladi do a search on EBay for "Z06 calipers" and you will find them. No mods necassary to use the Z06 calipers on an Fbody with stock 17" wheels (I have an 02 WS6). I am not sure about 16" wheels due to the 3/16" tall cooling veins that are not on the stock Ls1 calipers. There rear calipers are identical except for the red powdercoat.

[Eugenio_SS]

get Brembo blank replacement rotors, a better front pad, and good brake fluid... that'll increase it dramatically while keeping the $.

[Ryanater]

I am going to do the entire conversion for c5 brakes up front. But at the same time I am upgrading to braided lines and hawk pads. Plus new brake fluid. I have pretty much made up my mind. Now I just need to know where the cheapest place to buy them is.

That should make a huge differance!

[Eugenio_SS]

best C5 conversion is to contact trackbird (admin) @ www.frrax.com or @ ls1tech... he sells the trackbrackets (C5 conversion). He has the original design.

[toplessHO]

best C5 conversion is to contact trackbird (admin) @ www.frrax.com or @ ls1tech... he sells the trackbrackets (C5 conversion). He has the original design.

How do we contact him if not a user of that forum?
Also might note that you can use the C4 13 inch rotors and LS1 caliper baskets
and not cut the spindles.

[Eugenio_SS]

How do we contact him if not a user of that forum?
Also might note that you can use the C4 13 inch rotors and LS1 caliper baskets
and not cut the spindles.

trackbird (at) columbus (dot) rr (dot) com