CamaroBoy96Z28

Just remember that if you want 15" skinnies up front, dont go with the C5 brakes. 16x5.5 is probably the best that can be done and is what most of the C5 guys run up front. Those rims are a little costly too. Thats my only gripe about it, other than that this is definitely a worthy upgrade, much better than LS1 brakes. The C5 install is probably easier too.

Live for TAs

No tracks around here, and my 1/4 time right now would be kinda tough on 2 wheels and a pair of jackstands . If I ever get the chance, I'll post some numbers.

Camaro_Maniac63

Thanks for the info, this is going to come in handy

95 Silver TA

Stupid question.....All these parts are new correct, nothing used here????

Thx,
Claude

95 Silver TA

Are the C-5 Calipers a 4 piston caliper or a 2 piston caliper like the Ls1 F-bodies?

Whats the main difference in the Caliper bettween the Z06 and the Ls1 F-body?


Thanks,
Claude

Chris 96 WS6

C5 calipers are 2-piston design but are stronger than the LS1 caliper. What Speed Specialty is selling is infact Bob's Gen-2 bracket.

I have all my old info and stuff still up from when I sold the kit through Nashvillespeed.com. I've re-vamped it to be an info page with an FAQ and install instructions

http://chris96ws6.mtfba.org/c5brakes

95 Silver TA

Last wierd question...I promise

I have the Lt1 stock brakes on my car and I would rate them like a 5 from a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being best)
My friend did the Ls1 brake upgrade on his 97Z and after being in his car, I would rate his a 8 in stopping performance and value...

What would you rate the Z06 conversion?
Is it that much better than the Ls1 setup in stopping performance and all that?

Thx,
Claude

Chris 96 WS6

The C5 brakes would be a 10+ in that comparison.

Here's the reality that nobody ever talks about.

If all you want to do is be able to lock the brakes up, almost any kind of brakes will do it. It has more to do with clamping force in the caliper and TIRE TRACTION than how "big" the brakes are. If that's all you want is a quicker, harder stop, bigger tires are the first step.

Reason I say that is if you can lock your brakes (obviously with ABS its not possible) but if on dry pavement you can engage ABS then you've got more brake power than you do traction. Going to a wider tire with more ground contact patch will help this. You'll be able to get on the brakes harder w/o engaging ABS or locking them up.

Then you have to ask what makes a brake kit "better". Well, depends on purposes. A larger rotor, diameter wise, will provide more leverage vs the spinning wheel and can stop the car with less effort. This is all if you are talking about 1 stop, 1 application of the brakes. The bigger the rotor, the faster you will be able to come to a stop at full braking force, provided you have enough tire to utilize all the braking power.

So yeah, for a daily driver, that you want better braking feel, and to feel safer, the LS1 upgrade is 9/10th of all you'll need on an f-body. The C5 kit would be even better (and it is, I LOVE mine in daily driver situations), but its all a cost-benefit that is different for each person.

Now, where the C5 kit really shines is in competition. I've already mentioned you can get any brake set to stop like hell for 1 stop, basically a really aggressive pad will make up for tiny rotors. It will eat the rotors up eventually though. But, suffice to say you could make the LT1's stop as good as the others, for 1 stop. When the difference really shows is repeated use, like in heavy heavy stop and go situations, driving down a mountain, or COMPETITION.

Reason is brakes are all about heat. Brakes take mechanical motion and dissipate it as heat. The LT1 brakes can't store a lot of heat...the rotors, since they are smaller, will heat up much faster and don't dissipate the heat as fast. The cat iron calipers do the same thing, they store heat really well, but don't bleed it off. In serious competition the brakes are going to fade really quickly and stopping distances will increase substantially.

Eventually, the LT1 caliper will spread from fatigue, and you'll get a mushy pedal and uneven pad wear.

Now, the LS1 upgrade is a step up, you get 1 full inch more of rotor diameter, which helps stopping power, and you get better resistance to fade thanks to more mass to store heat and dissipate it through cooling vane surface area, etc. Still, the C5 calipers are stronger thanks to a better production process (see my FAQ) and the LS1 calipers will still fatigue eventually.

The C5 kit gives you even more fade resistance thanks to yet another inch in rotor diameter, directional cooling vanes, and a very strong caliper, and more pad area. The C5 and LS1 rotors are also thicker than the LT1, yet more mass.

The C5 upgrade is basically the same thing that you get with the Baer GTP kit, exactly the same caliper Baer uses. There are 3 exceptions: The baer kit is a helluva lot more expensive, their rotor is a tad bit larger (I think 13.1" vs. 12.8"), and Bob's bracket is twice as thick and much much stronger/more rigid for mounting the caliper.

For bang-for-the-buck, this is hands down the most braking you will get per dollar spent IMO on NEW parts (not including buying LS1 stuff used from a wreck for $250).

Plus, it looks great behind a set of 17" wheels.

ZDriver96

i valet lots of cars, pintos, to Ferrari Enzo's

I put the LT1 brakes at a 4, maybe a 5 with Napa Ceramics or hawk pads.. I give the LS1's a 7 but rotors are prone to warping because of the deflection that occurs cuz of the caliper design (floater, gravity cast) (fairly sure of that). The C5 is still a floater but pressure cast, has more rotor surface to absorb heat and resist warping and stops better.. I put them at a 9.

Some BMW's and extoics i put at 10's.

Chris 96 WS6

Well I agree there are better brakes out there but they will cost 3 times or more than the C5 upgrade...plus Claude's comparo was just between LT1, LS1 and C5.

Anyway, wanted to add another point. If you find a place to get the parts wholesale, it'll be about $500 shipped to your door plus cost of the brackets. Speed Specialty could sell the complete kit but they'd have to mark up the GM parts to make it worth buying and selling them, so the total price of the kit would go way up.

Now, when I was selling Bob's Steel brackets I did offer a complete package, I had a chevy dealer that would drop ship the GM parts and all I did was ship the brackets. I did mark the parts up but also sold the brackets individually w/o the parts for those who were penny pinchers.

People understood that for me to bother with the complete package I needed to make some profit on it, so it worked out. But I was at $825 for the whole deal. You are looking at $775 now even buying your own parts since the Alum brackets are a bit pricier than the steel ones were in terms of cost to manufacture. So yeah, it would be cool to get everything you need in one order from Speed Specialty, but it would cost you probably $850 or more. Doing a little extra work to get your own GM parts saves you quite a bit of money.

95 Silver TA

Thanks for the detailed reponses guys...Much appreciated!!

Claude

The Doc

OK, here's another question...
What's the diameter size of the caliper pistons for the C5 and LS1 calipers?
I believe for the C5 it's 40mm or 40.5mm, but I haven't been able to find any info. on the LS1 caliper.

As far as I know, everything else being equal, a larger diameter caliper piston equates to greater breaking force.

Thanks,
Rob