There are several levels of "C6 brakes" starting with the base level 325mm/305mm rotor combination with 2/1-piston frt/rr calipers, stepping up to the larger 340/330 C6 Z51 combination with virtually the same calipers, and finishing with the huge 355mm/340mm C6 Z06 with the 6-piston front and 4 piston rear PBR M-series calipers.
The base level C6 brakes are very similar to the C5(Z06) brakes with a few notable improvements. The front calipers are ~25% more rigid and only slightly heavier (~.16 lb each) and the rotors are of a heat dam design for less coning due to thermal expansion. From a wheel fitment standpoint, these are interchangeable with the C5 components.
Just as a side note, C5/C6 rear brakes are not the same as the 94-96 Impala SS brakes...there are good reasons many of the Impala guys are swapping to C5/C6 brakes. The Impala calipers are gravity cast instead of pressure cast and prone to spreading under severe use. The Impala SS rotors are not as large or thick or substantial (195mm x 20mm) as even the base level C5/C6 rotor (305mm x 26mm), let alone the C6 Z51 (330mm x 26mm) or Z06 (340mm x 26mm) rotors. Also, the Impala pad abutment brackets don't use abutment shims and tend to get notched by the pad backing plates relatively quickly, leading to weird pad wear and performance issues. The rotors are also for a 5x5 wheel pattern with a 3.06" center bore. While the internal drum-in-hat parking brake is the same diameter as the C5/C6 at 190mm, the actuator is integral to the casting for the backing plate and those have been discontinued by GM if I'm not mistaken, although there are still a few out there to be had. This is one of the few places where Corvette parking brake rebuild parts actually cost less than the Impala SS parts...go figure.
With the ATS AFX spindles up front, any kit for a 1997+ Corvette is a bolt-on deal so long as your rotors and caliper assemblies are for the same application. Out back, you'll want to cut down your axle shafts to 5.94" flange diameter for C5/C6 rotor compatibility and then select a kit to complement the front. What size wheels are you thinking about running?
Tobin
KORE3
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