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FACTORY 5th GEN CAMARO BRAKE OPTIONS
The second best thing about a 5th gen Camaro SS:
the brakes!
There were three different braking systems that came on the 5th gen Camaro V8 cars (again, we are ignoring the V6 cars). The SS came with 4-piston Brembo calipers and large diameter vented rotors at all 4 corners.
This uses a decent brake pad profile, good OEM style Brembo calipers, and decently sized rotors. The front rotor is a 355mm x 32mm (14" dia) vented rotor that weighs about 25 pounds. The rear is a 365mm x 28mm rotor (14.4" dia) that is 24 pounds. Rotors are under $100 each and you can even get rebuilt calipers for about the same price. These are appropriately sized and easily fit underneath 18" diameter wheels. Why on earth did GM slap heavy, gigantic 20" diameter wheels ("Twingos") on these cars? This was a Victim of Style.
The ZL1 came with larger front brakes but the same SS rears. The rotors were 14.6" diameter and the calipers were 6-pison Brembos. Are they needed? I don't think so, but they would help by adding a larger heat sink with the bigger rotor. Is it worth $4150 to upgrade the SS front brakes? Not in my book. There are better Motorsport level brake options at lower prices.
This is a popular 6-piston caliper in GM's parts bin, similar to the one used in the Gen II CTS-V. The 2-piece front rotor is also pretty slick but it isn't light, and at $400 each, it's not cheap to replace. The larger rotors limit you to 19" wheels, but so do some inboard physical constraints in the front spindle, so 18" wheels are difficult to run on these cars (without grinding on the front spindle).
The Z/28 came with Carbon Ceramic Matrix brakes (CCM), but you probably do not want these. Why? Replacement rotors can cost up to $2500 each and a fast driver can kill CCM rotors in as little as one track weekend. Replacement CCM brake pads can cost $1000/axle (just priced some for a C7 Z06 customer from a local GM dealer). And the pads and rotors still DO wear out, and they can wear MUCH more quickly if you don't watch out.
Similar to how Carbon/Carbon brakes you see in Formula1 cars, once these Carbon Ceramic Matrix rotors reach a certain critical temperature they start to wear VERY quickly, lose braking effectiveness, and just stop working. They can even fail catastrophically, especially if they are chipped. Iron rotors can get super hot yet still work, as long as the brake fluid doesn't boil. They don't crack if you look at them funny, and are super rugged. And much more cost effective.
Image of a Carbon Ceramic Matrix brake rotor after 10 track days
We have talked to the AP/Essex folks at trade shows and they do a brisk business selling iron based brakes for sports cars that originally came with CCM options, like the ZR1, Z/28, GTR, GT3 and more. Once someone gets fast enough on track, they can and will kill $6,000-12,000 worth of rotors in a weekend or two. Then they will gladly pay AP for iron brakes that have more reasonable wear and replacement costs
Scroll down on this page to read more about the problems with Carbon Ceramic Brakes.
Potential Pitfalls with Carbon Ceramic Discs- Oxidize at track temperatures
- Low airflow and rapid heat transfer
- Expensive, limited range of compatible brake pads
- Poor feel
- High replacement disc cost
- Damage-prone
- Splinters (carbon splinters in your skin!)
- Greater sensitivity to burnishing/bedding-in
To summarize -
Carbon Ceramic Matrix brakes are a gimmick for Rich Pimps, and of little value to non-millionaire track drivers. Yes, they are lighter than iron brakes, and if you are a hard park queen who never drives their car, these might last the 90K miles claimed. But if you will be tracking your car and drive faster than Mr Magoo, CCM brakes should be avoided if at all possible.
"MINOR SHUNT" + REPAIRS + BRAKE COOLING & PAD UPGRADES
As good as the factory 4 piston Brembos are on the SS, they are not infallible if you run less than ideal pads and/or fluid. We had been seeing Joe get faster at track events for a couple of years while he was running EBC green pads and some ding-dong brand of slotted rotors. I have never been impressed with EBC pads or faux-upgrade slotted rotors, and I warned Joe that he was on borrowed time. Our crew performed a quick track brake fluid flush and bleed on this car at ECR once after he had boiled the stock fluid, and again the next time he was in our shop for an HPDE inspection on the car back in 2014.
I noticed that his calipers had gone from Red to BROWN... which we call "BROWNBO" brakes. That's a condition when the calipers have been overheated so badly that the red powder coating gets cooked. That is well into the brake system "Danger Zone". I had been begging Joe years to do some sort of brake cooling and/or better brake pads after seeing this.
Left: The factory red powder coating on the front Brembos. Right: "Condition Brownbo"!
I showed a brief glimpse of the brake cooling on Joe's 1LE last time, but did not mention
why that was needed. Well there was an issue with brake heat at an HPDE event at ECR one day in 2015 and... this happened.
These are pictures he showed on Facebook, along with in-car video. Total brake system failure after so many warning signs were ignored. I'm guilty of the same thing - and never want that to happen to me or anyone! After too many spirited laps at this brake-intensive track, the pedal just went to the floor in a fast ~100mph braking zone (ECR, Turn 11).
Joe reacted well and went off straight (turning could have rolled the car), over the tire barrier and down a small hill. It ripped the front fascia off, did some minor cosmetic damage & popped some airbags. Surprisingly the car took the hit like a champ - nothing major was bent or mangled - and after a long 9 month hibernation, I begged Joe to bring us the car.
He was able to drive it to our shop, where we looked at it, took some pictures, and sent them to our friends at Heritage Collision. They quoted the work, we told Joe the numbers, and then I delivered the car to them for airbag + cosmetic repairs.
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