C6 Brakes or ..............?

[HAULNSS]

I run Wilwood 4 pistons on the front of my Impala SS. I got a good deal using my car as a 'prototype', but have really started to enjoy the benefits of good brakes.

I like the Wilwood drop in pads. Remove one allen bolt and the pads drop in from the top of the caliper. Wilwood also has an extensive line of pads for many applications. I have a low dust quite pad for the street and a more aggressive pad for the track (more dust, some noise and works great when hot). The pads are pretty thick, too. I haven't wore out a set yet.

The Wilwoods really increased the amount of time I can spend on the track. At BIR (3.1 mile course), I can get an extra 3-4 laps out of the brakes (compared to stock) before I start to get the spongy feeling.

Now, for most guys, I would imagine they will never work the car to the point of worrying about brake fade and heat. Any decent caliper and rotor upgrade should be sufficient, as long as the fluid is changed regularly. Just a simple fluid flush would make a noticable difference in the resistance to fading for most people.

If you are going to upgrade, make sure to use good calipers, good rotors, good fluid and a suitable pad. The best brake setup will still suck with old crappy fluid and cheap pads.

Personally, I also avoid the crossdrilled rotors. I have witnessed too many crack when they 'connect the dots' and several have broken in pieces after a hard track run. They look good for the eye candy on the street, but most aren't up to the task of hard track use.

There is my long winded 2 cents on brake upgrades. Whew!

Randy

[fatlife]

Originally Posted by 71Nova

Just in case anyone does not know what calipers we are talking about here is a picture I stole from chevrolet.com and the text that was with it.

"Corvette Z06 employs monoblock six-piston front calipers and four-piston rear calipers. Each piston utilizes its own pad. The opposing pistons operate in pairs, applying brake pressure equally to each side of the rotor. The extra-large 14-inch front rotors and 13.4-inch rears are vented and cross-drilled. Brake cooling ducts are capable of moving twice the amount of cooling air compared to the previous-generation Z06.

You mean these?

These brakes are the ultimate in bling, 6 piston caliper with 14" rotors. Too bad the front rotors weigh like 28 ilbs and one of them vents backwards since the left and right rotors are identical yet have directional venting Second, they have bad pad wear, the multi pad setup works great on bikes, but apparantly sucks with these, the pads wear with huge taper. Plus a good set of pads (stock GM ones belong in the garbage) are like $400 front and rear. They look killer but thats about it, if you look closely there is a C5 caliper in the background which was put back on the car after taking these brand new ones off.

Also the original poster did not say anything about Z06 brakes, are you sure that is what he is talking about? If you are interested, I have more pics and more info about these, but unless you are running really big wheels, and want boat anchor rotors, and pads that dont wear right stay away from them.

[fatlife]

Also for summary;
F body LS1 brakes-= 2 piston sliding caliper, same as C5 but with no cooling fins built into caliper body, 12" rotor, 12" rear

C5 brakes= 2 piston sliding caliper with 12.8" directional rotor front
1 piston sliding caliper with 12" directional rotor rear

C5 Z06 identical to C5 but with red calipers

C6 brakes= same is C5

C6 brakes with optional Z51= same calipers as C5, differnet abutments(bracket) with a 13.4" front directional rotor, but same rotor left and right meaning that one side will be backwards, meaning that it will not cool the same as the other side. They are crossdrilled also.
Rear is same caliper as C5 but with differnet abutment, 13" directioal but same as the front 2 of the same side rotor, same cooling problems.

C6 Zo6= 6 Piston monoblock individual brake padlets calipers, 14" crossdrilled directional rotor, same rotor left and right meaning one side will be backwards, will not cool the same left and right.
Rear is a 4 piston monoblock individual brake padlets caliper, 13.5" crossdrilled rotor same directional problem as front

[Weaver]

How much for the touring classics and can they handle 18 and 20 inch wheels?

thanks,

Weaver

Originally Posted by T Bell

for me, the Touring Classics are the way to go and mine won't see many track days. But I think fatlife summed it up. It's mainly for looks. And ssssssh don't tell everybody about the low price of them. Atleast until I get mine. You are spoiling it for everyone.

[rwhite692]

Originally Posted by fatlife

... Too bad the front rotors weigh like 28 ilbs

With a larger diameter, (thicker also? not sure) rotor, would it not make sense that it would weigh more than the C5?

[fatlife]

Originally Posted by rwhite692

With a larger diameter, (thicker also? not sure) rotor, would it not make sense that it would weigh more than the C5?

Well this huge piece of casting on the back of the rotor could be a reason! I know that stoptech 14" rotors are only like 18 ilbs.

[rwhite692]

I'm sure that the additional metal is there for a reason. That much material can sink a lot of heat....

[fatlife]

if thats true then why don't any of the top manufactures use huge 10ilb cast iron centers? Why use thin light weight aluminum? And if were going with this logic, why have 2 left hand side rotors????? Trust me, I thought they were going to be great also, but I finally realized that they were no good. All of the Z06 guys dump these brakes and go with something better if they plan on beating on the car.

[71Nova]

Good info. I thought c6 brakes were Z06 brakes. I guess the 2 pistons are the standard c6 brakes. I did not realise the venting is backwards on one side, and that they used a big casting for the disk instead of using an aluminum hat. Thanks for posting the more detailed pics because I was curious but did not know the details on the new monoblock. Looks like other monoblock calipers such as the Baer 6s have some advantages.

[Vince@Meanstreets]

those calipers, ceramic pads and slotted rotors would work just fine. FL did you dump those yet?