INTHERED

Can the C6 Z06 rear brake caliper be used on a C5 as the front brake caliper without changing wheel sizes ? I would think that replacing the stock C5 2 piston front calipers with the C6 Z06 4 piston rear calipers would be a nice lower cost upgrade for those of us not willing to go with the full conversion.

INTHERED

ICaughtVetteFever

Why would you not just get the C6Z front calipers for the front(they cost the same)? Also, what do you mean by "upgrade". The C6Z brakes are only good at looking pretty, not working better.

AU N EGL

GRUNIE

Why would you not just get the C6Z front calipers for the front(they cost the same)? Also, what do you mean by "upgrade". The C6Z brakes are only good at looking pretty, not working better.

I been hearing this same thing. It's all about bling. I'm a poet now

INTHERED

It sounds like you guys have never driven a C6 Z06. Whoever told you that the C6 Z06 brakes were only for looks is seriously mistaken. The Z06 brakes are an order of magnitude better then my C5 brakes. Maybe you guys are experiencing a little Z06 envy.

Back to my question will the C6 Z06 rear calipers fit on the front of a C5 without having to change the front wheel sizes or add spacers ?

INTHERED

ICaughtVetteFever

As short drive means nothing. Do a search, plenty of threads out there supporting me. Those brakes are JUNK. C5/C6 base brakes may not look as good, but they are a better setup.

Other than the Ls7 and carbon panels, I don't like anything about the Z, so I am not having "envy" and I am rather insulted you would say that, you don't know the facts and don't know what you are talking about, we try to help and get bashed. Maybe you should listen to guys that know, or at least do your own research before you speak. Oh, and rear caliper on front will not work, you will loose even more performance as you reduce piston size and totally screw your car's brake system up. Either keep what you have or spend the money for a real brake upgrade, it is only the most important system on the car.

INTHERED

Isn't the piston size of the 4 piston caliper equivalent to a 2 piston caliper with pistons twice its size ?

Back to my question will the C6 Z06 rear calipers fit on the front of a C5 without having to change the front wheel sizes or add spacers ?

ICaughtVetteFever

While you are researching why the C6Z brakes are junk, you may want to also do some checking on how the vette brake system is setup. These cars have different piston volumes to control brake bias, so there is smaller surface area in the rear than the front. That is why you can't put the stock rear 2 piston on the rear to replace the one large piston, even though it seems ok, you throw off bias and more fluid than the master can deliver. What you want to do is opposite of that, too little bite and on the front that is a bad thing to do.

INTHERED

Back to my original question will the C6 Z06 rear calipers fit on the front of a C5 without having to change the front wheel sizes or add spacers ?

BlackZ06

INTHERED,

You'd get much WORSE braking putting the rear brakes from a C6Z on the front of a C5.

Why ?? Look at the pads (padlets) ...

The C5 front pads measure 7.23 inches tall by 2.48 inches wide. There are two mounted on each caliper .... ignoring the fact that some surface area is lost to the shape of the pad ... the friction area of the pads is

7.23 * 2.48 = 17.9 sq inches per pad ... so two pads have a little under 35.8 inches of friction area ... knock off 10 percent because of the shape and you have over 30 square inches of friction area.

The C6 Z06 rear padlets measure 2.32 by 2.14 inches, for a total area of about 4.9 (call it 5 sqare inches). There are a total of 4 padlets in the rear caliper, for a total area of 20 square inches .... FAR LESS than the C5 pads have for friction area.

You'd be nuts to do this as you'd overheat the padlets sooner, get less bite and braking torque, and wear the brakes much faster.

This is without looking into issues such as difference in piston size (therefore fluid volume needed to engage the pads) or whether you could even mount them on the car.

Finally, read some of the posts in the C6 Z06 forums where owners discuss the brakes ... there are MANY who feel that the money spent on the C6 Z06 brake set-up was not worth it. One minor "proof" of this .... if you order rotors for a C5 you'll get 4 rotors each marked for a specific corner. If you order C6 Z OEM rotors you get 4 rotors unmarked .... the vanes all point the same way .... there are no LEFT or RIGHT rotors ... Chevy cheaped out and didn't even bother to get the vanes going in the right direction ... that's how "cheap" they went.

ICaughtVetteFever

After reading what we have posted even if it did fit(which is would not) it would be a stupid thing to do.

INTHERED

Finally someone with real data. I could'nt tell from the photos of the rear caliper if pad area was going to be a problem. Now I know so I will reluctantly abandon my idea. Right now I have Eradispeed OEM style crossdrilled rotors with Performance Friction carbon metallic pads. This setup works OK I guess but I would still like to improve my brakes while not breaking the bank. What do you guys reccomend ? Is there an aftermarket caliper for the front that would work or do I have to purchase a complete system ? Are the C5 Z06 calipers any better then my stock ones ?

Thanks >>>> INTHERED

ICaughtVetteFever

I guess my "real data" is not good becaue it is not filled with numbers, just a bottom line. If you want to read a bunch of bs numbers do the research yourself. A guy coming on here telling me I am an idiot and have "envy" then asks if C5Z calipers are better than C5 calipers has a LOT to learn.

BlackZ06

INTHERED ...

Your profile says you're an "aerospace engineer" ....

The C5 calipers and C5 Z06 calipers are different .... one set are painted black ... the other set are painted red ... that is the ONLY difference betwween them. A little research and you'd have found this out ....

There are a lot of people here with a lot of experience with Corvettes ... ignoring advice from someone like ICaughtVetteFever without first politely asking for more information is not a way to endear yourself on the forums ....

To braking systems in general ......

I have posted this many times before ... but ... well ... here goes ....

Far too many people think that HUGE brake calipers and fancy rotors (drilled/slotted/wrinkled/coated .... whatever) will solve their "braking problems"

The stock C5 brakes are extremely well designed. Can you turn on the ABS system under hard braking with the stock set-up ??? Sure you can. The stock brakes are MORE than adequate to stop the car under daily driving circumstances.

There are only two places to REALLY improve braking on a C5 ....

1) tires ..... the major limiting factor on a Corvette (and for that matter almost any car) in braking is tire grip. Put MASSIVE brakes on any car and all you do is invoke the ABS sooner UNLESS you change to a tire with more grip. Wider tires with a "high performance" rubber compound are the answer to this problem. The C5 Z06 is equipped with larger tires that have a "higher performance" rating than the stock C5 tires. That is where the Z06 gets virtually all of its improved braking from (calipers and rotors are the same as a stock C5).

2) pads ..... the stock pads will begin to fade under heavy braking applications such as at an HPDE. Switching to a "performance" pad will virtually eliminate this issue, and can, under certain circumstances, improve brake torque (at the cost of rotor wear) and initial "bite". The downside is that for street driving, performance pads are often not in their correct temperature range .... they run too cold on the street ... leading to a loss of braking power, and usually complaints of "squealing".

Try swapping your pads for something like the Hawk HPS pads ... they are a good compromise for "added performance" while still working well on the street. The Hawk HP Plus pads are a good choice for Auto-X and HPDE applications but can still be driven on the street (though noisier when cold ... lots of dust ... etc.). Companies like Hawk also make pads for "race" applications ... but they are NOT a good choice for the street .. these are "track only" pads ...

see: http://www.hawkperformance.com/

So, look into better pads and/or tires for the car ... quit worrying about calipers and rotors ... most track guys here (unless a serious racing application is involved) use the cheap rotors from Napa Auto parts, stock calipers, and a "high performance" brake pad to get "good" braking.

Remember, the laws of physics are inviolate ... it is the weight of the car and its velocity, that really determine stopping distance ..... the only other factor is the coefficient of friction with the raod (tires) and the ability of the brake system to convert the forward energy of the vehicle to heat (brake pads/rotors/calipers .... mainly pads).

HTH

MUKAK

i AM GONNA GIVE U SOME REAL DATA.........

Rear C6 Z06 calipers ( with pads) will not fit.......

and if u make them fit they will not outbreak the stock setup.




AS REAL AS IT GETS

INTHERED

I never called you an idiot. Just because I do not agree with the so called experts does not mean that anyone called you an idiot. I came up with an idea based solely on photos of the C6 Z06 brakes calipers and now after the data was presented it turns out it was a bad idea. Just because you were correct does not give you the right to crucify me on this forum. Iam an aerospace engineer how do you think Iam going to react when someone proclaims that the calipers are JUNK. I have been fairly impressed with GM's engineering on our cars. I still find it hard to imagine that GM would put JUNK calipers on its flagship car. They may not be up to the rigors of racing but Iam sure they are great for street and strip applications. You never provided any meaningful data that would support your claim. If the C6 Z06 rear caliper pads had more surface area then the C5, similar volume and they fitted it would have been a great idea for my application. So in closing I say who died and made you GOD of this forum.

INTHERED

ICaughtVetteFever

It is all about attitude guy, instead of "oh, really? Why are they junk?" you go on about "no way they could be junk, I am an expert because all I have done is LOOKED AT PICTURES". WTF is that? 2 senior guys even agreed with me before you posted, maybe that should have got you thinking. Do the research yourself, and learn some respect. I am not going to spend any more time helping out a guy who sounds like an A hole.

INTHERED

I only asked one question would the calipers fit on a C5 and no one would give me an answer. I did'nt ask you or anyone else if it was a good idea or not. It was a hypothetical question so I could decide if the project was worth persuing further. I really don't care if you are a senior member or not. I don't need anyone especially you to give me the OK as to the merit of any of my projects. I would be willing to bet that you do not work in any technical field where original ideas are rewarded. You have definitely proved to me today that the number of stars under a members profile name can not be used as an indicator of high intelligence. You need to get off of your high horse and not take it so personal when someone disagrees with you. So I think you were correct in one of your previous posts maybe Iam calling you an idiot.

Have a nice day - INTHERED