c6 z06 brakes

[tellyv]

hey guys I'm building a 68 camaro with wayne dues front and rear c4 vette stuff and I bought a c5 set of brakes for it a couple years back but now I'm thinking of going bigger to maybe the c6 z06 stuff on the front, now I've read on a couple of vette forums that there not that great so whats your input? I plan on autox and some road coarse stuff any help would be great. thanks telly

[68sixspeed]

They are a really good bargain, esp for a 6 piston 14" front brake setup. A lot of the initial problems that people changed them on the z06 was due to a lack of aftermarket support for pads and rotors. Now there are lots of good choices. The GM rotors are both left sides, not great for cooling esp if you want to run proper cooling ducts. DBA (disc brakes of australia) has a good quality replacement 1pc rotor, or there are several places with 2pc rotors. The factory rotor is really heavy too, like 28lbs! You can cut that in 1/2 with the 2pc rotor setups.

There are lots of pad options too, Hawk, Carbotech, Cobalt, etc. Cobalt seems to have the best track pad by most reviews - a single pad per side instead of padlets, but they are pricey. Probell is tracking the z06 brakes on his 67 now with DTC70's and they've been a real good move for him. I guess the big advantage of the Stoptech and Brembo z06 setups is that they use a much thicker pad so your pad life is better. Some claim a more rigid caliper, but the z06 unit is pretty beefy IMO.

[Apogee]

They're a great deal for the money, especially now that the aftermarket has stepped up and is supplying every manner of pad and rotor imaginable. You can typically save about 3.5 pounds per rotor by going to two-piece, aluminum hat versions...the only way to cut the weight in half would be to go carbon/ceramic and that's going to set you back $10-$12k to do so.

Tobin
KORE3

[camaro2nv]

Im going to buy a set of just Calipers and buy the aftermarket rotors. I would love for someone to post a parts list that from KORE3;) To make it all work.:thumbsup:

[tellyv]

thanks for the input guys.

[68sixspeed]

They're a great deal for the money, especially now that the aftermarket has stepped up and is supplying every manner of pad and rotor imaginable. You can typically save about 3.5 pounds per rotor by going to two-piece, aluminum hat versions...the only way to cut the weight in half would be to go carbon/ceramic and that's going to set you back $10-$12k to do so.

Tobin
KORE3

Tobin- if you have a GM front z06 rotor in stock, check the weight, it's got extra material lugs (maybe for vibration?) in the hub area, I weighed on off my z06 and it was 28lbs; the LG 2pc with the Coleman rotors weigh 15.7lb with the hardware. They are not exactly cheap though. The DBA brand you sell gets good reviews for a 1pc rotor even for track use by the corvetteforum guys. -Dan

[Apogee]

Dan, the GM shipping weight of the C6 Z06 front rotor (GM #19121787) is listed as 28# and measures more like 27# by my scale, however the rotor itself w/o a box weighs in right under 26#. The DBA 4000 series rotors are basically OE knockoffs with respect to the overall dimensions, cheek thicknesses, weight, etc, but with much better metallurgy and heat treatment. Plus, the fact that they're a non-directional pillar vane instead of left-hand only like the OE's makes them an easy choice for anyone looking to increase their braking performance over the OE stuff.

I'm not very familiar with the LG/Coleman 2-piece rotors (http://www.lgmotorsports.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=474_479&products_id=1968) that only weigh 15.7# :wow: aside from what's on their website. The only thing I've seen in that weight range for a 14"x 12.6" all-pupose rotor has been ceramic. I do know that Coleman sells a full line of light-weight racing rotors geared towards lighter cars and elevated racing brake temps/pads/fluids, but I can't say I'd apply them to any street applications. Anything you do to reduce the thermal mass of the rotor essentially increases the peak operating temps, so everything else needs to be spec'd to match. Depending on the type of track event, the reduction in inertia could be a bigger advantage than elevated brake temps are a disadvantage. The price seems about right to me, although the Coleman rotors tend to be on the relatively inexpensive side compared to others...must be the oversized aluminum hats or something. It does seem a little odd to me that at that price they're not using NAS hardware. All of the DBA 5000 series rotors use NAS high-temp stainless fasteners and are cost competitive, just heavier. If you look at the hat on the LG/Coleman rotor, it looks like it's their 8" bolt circle, directional vane series...that hat is huge.

Camaro2nv...send us an email with your application and we'd be more than happy to send you a copy of the installation instructions with all of the component needed to complete the conversion.

Tobin
KORE3

[camaro2nv]

Dan, the GM shipping weight of the C6 Z06 front rotor (GM #19121787) is listed as 28# and measures more like 27# by my scale, however the rotor itself w/o a box weighs in right under 26#. The DBA 4000 series rotors are basically OE knockoffs with respect to the overall dimensions, cheek thicknesses, weight, etc, but with much better metallurgy and heat treatment. Plus, the fact that they're a non-directional pillar vane instead of left-hand only like the OE's makes them an easy choice for anyone looking to increase their braking performance over the OE stuff.

I'm not very familiar with the LG/Coleman 2-piece rotors (http://www.lgmotorsports.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=474_479&products_id=1968) that only weigh 15.7# :wow: aside from what's on their website. The only thing I've seen in that weight range for a 14"x 12.6" all-pupose rotor has been ceramic. I do know that Coleman sells a full line of light-weight racing rotors geared towards lighter cars and elevated racing brake temps/pads/fluids, but I can't say I'd apply them to any street applications. Anything you do to reduce the thermal mass of the rotor essentially increases the peak operating temps, so everything else needs to be spec'd to match. Depending on the type of track event, the reduction in inertia could be a bigger advantage than elevated brake temps are a disadvantage. The price seems about right to me, although the Coleman rotors tend to be on the relatively inexpensive side compared to others...must be the oversized aluminum hats or something. It does seem a little odd to me that at that price they're not using NAS hardware. All of the DBA 5000 series rotors use NAS high-temp stainless fasteners and are cost competitive, just heavier. If you look at the hat on the LG/Coleman rotor, it looks like it's their 8" bolt circle, directional vane series...that hat is huge.

Camaro2nv...send us an email with your application and we'd be more than happy to send you a copy of the installation instructions with all of the component needed to complete the conversion.

Tobin
KORE3

Will do! Thanks for the reply!

[68sixspeed]

Tobin- yes, the LG/Coleman setup is a good weight savings. The large dia hat helps a lot, and the venting configuration is pretty important in the weight savings too. I cnc'd up a set of custom hats to make them work for ProBell's 67 camaro (he got the calipers from you) and he has a few track days on it already with real good luck. It's heading for the motorsports challenge next week. I also have a set of Racing Brake's 2pc rotors for my z06 which drop some weight too, but the replacement rings are a lot more $ than the coleman's. But short of these type of $900+/pr front rotors, the DBA's are the way to go for sure!

[Apogee]

Dan, thanks for the info and definitely post up with your results with the light weight rotors. I'd like to hear how they hold up given the conditions and pads ProBell is running.

I reread the LG product listing for their light weight rotors, and it appears that they do come with upgraded hardware...could just be a photo thing that makes them look like standard industrial fasteners.

Tobin
KORE3

[tellyv]

by the time you upgrade pads and do lightweight rotors would'nt it be more cost effective to go with big aftermarket brakes like wilwoods?

[camaro2nv]

by the time you upgrade pads and do lightweight rotors would'nt it be more cost effective to go with big aftermarket brakes like wilwoods?

Thats what Im trying to figure out. So far
1000.00 for the calipers
180.00 Hawk pads
1100.00 2piece Baer Eradispeed Brake Rotors
Now Im just waiting on a list from Tobin for the rest. So far so good.

[tellyv]

I called kore on friday and they dont make anything for the c4 yet I would need to send them the spindles and rear knuckles, I also talked to jims hot rods they've done the upgrade for their tri five c4 suspentions and it would cost around $800 to machine the rear knuckles and upgrade the fronts but when their done you can use the stock style e brake, now add all the other parts, you can buy a complete stock c6 zo6 kit on ebay with everything rotors, calipers, pads and hoses, for 1680 plus 100 for shipping but that with all the heavy parts and crappy brake pads, so at 2600+ and a bunch of time down the drain sending parts around the country I think its just better for me to upgrade to an aftermarket brake system. So I'll check some vendors here and see what kind of prices I can get. So if any vendors want to check on a 85 c4 vette upgrade let me know.

[DEIGuy38]

When I was looking for brakes I spoke to a guy who did quite a bit of track time with a C6 ZO6 and was having alot of problems with his brakes. He told me if it was just for looks go for it but if there was going to be any track time stay away. He was in the process of a law suit with GM over the brake system. When the calipers would get hot the bleeder screws would back out and no front brakes, how would you like that a Laguna Seca. After changing the pads a few times the bolts were stripping out, and there is 6 pads per front caliper. He was upgrading to bear equipment. I decided to call Tobin at Kore 3 and went with the C6 Z51 kit. Good luck in what ever you chose.