what is the problem with stock LT1 brakes?

other than the fact that they are single piston brakes, I eard there is something about the front brakes being small in comparison with the rear brakes, and it causing wheel hop, or something like that. I can't remember exactly what it was I read, but it folowed the same principle that the front brakes do 80% of the work, and having the rear brakes that are too big(not necessarily in size, but in stopping power) causing something detrimental when road racing. I know I sound very confusing, but I can't rmeember the term, otherwise this would make perfect sense :)

Basic problem is that the front brakes are JUST BAREALY adequate for stopping a 3500 or so pound car, and if you push a bit you'll quickly find their limit.

I don't have a wheel hop problem on mine, but I do get fade pretty quickly if I'm on the brakes a lot (twisties or whatnot), and stopping distance is pretty weak too compared to current standards.

The rear brakes are actually not to big. They are fine. They only do about 25-30% of the braking so they don't need to be that powerful. You want them to be balanced with the front. Unfortunately, as was stated, the front brakes are marginal at best for a car of this size and performance, so if anything other than normal driving is attempted, the front brakes start to fade away quickly. Yes, you can get axle hop in the rear if to much bias is sent there and you are braking heavily as in a track event, but alot of that has to do with the inherent design characteristics of a solid axle rear and how your front suspension can keep the nose from compressing under braking and preventing further unweighting of the rear. Being able to adjust the rear shock rebound can also help but this is getting more complicated. If you increase spring rate on the front, this can help reduce hop on a track by lifting the rear less as well. Do a search and you will see many threads about upgrades for the front brakes. Some are very cost effective. If yours is only a street car, the stock brakes should be adequate and maybe you could try some better brake pads.

My '94 will rear wheel hop during autocross under heavy braking and if I let out the clutch at a fast speed for 1st gear.

Alledgedly, the 98+ ones depend more on the antilock brakes and less on front/rear static proportioning and are more likely to have wheel hop problems. (Secondhand info from a discussion on http://www.sccaforums.com)

To drive on the street at 70 mph with decent pads they do fine.

But if you're doing 120 coming into a corner and they die because they gotten way too hot due to small rotors and braking too hard for too many laps, you can end up in a swamp as a result, like I did.

That was with $180 race pads up front, and PFZ pads in the rear, with huge ducts and 600 degree fluid.

So, if you're going to run LT1 brakes on the track, get the best ones you can and take care not to cook them.

BobC

actually, I'm planning on picking up a set of the brembo sport rotors/pads off of ebay, i see them everyonce in awhile and was jsut wondering if it'd be worth it to pick them up. Eeventually i want to get one of the varations of brembo brakes up front(mov'it, or that porsche kit, whichever is cheaper at the time as i think they are both basically the same)

I hadn't really had that much problems with my LT1 brakes until I visited a brake intensive track and they faded pretty badly.

I don't have any wheel hop issues.

I do have a set of C5 brakes waiting to go on though.

I really don't see any reason you would need Brembo brakes unless you seriously road race the car. If you have money and don't care where it goes more power to you but wasting it on a $2000+ brake set for the street is not money well spent. I road race with my car in SCCA exclusively. It is not even streetable and will be making over 400rwhp next season. I got the C5 brakes. The replacement costs are minimal and if they don't work then maybe I will have to consider a more expensive set-up. But they are definitely worth trying first. I don't know if you do any type of competition but if you do, I would not waste any more money on the LT1 brakes. For starters, an upgrade to LS1 fronts will cost you as much as good rotors and pads for the useless stock set-up and you will notice a big difference in braking performance. And for only a little more you can go one better with C5 stuff. That would be money well spent. Hell, with the money you save you could start to improve the suspension next.

i thought that one of the porsche/brembo kits was right around $1400? For what yu get, I thought the price was pretty reasonable. I haven't started racing yet, but when I get some time off from school, I want to go to a "driving school" and take a couple of lessons there, and figure I should be prepared, brake wise, considering everyone complains about the LT1 brakes.

I have heard the same, so what how do you think the brakes would hold up on a ~3200 lbs car?

yeah there are some advantages to a lack of hp.

I haven't had much trouble, but going form 120-60 is not pretty common, but I do autocross and go from 80-45 sometimes on the streets braking at threshold of lockup.

MY problem is eat rotors and pad like you wouldn't believe.

I am trying somewhat performance pads, hopefully they are not as harsh on rotors.

The maker of the Brembo kit, Pro Performance, offered the kit initially at $1495 as an intro I believe but that is no longer in effect. It is now $2000. At $1400 even I was ready to grab them even though I had just purchased the C5 kit. At $2000, while still the best-priced Brembo kit, I can't rate them a no-brainer because that is some serious money. Again, if you really race and want the best, then go for it. But you don't need those brakes to autocross or go to the track occassionally. Plus, replacement rotors are well over $100(120 or so?) while you can get C5 rotors under $75. Plus, I have seen C5 calipers or entire front set-ups on Corvette sites for dirt cheap.

Originally posted by chrisbarr
The maker of the Brembo kit, Pro Performance, offered the kit initially at $1495 as an intro I believe but that is no longer in effect. It is now $2000. At $1400 even I was ready to grab them even though I had just purchased the C5 kit. At $2000, while still the best-priced Brembo kit, I can't rate them a no-brainer because that is some serious money. Again, if you really race and want the best, then go for it. But you don't need those brakes to autocross or go to the track occassionally. Plus, replacement rotors are well over $100(120 or so?) while you can get C5 rotors under $75. Plus, I have seen C5 calipers or entire front set-ups on Corvette sites for dirt cheap.

I didn't know that was an introductory price :(

ah well, maybe I'll look into the c5 kit a bit more.

What is the CR brake kit and where can I get it?

Opps, i mean what is the C5 braking kit? Is it a stock C5 brake rotor and caliper that is a take off from a C% vette or are complete kits that a distributor/supplier selles?
What is needed for the install?

And does the abs still work on '95 F0-bodies after the install?

The C5 kit uses stock C5 rotors, pads, and calipers that you can get nearly anywhere.

You can buy just the bracket and supply the rest of the parts yourself. Or you can buy a complete kit with everything.

http://www.nashvillespeed.com/Fbody/Brake%20Brackets/brakekit.htm

Edit: And yes, the ABS will still work just fine :D