C5 Vs. Baer, Which is better Value?

Which costs more? Baers gt plus (13.15 inch rotor) front only, is like $900 (any1 know where its cheaper?)

But what does a C5 swap cost?

Which is better?
Mostly Daily Driver, Minimal Auto-X

I'd like to hear this answered also.
From what I have priced both options come in close to each other in price.
The C5 conversion has 12.8" rotors where the GTP has 13.1 or 13.4 " rotors with an option to got to 14" for extra.
I think they both have 2 pistons calipers.

The Bob Bishop braket may save some weight over the bear setup. btu they are not available anymore so G2 may be an option but probably heavier than a BB bracket.

The only thing I can think of thay favors the C5 conversion is the rotors are $50us to replace rather than 130-150 Bear rotors.

Can you have the baer rotors turned (resurfaced) even?

I gust got my Baer GT plug kit from Tbyrne for $720.00

http://img28.exs.cx/img28/4024/brake18ve.jpg

I am not so sure they don't use C5 calipers on the GT+ kits. I will find some pics of the C5 caliper and make sure. I know they use the C5 Pads.

I polished my calipers too.
http://img224.exs.cx/img224/2893/10016857wn.jpg
http://img240.exs.cx/img240/5597/polishedbaer2xt.jpg

Here is a pic I took just to make sure they would clear my ZR1's
http://img179.exs.cx/img179/4259/sigpic2uo.jpg

No question, C5 brakes. Even if they were the same price as the Baer brakes I'd go with them.

What did you all get with the Baer GT kit?

Yes, the GT kit is the C5 caliper. The rotor is slightly different though. If you get two piece rotors with the GT kit for $900, that's a pretty good deal, especially if it comes with stainless lines.

My entire C5 brake conversion was $840 including two sets of pads, stainless hoses, and a bottle of ATE TYP 200 fluid. Without the extra set of pads, stainless lines and fluid, it was $725.

Dan

I have the C5 brakes, they are incredible compared to stock.

But, if you can't get the brackets, the C5 conversion would be out of the question.

What did you all get with the Baer GT kit?

Yes, the GT kit is the C5 caliper. The rotor is slightly different though. If you get two piece rotors with the GT kit for $900, that's a pretty good deal, especially if it comes with stainless lines.

My entire C5 brake conversion was $840 including two sets of pads, stainless hoses, and a bottle of ATE TYP 200 fluid. Without the extra set of pads, stainless lines and fluid, it was $725.

Dan


I got everything need to swap the fronts. 2 pice rotors, front pads, calipers,SS lines, brakets. Only thing the kit don't come with is fluid. I did get my kit on sale that is why I only paid 720.00

I got everything need to swap the fronts. 2 pice rotors, front pads, calipers,SS lines, brakets. Only thing the kit don't come with is fluid. I did get my kit on sale that is why I only paid 720.00

That is an incredible price. Good find.

Dan

No question, C5 brakes. Even if they were the same price as the Baer brakes I'd go with them.


The kit in question is A C5 kit only diffrence is the brakets will work with the LT1 spindles/and a two pice rotor/ only down side is some guys don't want X Drilled/Slotted rotors, I did so it was an ever better deal for me. tbyrnemotorsports.com Has them onsale right now. It says to call for pricing. I got mine a month ago at 720.00

Is everyone absolutely sure the Baer kits use C5 rotors?
There are at least 3Baer kits that use rotors that range in size from about 12.8 to 14"
There is a GTplus kit with 13.4" rotors. C5s have 12.8" rotors and if you get a Z5X package there rotors are 13.4".
Anyone know if the C5 (Z5X option) rotors will work with the 13.4" Bear brake kit?
If so i would buy these in a gippy.

Also,
Is the Baer conversion bracket Aluminum or steel? i would be interested in seeing the weight of it compared to Bobs bracket. Anyone that can measure this easily ( ie has brake kit in hands)?
Is the Caliper Al on all Bear brakes from the GT to the GTplus?

As far as the rotor size my GT + kit has 13.15" 2 pice rotors. but I don't see what diffrence it makes if you still using stock C5 pad the rotor can be 15" but without bigger caliper and pads it's not going to matter.

the bigger your rotor the more torque you can apply to the wheel when braking, of course this is only the case if the C5 caliper is positioned to rub on the outer last edge of the rotor diameter.

Is there anyone that can answer the slew of questions I posted inthe last response?

Baer does not use C5 rotors. The calipers are the same as the C5 though. Not sure about the brackets. My Bob Bishop brackets are aluminum.

Dan

I dont want the stupid Baer kit because I dont want to have to pay the outlandish prices for new rotors. I can pick up new C5 rotors at napa for nothing. In my mind the performance either kit will offer is equal, so it comes down to maintenance. If I wear out a set of rotors with some extremely hard track use, it's nothing to replace them and the pads....

You make a good point I never looked at it that way. I know with the 2 peice rotor you can just get the rotor and not the hub I think that saves a little money there. So if you were racing on bigger tracks going threw brakes like crazy it might be a better deal/stronger rotor too, to go with a "C5" Kit. But if you can get the baer kit cheaper,(mostly LT1 guys, they don't have to find brakets or spindles) and if you wear out the rotors I think you could use cheaper rotors with the baer kit too?

The other factor for some guys might be weight. I can weigh the rotors, and brakets if any of you guys want to know what the diffrence is?

I just wanted to note that my Bob Bishop brackets are made of steel, not aluminum. I prefer steel for the bracket material. I am pretty sure the Baer kits all use steel too.

Other than the bracket, all the other parts required for the C5 brake conversion are available from gm.

I did have to use 1/8" wheel spacers for my centerline wheels to clear the calipers.

The only downside to the conversion is you can't install 15" or 16" drag race rims anymore, like Welds.

I just wanted to note that my Bob Bishop brackets are made of steel, not aluminum. I prefer steel for the bracket material. I am pretty sure the Baer kits all use steel too.

Other than the bracket, all the other parts required for the C5 brake conversion are available from gm.

I did have to use 1/8" wheel spacers for my centerline wheels to clear the calipers.

The only downside to the conversion is you can't install 15" or 16" drag race rims anymore, like Welds.

I have pictures of my Bob Bishop brackets and C5 conversion on my webpage.

The early Bob Bishop brackets were steel. The recent design is anodized aluminum. My Bob Bishop brackets are aluminum and are awesome, Aluminum is better for weight, and these are just as strong as the steel brackets. Bob did all the stess testing on them.

I agree that the C5 rotors are much cheaper. My GM C5 rotors were $18 each, yeah that's right, $18 each from www.gmpartsdirect.com With shipping they are about $50 total.

The Bob Bishop brackets work with LT1 and LS1 spindles. No need for new spindles. The only problem is finding a set of Bob Bishop brackets.

Dan

If I'm not mistaken, the Baer kit (13.15") uses the same rotor as the ZR1. So I know you can get those rotors through other places. I think they are a few dollars more than the C5 rotors though. It's simple math, the bigger the rotor, the more stopping power.

I had the G2 kit on my WS6. If I find another F-body, I'll be going with bigger rotors for sure. Nothing against the C5 kits, they stop you a lot better than stock. However, it's like a cam, you get the mild LT4 Hot cam, and all of the sudden you want bigger.

I personally don't see any issue with going with any of the 3 kits (Baer, G2, or Bob's kit). Bob has been great at telling everyone the engineering aspects of his kit, and he's obviously put a lot of work and research in to it. His kit is good, and from what I hear the brackets are top knotch. I know that it's been debated many times, however all of the kits are better than stock. And if you put more money into brakes, you'll get a better kit.

I know for a fact that Baer is currently using C5 calipers on most of their 2 piston kits. The PBR C5 calipers are just engineered great and off the shelf. This cuts costs for them. Just like when they used the PBR C4 ZR1 calipers and ZR1 rotors back a few years ago. Baer won't steer you wrong on brakes, however you will normally have to pay a bit more for them.

Since the topic is value, it depends on what you want to do with your money. If you want to have the cheapest setup that you can, get a set of Bob's brackets or G2 brackets and buy a pair of rotors. Use the stock calipers, they have bigger pistons than the C5. You won't notice a difference in strength unless you actually run some track sessions, and even then, if you aren't a moderate to seasoned driver, you may still not feel any difference in the brakes. On the street, the stock LS1 calipers will feel much stronger braking, just because you have to put more pedal into the C5 calipers.

Now if you want to run road courses regularly, get a good kit that won't bust your budget. If you can afford it, get a 4 piston kit and bypass all the talk and BS that goes with the C5 vs. Baer upgrade.

BTW when I sold my car, I pull my C5 kit. The calipers are gone, but the rotors and G2 brackets remain. They are currently on ebay. If you'd like to see the G2 brackets, they are completely bolt on.

If I'm not mistaken, the Baer kit (13.15") uses the same rotor as the ZR1. So I know you can get those rotors through other places. I think they are a few dollars more than the C5 rotors though. It's simple math, the bigger the rotor, the more stopping power.

I had the G2 kit on my WS6. If I find another F-body, I'll be going with bigger rotors for sure. Nothing against the C5 kits, they stop you a lot better than stock. However, it's like a cam, you get the mild LT4 Hot cam, and all of the sudden you want bigger.

I personally don't see any issue with going with any of the 3 kits (Baer, G2, or Bob's kit). Bob has been great at telling everyone the engineering aspects of his kit, and he's obviously put a lot of work and research in to it. His kit is good, and from what I hear the brackets are top knotch. I know that it's been debated many times, however all of the kits are better than stock. And if you put more money into brakes, you'll get a better kit.

I know for a fact that Baer is currently using C5 calipers on most of their 2 piston kits. The PBR C5 calipers are just engineered great and off the shelf. This cuts costs for them. Just like when they used the PBR C4 ZR1 calipers and ZR1 rotors back a few years ago. Baer won't steer you wrong on brakes, however you will normally have to pay a bit more for them.

Since the topic is value, it depends on what you want to do with your money. If you want to have the cheapest setup that you can, get a set of Bob's brackets or G2 brackets and buy a pair of rotors. Use the stock calipers, they have bigger pistons than the C5. You won't notice a difference in strength unless you actually run some track sessions, and even then, if you aren't a moderate to seasoned driver, you may still not feel any difference in the brakes. On the street, the stock LS1 calipers will feel much stronger braking, just because you have to put more pedal into the C5 calipers.

Now if you want to run road courses regularly, get a good kit that won't bust your budget. If you can afford it, get a 4 piston kit and bypass all the talk and BS that goes with the C5 vs. Baer upgrade.

BTW when I sold my car, I pull my C5 kit. The calipers are gone, but the rotors and G2 brackets remain. They are currently on ebay. If you'd like to see the G2 brackets, they are completely bolt on.

Just a few notes. The Baer rotors are barely bigger than the C5. The C5 is 325mmx32mm, and the Baer rotor is 334x32mm. The other problem with too much leverage with larger rotors is that your brake balance gets too biased towards the front. That's why the slightly smaller pistons on the C5 kit is better than the slightly larger LS1 pistons. Even though the rotor is bigger than the stock LT1 rotor, the small piston diameter in the C5 kit helps keep the brakes balanced. Plus the smaller piston makes it so that you don't have to press the pedal as far for the pads to contact the rotor.

The pad area is also slightly larger with the C5 caliper vs the LS1 caliper.

The G2 brackets only work with the LS1 spindle.

Dan

The f-body LS1 cars are rear biased in the first place, and I've always run C5 pads on my car ever since the first change.

As for the G2 brackets, you are correct, I didn't specify that.

Stereomandan,

You mentioned you used the $18 durastop rotors on your C5 conversion.
How many miles have you piut on them so far? Are they holding up well?
I'm trying to see if they are as good as the stock ones.
Do you have pics or comparsions of the casting between the durastop and the stock C5 rotor? (things like metal used, vanes, rotor inner thickness, etc)

I don't have comparisons and I only have about 300 miles on them. They look like quality rotors though. They have the curved vanes, and nice thick sidewalls. About the only major difference I notice is that the center of the stock C5 rotor is painted black and the ones that I got are not painted at all. I will be painting the centers black though to keep ugly rust from showing up. Guys use these rotors for heavy use track days and report that the hold up just as well as the stock C5 rotor. I've heated up the brakes good when braking in the pads and rotors and everything has held up great.

You can see pictures of them on my webpage, but you can't see much.

Dan