for a daily driven street car 4 wheel discs in good working condition with good pads and braided brake line is a very good and cost efficient setup.

if money is no object and you can go up a size in wheels the baer track kit is unbelievable. go with the optional eradispeed lightweight rotors and not only will you pick up speed but you can easily put someone through a windshield when stopping. i worry more about the guy behind me under hard pressure stops then myself which is just as scarry.

for my second choices i would definately say go with the LS1 brakes if you plan to keep wheels or c4-5 if your into total fabrication. they aren't nearly as nice as the baer or brembo setups but they serve the purpose and will save you money.

 

Here's a link to the LS1 front brake swap info:

http://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/show...hreadid=183169

I would have went with the LS1s or C5s but I wanted to keep my 16" wheels. The C4 setup I just installed is just like the Baer 12" Sport kit, but cost me $700 less. Don't get me wrong, Baer makes great stuff, but I have better stuff to do with my money than have calipers that say "BAER"...my C4 upgrade performs just as well. Guys over on www.corvetteforum.com will sell their old C4 setups cheap, then all you'd need is the brackets and mod your spindles.


Ed

 

Here's my setup: 1LE rotors, generic two-piston calipers and pads, and a homemade custom caliper adapter:

http://para.noid.org/~thresher/image...s&dispsize=800

 

out of all the options i'd have to agree with ed's setup. in theory if it performs identical to the c4 setup, which it should, for the price it's definately the right way to go if you don't mind doing the work.

one thing you have to remember is all the extra labor that was put into it to make it work.

for me, 900 for a 13" lightweight and good looking rotor with a beautifully polished caliper that performs more then one would ever need on the street is a good deal. you can get the bare bones baer sport kits for as low as 650 and install them in less then a few hours. so for those few reasons alone they can make a better option for some. to each their own but it's definately good to know your options.

 

Yep...just like my C5 stuff, although my C5 stuff was a fair amount less than $900.

IMO, Baer and Brembo are highly overrated.

There's a reason why World Challenge series C5s run stock calipers...they do the job and they do it very well. C5 brakes with quality rotors are world class brakes, considering they're 2 piston.

People will rant and rave about 2 piston being inferior to 4 piston, etc, etc...but when it comes down to it, amount doesn't so much matter as the overall total piston diameter and the pad surface area.

You can have 12 piston calipers, but if their total diameter/surface area is less than that of a 2 piston caliper, the 2 piston will stop better. Not only that but C5 brakes have a gigantic pad (I believe 9 sq") which is near double the size that Wilwood, for example, allows you to run. More pad area touching the rotor the better you'll stop.

Not only the performance aspects of this stuff count...but the maintenence factors count too. You don't have to rebuild a daily/street driven GM caliper (C5) like you do other brands like Wilwood and the like. That's a big plus to lots of people, me included. And a lot of other people don't even know they have to rebuild the calipers frequently and just don't do it...

But anyway...to each their own.

Eric

 

eric the c5 is a very nice setup no doubt but you know good and well that a baer kit looks cooler with the 2 piece rotors.

what did your c5 kit run you anyhow....i've seen all the parts go for as low as 400 which is pretty good.

 

Personally, I think mine look pretty damn cool, but I'm sure your's look cool as well. I had the option to do two piece rotors, but stuck with one piece for ease of use, and the slight weight savings is just that...slight.

I guess if you're into looks more than performance, your Baer kit with the two piece rotors works perfectly for you.

Buying everything BRAND NEW (Z06 calipers, drilled/slotted rotors, brackets, pads, stainless lines, etc) and having some fabrication done (since I don't have a machine shop at my disposal) I think I spent around $600.

Here's what my set-up looks like. These was taken 1 week ago today, at my club's "Performance Driving Experience" hence the different wheels and the slicks.

Pic 1. For reference...
Pic 2. Disregard the chips in the paint...that's the result of running slicks that are too wide. I had the 18s in the rear and the 17s up front originally and the 17s are over an inch taller and they caught the fender and messed it up. Oh well...gotta get it fixed.

Those are 13"x1.25" zinc washed drilled/slotted rotors. They'll NEVER wear out and the combination stops like a madman.

I'm pleased.

Eric

 

that looks pretty damn good eric. what rims are those up front?


the only thing i'd have to argue with is the weight issue. 5lb difference between the single piece rotor and the two piece rotor is alot of weight. that's almost 10 lbs of rotational weight your removing off of the car which is pretty good. have no idea what your rotors weigh but no one can complain about that.

 

Thanks. I have 18x9.5 C5 Magnesium wheels up front, for the track. I'd like to find 2 more 18s to go with them. I had them sold, but got my hands on some slicks...so I had to hold on to them. Now I want more of them.

They're a great wheel, especially for racing. They weigh about 16lbs each.

Yeah 5lbs is a big difference, but honestly I don't know what my stuff weighs. Either way, I could've gotten a 2 piece rotor for my set-up as well...so they are available.

Eric

 

what do the 2 piece rotors cost for that setup.

i know the eradispeed replacement rotor is just over 200 a rotor which isn't cheap at all but you can use popular makes for replacements thankfully.

another nice benefit over some of the larger piston setups is the parts. not only do these 2 piston setups work very well on the street but you can get replacement parts at most part stores.