the kits are practically the same cost. any word on which is better?

 

I prefer the C5 , first because the caliper is nearly the same, second the maintenance parts is much cheaper since its a GM product and it can be found at any dealership or parts store(uap,autozone ,etc)

 

to be honest though, there's not much maintenence on any brake system. just typical stuff. plus, have u seen the prices for vete stuff recently? damn i canb get the track kit for 549 right now

 

The Baer kit has been known to develop uneven pad wear in racing applications due to bracket flex.

 

i don't do much racing. i'll see i guess. which is easier to install

 

Depends on which C5 conversion bracket you get.

 

C5 Kit definetly. I bought brackets from kore3. Customer service is great and the product was perfect. I bought Calipers from a salvage yard that included abutment brackets and brake hoses. I bought the rotors(AC Delco Drilled and Slotted) the brackets, and dust boots from kore3. THe kit included all the hardware. The brakes feel and look awesome. I just posted a thread with pictures of my new brakes. My total cost including calipers, rotors, pads, conversio brackets, and all the hardware cost $540

 

C5 kit was pretty darn easy to install... just make sure you've got everything you need and you should be able to easily do it in an afternoon.

Caliper kit (lots of stuff, calipers, pads, abutment bracket, slides, hardware, etc...)
Rotors
Conversion Bracket (comes with replacement hub bolts)
~15" brake lines (for lt1 cars)
Lube for the slides
loctite
sawzall or angle grinder to take off the tabs
cutting oil if you're using a sawzall
brake fluid

That's about it... I'd rate it as an 'Easy' mod (and I'm no mechanic) and WELL worth the effort.

For difficulty reference (since we're all different)... other stuff I've done:

front u/l control arms - moderate (siezed bolts were a PITA)
Shocks/Springs - moderate
rear bushings - easy
MSD6/MAF Translater install - easy
electric water pump - moderate (fair amount of custom wiring)
Hot Cam, 1.6 RR's, Extreme duty timing chain - Hard
Dual Friction Clutch (tranny rebuilt too but not by me) - Hard
Hella Headlight upgrade - moderate

 

I wanted to go with the C5 upgrade but the calipers did not clear the inside of my Enkei 17" rims. I went with the Baer Track Kit. The C5 calipers are built better to reduce flex under extreme braking. The Baer kit is modeled after the C4 design. Early Baer calipers had a problem with calipers spreading under heavy use; the design was changed to reduce this issue.

 

so do u like your track kit from baer?

 

oh, and what about zo6 brakes? I'm guessing they are the same caliper but with a slightly bigger rotor??

 

Z06 brakes are the same as regular C5 except for the pads.
Maintenance cost differences will not be significant until you replace the rotors. C5 rotors are as cheap as $20 or so. Baer replacement rotors are much more expensive.
Bracket flexing on Baer kits? Hard to beleive. My Baer kit came with pretty heavy steel brackets.
Between the two I'd go with the C5s. My guess is they are lighter, use a better caliper and less expensive and undrilled rotors.

 

why are driller rotors a bad thing? If i'm going to upgrade the brakes, id want a little bit of looks from some slotted or drilled rotors.

 

Drilled and slotted rotors crack. It's pretty much proven that drilling and slotting a rotor does absolutely nothing for brake performance... it's just for looks. And in the case when racing teams do it.. it is for reducing the weight of the rotor.

 

ok, but for daily use and looks, those should be more than applicable. i'm guessing drilling hurts integrity more than slotting?