I've been looking into some sort of brake upgrade for my LT1. I will be participateing in autocross and roadraceing events shortly, so I will deffinately be needing some better brakes.

I came across this C5 brake conversion kit from UMI. It says it comes with everything needed to convert LT1 front brakes to C5 brakes, but do I need anything else? Does anybody have this kit? If so, how do you like it?
http://www.umiperformance.com/2120B1.aspx

I would probably be useing undrilled, unslotted rotors because i've heard that slotted, drilled rotors have less stopping power and are more for looks and less weight. And it comes with Hawk HPS pads, are these good?

Are there any brake upgrades for the rear? I feel like if i'm upgradeing the fronts to stop better, the rears will need a little something extra too.

 

I am waiting on my BB brackets so I can do the same conversion. The UMI kit looks just as good to me. I hear the rear upgrade is not noticable. ??? I would get the smooth rotors also. Too many drilled ones crack.
Anyway, start looking for a T56. Your auto is going to fry wiether it's built up or not. I am doing a T56 rebuild right now and swapping out the A4. The A4 will never be in the right RPM range going around the track. It's going to sux. Besides that the best upgrade for an f body is tires, tires, tires.

 

I got the exact same UMI kit and the brackets are very good quality,it comes with everything you need except longer flex brake line(the lt1 one are too short).You will need c5 brake line and those bolts directly to any f-body.

The slotted and drilled rotor suck,they crack and dont do anything good except looking good

For the rear i only changed the pad with matching hawk hps.

Now my car braking is totally awesome

 

I think I read somewhere that Bear has a larger rear rotor that still uses the stock caliper. Does anybody know anything about this, like where to get it and if they are slotted or drilled, and a price?

Should I get those C5 brake lines at the dealership or is there a cheaper/better place to get them? Should I get some stainless lines? Anybody have any part numbers?

 

I am getting ready to do the C5 upgrade to my LT1 brakes also. I got a set of Trackbrackets (Bob Bishop design) for 220 in the for sale section and everthing else for 200 off ebay from a 2002 corvette. SpeedSpecialty has the brackets and they are much higher quality than the UMI. http://www.speedspecialty.com/store/...=c5fbodybrakes
And there is a complete parts list at the bottom of that page. For pads you should go with Hawk hp+ for a better initial bite but they will wear rotors out faster. And I agree, slotted and especially drilled rotors are mainly for looks. Just get a cheap set if you are using abrasive pads. For the rears you should just get better pads and call it a day since its not really cost effective to swap out for LS1 axles to upgrade them. A place called "Team chevrolet" has a deal for the C5 parts...read the parts list for contact info (450 w/o pads, 550 with) if you insist on buying new parts. And be sure to go with a quality fluid like Castrol synthetic or Superblue. Also, you will need the springs and shims for the pads which I think can be bought from Napa separately but the Z06 pads come with them. For lines, go with stock Corvette rubber ones...the braided lines can get grit inside the braids that can eventually rub a hole in them.

 

I see BYUNSPEED has a special for the C5 conversion kit for about $40 cheaper than UMI.

http://www.byunspeed.com/product_inf...f3ce60d0c71390

I was searching around for rear brakes and found these Bear 13" 2 piece rotors for $675. Does this use the stock calipers or what, and would it be a nice upgrade for the rear?

http://www.tbyrnemotorsports.com/lt1catalog.html Under brakes and scroll down a bit.

I also found this Bear front kit cheaper than the C5 kit, but it doesnt show any details. I guess its the track kit. Would this be better than the C5 kit? Or should I stick with the C5 kit because I have heard Bear replacement parts such as rotors and pads are expensive?

http://www.texas-speed.com/shop/item...emid=6&catid=2

 

And how is one braket better than an other. They look exactly the same to me. Only difference I see is the price.

 

Hey Kevin, make sure the C5 brakes will clear your wheels/rims. It says you need at least 17" rims..but I have 17" Simmons OMs and they would not clear...found out after I had bought everything, but luckily before I hacked up my spindles. I had read where some 17" rims didn't clear but it didn't say anything about the rims I had and got to thinking, and had a buddy come over with a C5 and tried to bolts my wheels up on his car to find out they didn't fit. The two piece wheel bolts were extremely close to the caliper and the valve stem hit.
I ended up doing the LS1 brake conversion as I didn't want to get bigger rims, especially after spending a ton of $ on the wheels.

 

The Bishop design is much stronger and cut from a single piece of aluminum. The others dont appear to be but I could be wrong. They have that solid link between the two mounting holes and are much less likely to flex under track use...which means less of a chance of uneven pad and rotor wear, and a more solid feel when you get on the brakes. That is the one piece you dont want to skimp on since they have a huge load on them under hard braking. And I'd stay away from the Baer stuff because replacement pads and rotors are very expensive. I'm pretty sure to do any upgrade on the rear of an LT1 car beyond pads..the axles have to be changed to the LS1 style. Just not worth it unless its strictly a track car.

 

I am sure you have tried them both and have facts to back this up

 

I can't comment on the other guys' brackets, but I got a set of the original Bob Bishop brackets back when he was the only act in town, and I was very impressed with the quality and close tolerances. The holes were kept to a minimum clearance - no slop at all, and they fit perfect. The parts were not typical of aftermarket parts and more like something you would see on a purpose built race car. One of the best upgrades I ever did, BTW.

 

Cheaper is not always better. I'm not bashing UMI, just trying to let the guy know what his options are.

I think the pictures speak for themselves..
UMIbrackets


Trackbrackets

 

DO NOT SKIMP ON YOUR BRAKES! You can stop a car a LOT faster than you can accelerate it.

I read about folks buying top dollar parts to go fast and then want to cheap out on brakes to stop it.

Trackbrackets are the design you want. I've had LGs adaptors and Bishop's adaptors both on my street car.

LGMs adaptors are the best going IMHO. They mount in line with abutment brackets and therfore reduce lateral loading. But, they require 98+ knuckles.

Kevin bought Bob's design and has exclusive marketing rights on that design. They are machined out of billet aluminum and hell for stout, having seen many track days and track miles.

You are wise to stay away from slotted and drilled rotors. At this level and at these prices, they do absolutely no good.

Your stopping power will from the pads. I have been having excellent luck with Carbotech XP10as on the front and XP8s on the rear in my '96 CMC Firebird.

 

When I did this mod exactly a year ago for about $600, stupid ****** said the UMI type brackets would be weak and break and all this dumb shi+. I got em from a company called Kore3 on Ebay for $100, gold colored. Today, I stomped the brakes and smoked the hell out of my tires when I missed the entrance to a KFC, because my ABS sensor got chewed up by the reluctor ring from my last gear install. So yeah, the brakets hold up.

Some people just like to be mod elitists.

 

Ive got 18" Z06 wheels, so im not worried about clearance. Thanks for letting me know though.