Calderone

Hi there,im really concerned about my brake system and im thinking about a complete upgrade in the near future.-
Very soon i will be replacing the Master Cylinder for a brand new one
and will install the Doug Rippie spring there.-
- Goodridge Stainless steel lines
- Complete E-brake cables and stainess steel hardware
- Speed Bleeders

Ok here we come to the good part.-
i was looking for wilwood brakes (rotors and calipers) but i can't find
any for 84-87 !!! Only 88-up !!! What's the deal here ?

So,my question is,should i go for the C5 brake upgrade or should i look at Wilwood or other performance brake brand ?

Should i upgrade the fronts only or all the way around ????
How hard is the upgrade ? Does the C5 brake upgrade match
the Wilwood experience ?

I have ZERO experience on the brake department,please let me know
Thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Calderone

i think i'd better install master cyl,stainless steel lines,bias spring and a fluid flush.-
We'll see if it improves.-

c4cruiser

I just finished my C5 upgrade on my 87, This is the thread I started about it. Included are the prices of the various components I purchased and the vendors. Given your location, you will most likely pay higher prices because of any shipping and/or customs fees.

The swap was very straight forward to do and everything was basically a bolt on. 17" wheels will be a requirement for the C5 brake upgrade.

There may be no real reason to upgrade the rear brakes outside of going to a good performance pad. The 84-87 cars have an internal drum-style parking brake and the later cars use the caliper as the parking brake, That's extra work to do along with extra expense. The actual dimensions of the 84-87 rear calipers and rotors are not that much different in the 88 and later cars. Even the rear C5 brakes are similar in size.

I have used my 87 for track days with the OEM calipers and rotors and found that pads like the Hawk HP+ in front and Hawk HPS in the rear do a very good job of hauling the car down from 125+ to 20-30MPH with no fade. I use ATE Super Blue (DOT4) fluid and never boiled the fluid even with no brake duct cooling. The HP+ pads dust heavily on the track and squeal when cold. But they work

Using a good performance pad, a good grade of brake fluid, and the stainless lines will provide very good braking performance for the street and "spirited" driving. Adding the DRM bias spring will help with nosedive on hard braking.

Calderone

thanks seems like there is a lot of braking research fun coming for me !

vetteracer92

What are your intentions for the car? Unless you plan on track days, a j-55 upgrade with good pads will work well, and you wouldn't have to worry about wheel clearance issue if using stock wheels.

Calderone

Just an upgrade of the stock brakes.-
Street use,rarely drag

jsinga

If you still have stock 87 wheels they will fit over the J55 brakes, C4 HD, if you have the 9.5" wheels that come on Z-51 or Z52 cars.
Otherwise new wheels and tires will make the brake upgrade pricy. 17" wheels will give a lot wider tire selection.
C5 rotors are cheaper and everything but the adapter bracket can be had used for reasonable prices for either setup.

JS

Calderone

I have Fikse FM5's
17 x 8.5 fronts plus 1.25" spacers

coupeguy2001

Sammy, C5 stuff is cheaper, and it bolts on in 4 hours start to finish, includes bleeding.
paint the calipers red, and they are z06 calipers

Carl Johansson

I hung out in the C-5 section - thoise guys are always wanting to upgrade to C-6 brakes. When I saw a post about upgrading - I would email them and ask for their used stuff. I think I got the complete front setup for less than 200 bucks -

Carl Johansson

redrose

stainless braid/teflon lined hose is DANGEROUS on street cars, is intended for trucks using low press AIR for brake op not 2k+ psi hydraulic fluid pass cars, air press loss on trucks locks the brake/wheel (long 'truck' skid marks on roads everywhere due to this) but no warning on your car if hyd fluid leaks...road grit passes between the ss braid and/or at end fittings and wears holes in the teflon liner...'panic' brake application can produce a pressure 'spike' that can burst tubing/fittings/etc if 'rubber' hoses which act as 'cushions' are not in the brake system, resulting in TOTAL brake failure (just when needed most)

bias spring mod can KILL...ANY time the rear wheels are locked while the fronts still roll, IMMEDIATE loss of operator control occurs...'I' personally have sat in several race cars facing traffic at corner entry points due to 'dialing in' too much rear brake (race cars use driver operated prop valve in cockpit to control rear bias), many others have done the same on race tracks, totally NOT desireable on street.

worldsaway

I've heard that with the increase in front braking ability from the C5 setup that it was well-balanced. I could see it being a problem if the only change in the system was the bias spring.

Mojave

I know plenty of people using steel braided hoses, none have had these issues. Plenty of AN hoses are spec'ed to something like 4,000 PSI. I wouldn't worry about it.

While the bias spring could dial in too much rear bias, and you are correct that locking the rears means a spin, his car has ABS, so I don't see that being a big problem.

Now, to the OP, just why do you need a brake upgrade anyway for street use? Put some real pads on it and I'm sure the stock brakes are more than adequate.

0Randy@DRM

Our lines meet DOT standards, and the bias spring has proven to be not too much and not too little.

Randy