93LT1

FYI:
I just installed the following with much much better than expected results.
Boy.. what a difference :)
My existing brake setup was completely stock on a car with 96,000 miles w/o any brake problems, just pads needing replacement.
(it's a daily driver)
Existing setup was:
12' frt rotors, calipers, rubber brake lines, stock pads, old brake fluid.

Installed new Hawk pads and Stainless steel brake lines all around
New GS calipers and GS 13 " rotors up front, new Synthetic brake fluid with
much higher dry and wet boil characteristics.

Results:
Oddly enough, the car has greater balance when stopping that is
it doesn't dip like it used too. (Perhaps flushing and bleeding the lines had something to do with this result)
Stopping distance has improved significantly. Feels like a new car. The rotors are significantly different compared to stock. They're thicker and have larger angled fins for improved air flow. I have pictures if interested.
My stock 17" sawblade wheels fit perfectly no mods what so ever. I can even see some of the corvette name on the calipers, although It's better when the wheel is spinning.
The brake pedal feels somewhat the same with the new steel lines. I was expecting a much firmer pedal feel.

From a SOP perspective, I highly recommend it.

I'd like to thank everyone who helped, and Jeff Kopp and TLD for the
quality parts and responsivness.

Hank

Goody

Glad it all worked out for the better and has met your expectations. :seeya

92TripleBlack

As long as you're happy, that's what counts. They should fit the stock rims. They were stock on all C4s made in '95 and '96 and optional years before. You may also want to add a DRM bias spring to level the braking even more.

MongooseLT4

I was under the impression that the GS calipers and rotors only came on the Grand Sport cars? I maybe wrong

Austin89

I second the recommendation for the bias spring replacement.
I did the same as you + this and the car handles very nice during
high speed braking. :yesnod:

ConeKLR

He is referring to the 13" size. All base 96 corvettes have 13" rotors and standard calipers.
The actual Grand Sport black calipers only came on the 96 Grand Sport and the 96 Collector Edition. :D

MongooseLT4

ohhhh ok, thanks for the clear up

92TripleBlack

You are correct. The calipers use the same pads and are functionally the same with the same piston size(38mm). The J55 standard brake just wasn't as pretty as the GS one. The C5 had the larger rotors(thicker and better cooling), larger pads, and stonger calipers with bigger pistons(40mm). It is about as big an upgrade over the GS/J55/ZR-1 brakes as they were over the standard 12" jobs.

Danno355

Far out,
I have the ZR-1 (same, just not as pretty) set sitting in my dining room waiting for my car to get out of the shop so I can install them.

Did you hit any snags, any tips for the install? how much time did it take you?

ZBRA

:cool: Stainless lines were a smart addition while you were at it! :cheers:

Zora

:cool: I did the same upgrade 2 years ago. What a difference :D

93LT1

Danno355
Make sure you have a breaker bar. I used a 24-26" unit. You'll need this in order to remove the very tight caliper mounting bolts. Service manual recommends 166lb of torque for reinstallation. I purchased new bolts from Jeff. (Play it safe and do the same, manual recommends discarding once removed)
I reused the bolts that mounts the brake lines to the calipers since the new brake lines didn't include it. I also sprayed some liquid wrench on the all the bolts I had to remove.
The biggest problem I had, was the removal of the existing brake hose. Make sure you use two wrenches for leverage. They all finally loosened up
but one gave me some trouble. I spent a lot of time cleaning up the wheel hub area and checking for possible bearing/hub problems. I did notice one of the rubber grease boots were torn on the upper front A arm. (Bummer)
I also replaced the rubber vacuum seal in the master cylinder cap.
I did purchase a vacuum kit so I can do the one-person brake bleeding operation, but don't bother it didn't work. I had to resort to the old fashion way... my wonderful wife.. press.. let go.....press.... let go....press.....let go :)
The installation took me about 8-9 hours. If I had to do it again, I can probably do it in 5hrs. I like taking my time, cleaning and doing it right the first time.

I can't really explain it but my over all driving experience and confidence has substantially increased as a result. Kind of funny, but I can't wait to get
in the car and cruise some more... I'm hooked on this Vette, makes me wonder why would anyone buy anything else. It’s soooo much fun :)


Hope this helps
Hank


Tripleblack
Thanks for the tips. :)

Bias Spring hmmmmm.
Would I have to bleed the master and ABR servo? Where does it get installed? I suppose in master cylinder .

Goody and ZBRA
Thanks

Zora
Sweeeet ride...




[Modified by 93LT1, 3:48 AM 9/18/2002]