buckmeister2

Are you kidding??? I only have a base 2012, but did all four brakes, new ceramic pads, four new d/s rotors, good quality, $200 parts. I guess if using GM parts floats your boat, then have at it.

For the OP...just about any Midas, Firestone, or independent shop will do your right, maybe $400 for all 4. My advice...don't go to the dealer for anything that is not covered by warranty. They don't know any more about your Corvette than the guy down the street who uses the same shop manual.

FAUEE

This is a pretty reasonable amount of time if you're just doing pads (all you'll need at 35k miles).

If you drive your car like a corvette and not a Buick, dont get ceramic pads. If you spend all your time looking at, waxing, or posting on the forums about your vette, then ceramics may be right for you.

Dano523

Ditto, if you have J55 brake and running summer performance tires, or at GS, Z06, then ceramic brake pads are the wrong choice to put on the car.
Hence the above systems us semi metallic brake pads that are very aggressive with larger size rotors to help with the heat, which allow for better intial bite,better brake pedal feed back, and a much higher temp working range.

Hell, I take it one step farther, and if your running A/S/none summer performance tires on a GS or Z51 option vet, you bought the wrong vet in the first place. Sticking on base type ceramic pads, is the second mistake as well.
Hence GS/Z51 option vets and above are all about better handling/braking/performance, and anything done to take the car in the opposite direction (back towards a base model) to begin with, a huge mistake to begin with.

DigitalWidgets

Interesting (to me at least). Being the OP and reading how I wasn't confident back in 2013 to do my own brakes. Fast forward to 2018 and I wouldn't let anybody else touch my brakes! I've done pads and rotors several times now over the past few years (130K miles on the car and an autocross junkie here!). It's a dirty job (for me at least), but doing it myself saves a ton of money, and I know it's done right with the right parts. Glad I finally took the initiative and learned how to do it myself.

OregonMike

Nicely done widgets

phileaglesfan

With my 13 GS I have pulled 1.01g with A/S 3+ tires and I dont have to worry about driving in 40 degree temps or lower. If you can heat up Carbotech 1521 pads too much on the street then you either will crash, go to jail or you ride them like a grandma. Some summer tires are have less performance than the A/S 3s

Dano523

Z51 option cars, and the GS model where built for autocross to begin with.
For just street use, there are a lot of options on these cars upgrades for autocross use, going to waste/ never used for DD driving isntead.

Regarding the Carbotech 1521, they do not have near the heat rating as the OEM HD pads on either the Z51 or GS cars.

As for G ratings, forget the glide crap through a corner IE skip pad, and get back to use when you break a 2 G rating on wedging in and out of corners isntead. Hence put the GS upgrade options to use on a track since that was what the car was made for, then get back up use if the street only in temp and use pads did not do a melt down/major fade isntead.

To put it bluntly, why own an autocross option built car, if you are never going to autocross it in the first place.
Its like the guys that buy a Z06 built for high speed road coarse work, but the car has never sees a high speed road course track since they don't have the talent to put the car on the track to begin with.

phileaglesfan

Why care what other people buy? Most people dont use near the capacity of a base Vette or even a Camaro. Most SUVs and pick ups never see off roading or carry anything worth mentioning as a load. And with 52k miles my 13GS sees plenty of roads in all temps.
Also from what I have seen a lot of people that say they have the talent to push it dont have it. Everyone wants to believe they have the skills of a pro but they dont.

phileaglesfan

Also to the OP I replaced the front brakes and rotors on my 13 GS. Parts were around $430 or so. Labor $130 at a GM dealer. Gm rotors and Carbotech pads

Kenny94945

As another co-member above posted, two hours plus parts would seem like a reasonable estimate to me.
(1/2 hour per wheel - flat rate fast shop.)
(OEM rotors, OEM pad sets, brake grease, brake cleaner, brake fluid (Motul or OEM), rags, oil disposal fee)

FWIW:
Could it be done in an hour?
Repair order write up
Protect interior seat carpet steering-wheel shifter elbow-pads door-handles & foot-pedals from grease
Install jacking pucks
Wheel lock key
Loosen wheel lug nuts
Lift vehicle
Remove wheels
Extra care to protect chrome rims (Vette owners uh)
Perhaps loosen rear parking brake for rotor removal
Extra care to protect brake lines
Remove calipers
Remove rotor retainer clips
Remove rotors
Clean inner calipers
Visual inspect caliper piston seals
Clean wheel-well-liners knuckles a-arms shock-bodies
Visual inspect shocks & corner suspension bushings
Install rotors
Install new rotor retainer clips
Adjust rear parking brake
Prep inspect or replace pad retainer pins
Grease pad retainer-pins boots and pad specified surfaces
Install new pads
Install calipers with new specified bolts and proper torque
Bleed plus flush brake fluid w/ Tech II ABS system open
Clean rim barrels
Prep rim to rotor mounting surface
Visual inspect and prep lug nut studs
Hand torque lug nuts with proper torque ramp up.
Reset tire pressure (w/ Vette owners maybe even nitrogen)
Lower car
Remove jacking pucks
Test drive to bed pads
Re-check fluid level
Update service book & stamp.
Plus listen to customers complain about prices and pre-existing damages (joke).
I don't think an hour is accurate.
(1 hour per wheel - yes, I could foresee with a quality shop.)

$450 per axle seems high, but what is the local labor rate $225 an hour?

FWIW - I DIY brakes, it is an easy job.
I enjoyed creating my above check off list.
You all have fun reading and laughing at it.

OP, good luck in your decision & repair.

phileaglesfan

GM's dealer prices vary greatly even within a dealership. GM's MSRP for stock GS front brake pads for example is $469 but you can get them from a GM dealer's website for $239. Rotors are $137 ea for GM's MSRP, but you can find them for $140 for both. So just for parts for the front brakes only your bill can be $740 or so plus tax or about $380 for the exact same parts. My dealer's service adviser tried to tell me the ACDelco rotors I bought from Summit Racing are not the same as their OEM rotors that cost $50 or so more each. I looked at the original rotor and the new ones and they were exactly the same. Carbotech pads are pricy but worth it. GM's stock pads can be found for cheaper.

Supposedly before I bought my 13 GS, they replaced the front brake pads. I'm guessing with junk pads as the caused the rotor to warp. I wouldn't put duralast specials on the car as $160 savings is not much over 30k miles or more. With rotors it does no good to have them resurfaced, since your savings over replacing them are about $40 a rotor. Again over 30-40k miles. Some dealers like to really crank up the price by saying the rears need to be replaced at the same time but in reality they last for almost twice as long.

Dealer charged me about $140 labor. Replacing rotors/pads is a relatively simple job, but I don't have a lift. It took them about an hour once they figured out the 1 piece carbotech pads can replace the OEM padlets.

There is no reason to pay sticker for anything at a GM dealer. Even my last two GM cars I waited until they took 20% off the price before I bought them.