Red Devil Z51

hey guys need some help with this.

I have an 07 Z 51 that is only used for street driving no racing or track at all.

I have the original pads rotors on from when new car has only 16k miles.
But the brake dust is terrible i hear Ceramic is the way to go for way less brake dust this true?

Also what brand of pads do u all think r good and who's r bad?

thanks

EVRose

True. AC Delco ceramic.

Not So Fast

Do a search, lots of threads that go into detail on this subject
I went Duralast Gold Ceramic pad-lets, no regrets
NSF

RocketDawg

Just a bit of an aside ... I have a Caddy ATS, and on that forum people have noted the lack of brake dust on their cars. So have I. Somebody supposedly "in the know" posted that GM uses something called ferritic nitro-carburizing, or FNC, rotors on the ATS and presumably other cars: http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/n.../1130_fnc.html

Does anybody know if GM uses these on newer Corvettes, and if they're available for all our C6s? If you needed rotors, it would be a good way to eliminate brake dust, rotor rust, and still use "regular" pads.

raspyc6

Akebono Pro-Act ceramic have been fabulous for me...damn near dust-free, very easy to maintain

Oshuwah

Which version or P/N? Was it the ACT731/732?

Dano523

Duralast Gold Ceramic is the ticket for way less dusting, way longer life of both the pad and rotors, and are very inexpensive.
The down fall, your will be giving up initial bite, and the better brake feed back of what the OEM HD pads offer (why the Z51 performance package in the first place, since this set the car up for autocrossing).

Myself, I can live with the dusting since I wash the car enough, and although I only manage to get around 25K out of the HD pads, and 50K out of the rotors (turned once at 25K mark to square the surface back to each other since the outer surfaces of the rotors will wear faster than the surfaces closer to the center) prefer the positives that come with the HD pads for what I use the pad for instead (dusting and all).

Full Race pads they are not, since the heat range of the pad is all wrong for high speed course work (will burn them up with them getting too hot), But in regards to mountain/canyon driving and some slower road coarse work, the OEM HD pads are right on the money.

So the question boils down to, are you willing to give up some initial better bite better braking and better feed back in the name of less dusting, or is the question not giving up what the HD offer for street only use, and just finding a pad that give the same as the HD pads for street use, but just less dusting instead.

Since you state that you are not tracking the car at all (high speed or low speed), would suggest that you go with the Carbotech Bobcat 1521 instead. Initial bite is a touch better then the HD pads, over all breaking is around the same for the temps you will running the pads (again, not tracking the car, even auto crossing it) , and should not have a problem with major dusting like the HD pads or brake noise if you clean the rotors up and install the pads correctly.
http://carbotechperformance.com/brake-compounds2.asp

P.S, to understand pads, you really need to understand the heat range that the pads are designed to be run at to begin with.

Most less expensive ceramic pads are designed for street driving temps only, last a long time, friendly to the rotor and dust way less, but give up initial bite, some stopping power and feed back instead. This kinds of go hand in hand with running tires that will last longer, instead of better gripping tires that may demand more out of the brake pads as well.

As you step up to race pads (OEM Z51 HD pads are autocross pads that work well at street temps too), then stopping power at the temps the pads are going to be run becomes number one instead, and may have more dusting, and even brake noise when you step up to high speed pads instead (will not grip well until the pads have come up to temp; so you don't run full race pads on the street).

360Rocket

+ one on this deal. No dust, great performance.

ls1121

and so how do you "maintain" a brake pad?

and about initial bite....... whenever you go to a ceramic pad you give up some stopping power. I put ceramics on my Montero last go around and I am going to go back to semi-metallic because the truck has a lot of weight and the ceramics do not get the job done for me. Ceramic is good for a low dust situation.

Adam@Amp'dAutosport.com

The 1521 is a low dust pad that still performs great on the street.

Carbotech™ Bobcat 1521™ The Carbotech Bobcat 1521™ is our high performance street compound that is our most successful compound. The Bobcat compound is known for its awesome release and modulation, along with unmatched rotor friendliness. Like our AX™ & XP™ line of compounds, Bobcat 1521™ is a Ceramic based friction material offering minimal rotor damage and non-corrosive dust. Bobcat 1521™ offers outstanding performance, even when cold, low dusting and low noise with an excellent initial bite. This compound’s virtually perfect linear torque production provides incredible braking force without ABS intervention. Bobcat 1521™ operating range starts out at ambient and goes up to 900°F. Bobcat 1521™ is suitable for ALL street cars, perfect for your tow vehicle, police cruiser. The Bobcat 1521™ compound has been found to last two-three times longer than OE pads you can purchase at a dealership or national retailer. That’s one of the beauties of Carbotech Ceramic brake compounds. Bobcat 1521™ is NOT recommended for any track use.


Front $148 Rear $128 Less 5% Give us a call 216-780-8825.

LS14ME2

If you want another option, the Z51 pads are semi metallic and fairly agressive on the rotors.. You can use the base vette pads, same makeup, less agressive on the rotors and dust much less.

jaki30

I am under the impression that the Z-51 pads are the same as the base pads. The difference with the Z-51 is suspension components and drilled rotors with larger diameter rotors. That is why the Z-51 caliper mounts are different from the base mounts. I used AC Delco ceramic pads when I had my Z-51s. They worked fine and were GM parts.
I now have a Grand Sport. GM does not offer ceramics for the GS cars, so, I went with Autozone Dura Last Gold padlets. Price is quite reasonable and they are practically dust free.

Dano523

There not,

The z51 performance package option is one that turns the base into a autocross'r, and the HD pads are more aggressive than the base pads.
Also, the temp range of the HD pad is slightly higher than just the base pad, since in Autocross'g, your going to get the brakes much hotter as well.

LS14ME2

... Same basic compound, semi-metallic, more aggressive though.

MTsVette

Same here on my 2012 GS. Very low dust and brakes very well. Concur...

MT

Dano523

And again, the HD pads are for slightly higher working brake temps (autocross) over the base pad.