byte_me

First of all- I have to give some street cred to this thread that inspired me to tackle this job!

https://www.corvetteforum.com/c6-cor...by-wheels.html

Now on with the show!

2005 C6 Z51 Daytona Sunset Orange Metallic with 08 Polished Gumby Rims 18/19.

Parts list for conversion:

Front/Rear Z06 calipers
Front/Rear Z06 drilled rotors
Stainless Steel Z06 brake lines
Front/Rear Ceramic Padlets
Front/Rear caliper pins
1/4" hub centric wheel spacers (4)
20 Extended thread (ET) chrome lug nuts

Stock Z51 Calipers:











Z06 calipers/rotors going on:










Rims/tires back on:











Couple of things to note should you feel the need to tackle this job...

1) buy the Motive power bleeder for GM cars (huge help and made bleeding brakes a snap)

2) depending on where you get your SS Z06 brake lines- make sure the line bolts they send thread into the new calipers...mine didn't so I had to reuse the Z51 brake line bolts...

3) I came across the passenger front brake hard line some what stripped/over torqued from the factory (others have had this issue) I had to slightly file the threads on the flare nut to get it started without cross threading... (Read PITA and 1 hour of tedious work!!)

4) take your time- I actually installed my DRM Bilstein shocks while I had it apart!! Lol...

Some other points of interest:

The Gumby rims are the only known stock size C6 wheel able to clear a Z06 caliper using a 1/4" spacer...

The Z06 calipers are HUGE!

Use high temp never seize on the caliper pin bolts for quick removal to change pads when needed.

The Z06 calipers are HUGE! Oh wait...

Braking is sick- the Z51's are great brakes- but the Z06 brakes never fade! And they just feel amazing, while they simply keep coming on and on! Wow...

Got the majority of my parts from Amazon!!

Front calipers $219 each
Rear calipers $197 each
Front Rotors $62 each
Rear rotors $62 each

Pads are wearever gold ceramic from Autozone
SS brake lines from TPS Motorsports
1/4" spacers and ET lug nuts from Motorsport tech (awesome guys!)

I need to get some more light in my pictures full on- but what an amazing look for an Orange C6!!

hungryhippo

Looks good. I see you have z06 brake ducts too

timd38

Nice write up!

byte_me

Yes - I did this brake duct conversion a few months ago and it was a breeze! parts are dirt cheap as well... pretty much decided back then that I was going to do the brake conversion (if I found the parts cheap enough) so I purchased these and the Gumby rims in advance...I actually LOVE the look of these forged wheels!



Thanks! I tried to get more pictures, but spent over 6 hours in my garage (on my back - under car) and I realized I am not as young as I once was!

I am very happy with the results!

timd38

I can relate to that one! I just took my Recaro seats out because I could not get in and out of the car!

Diggy Moe

Where did you purchase the brake components?

Bluewasp

Amazon.

byte_me

I think The front calipers have gone up in price since my purchase...but I basically got 4 calipers, 4 rotors, pads and caliper pins for the price I see people selling just calipers for over in parts...just sayin'

peter pan

Nicely done

byte_me

Thanks!

It's a great mod- looks and feel!

victorf

Did you check?

Curious as to the weight difference?

Looks great!

byte_me

Thanks-

rotors are bigger =heavier
Calipers are big blocks of Aluminum- they are roughy the same weight (not using a scale, but one in each hand...) as the old ones... Not loaded (meaning pads and pins) but even loaded are about equal...

I don't notice any difference in the cars attitude running these brakes or it suffering from being heavy...the brake surface is really different as the new calipers are ~ 50% larger than the Z51 calipers...

hungryhippo

So people who have issues with the partially stripped brake line fittings have to file them down while fluid is leaking everywhere? This is the only thing keeping me from upgrading my brakes.

byte_me

Don't let this stop you- not all who have done this upgrade had stripped fittings. In fact, the link I posted in the first post did not have this issue.

Those who have, either replaced the bad hard line (a cheap part) or were able to get the threads back to working with some time and patience like I did... the fluid leaking is not as bad as it sounds - heck, you will have it all over you anyway no matter how careful you are!

To minimize - you can take a rubber glove (like a surgical glove) and unscrew your master cylinder cap - put the glove over the opening, and screw the cap back...this creates somewhat of an "anti-siphon" effect and minimizes fluid leaking...

I also made sure to wear and change these gloves as many times as necessary to NOT get fluid on places I didn't need it to go...

The thread issue is not a major setback- its a speed bump really - some people make it out to be more than it really is...

oh- and besides, the end result is AWESOME!

ANGRY Z

Nice!

mikeCsix

Nice Conversion! How do you like the DRM Bilsteins? I noticed on the website they are out of stock at the moment but want to pick up a set for my GS.

hungryhippo

Thanks for the tips and pep talk, I'm going to upgrade to wilwoods once I wear out my current track pads.

vettegator005

geez did this for about 1000$? That's pretty amazing.

byte_me

Thanks for the compliments!

As for the DRMs- they are great shocks, very compliant over bumps and really let the car corner like its meant to- wheels are flat and planted...love them!

I scored a great deal on the parts- I'm very happy with how it came out!

JaimeVrod

Ok. I have a question. In order for me to upgrade my base C6 to Z51 rotors, I need to get new caliper mounting brackets specific to the Z51. Are you saying that for you to upgrade from z51 yo Z06 rotors that you didn't need to use different caliper mounting brackets?