garrett454ss

I wanted to write about my experience on changing my brakes on my 21 C8 Z51. If you don't do it correctly you will get a brake fault code, CEL, Brake Light, and it will limit you to 43MPH until it is
cleared by the dealer. There is a potentiometer on the brake pedal and if the car sees large amount of brake pedal movement, and no pressure, it will think you have faulty brakes.
After that you will need to take the car in to have it cleared. With just a couple easy steps, this can be avoided.

-Disconnect the Neg battery cable before you start.
-Small pedal pumps after installing new pads.

After you Disconnect the Neg battery cable you can change the pads as usual. Remove the brake reservoir cap. The front is a little different. You don't need to remove ANY pins.
I found its easiest to remove the two bolts holding on the caliper. Lay it on a soft surface so you don't scratch the caliper, and pull the pads out from the inside.
With the caliper removed it’s easy to break the brake pad tape sticking the pads to the calipers. I use 3M Copper Anti Seize Brake Lube part number 08945. Its what GM/Brembo uses. Push in your
caliper pistons, and install your new pads. Lastly reinstall your calipers. I use blue lock tight and torque the caliper mounting bolts to 155 FT LBS.

The back pads are easier. Knock out the pins, slide out the old pads, spread the caliper pistons, reinstall the new ones. Use the same 3M brake lube as the front. The caliper tool I use (Lisle 29100 Quick Quad Pad Spreader) works great. You can easily do this by hand with one of the old brake pads, I just prefer to use the tool.
Now that everything is back together its time to pump the brakes with VERY SHORT STROKES!!! I am very gunshy doing this. In theory you should be able to push the pedal to the floor without the ECM seeing this because you have the battery disconnected but let's not take any chances...TRUST ME. My buddy that's a GM technician had to come out and clear my brake code. I now have a copy of the 2021 C8 GM service manual, and this is how GM stated to change the pads.
-Now reconnect your battery cable.

I do not track my car but these pads do not seem to take anything away except the dust. I'm sure they are not as good on the track as the brembos, but I don't care about that. The pads I have been using for my last 3 Corvettes are Powerstop brand. They work very well and are priced right. The dust is 1/10 of what it was with the stock pads.
For my 2021 Z51
-Fronts pads are (POWER STOP 168009 (Daily Driver) Z16 Evolution Clean Ride Ceramic Front; with Z51 Package)
-Back pads are (POWER STOP 168010 (Daily Driver) Z16 Evolution Clean Ride Ceramic Info Rear; with Z51 Package)

Good luck and drive safe!

NoMatter

A lot of us knew about disconnecting the negative when working on the brakes. Probably anything on this car it seems. I didn’t know about the potentiometer as you called it. Had to look that up. It all adds up why some had problems with the stage 1 fault when changing pads. Something so simple. Thanks for sharing. Few weeks I’ll be swapping out calipers and pressure bleeding the whole system.

semperfi1946

How much are both sets of pads and where did you purchase them?? Thanks

DNAST1

WOW! The pricing on these compared to the others makes me question what I'm getting!

RKCRLR

Some people had problems with the Power Stops on the C7.
Some people had their rotors discolor to a bronze shade.
Some people said there is less of a cold bite.
I had a problem with the backing shims shifting and the rivets coming loose on the mass dampers (don't know if the C8 Z51 pads have mass dampers). But Power Stop sent me replacement pads.
I'm waiting for comments from forum members on how they perform before I take the plunge.

dfettero

I did it correctly and still got a brake fault code, CEL, Brake Light, and it will limit you to 62 MPH.
Called OnStar to get the codes.
Track prep guide has a procedure. Just hold the brake pedal in all the way for about 1-2 min. The brake error codes reset.
Use a OBD reader to reset the CEL. The code is related to charging system/battery/electrical (not surprised after disconnecting NEG terminal)

Nyvetteguy007

Will be doing this soon…thanks for the write up.

Shadowgrayc8

Do you hold the brake with the car on, off, on accessory, or in service mode?

I figured it out you have to put the car in accessory mode then hold the brake down till it stops clicking, turn the car off, then start it normally to clear this code.

diverdan

Just did my pads earlier this week with Carbotech 1521 pads front and rear.
I was originally going with Powerstop Z26 pads, but they appear to be back ordered for several months and I’m already tired of the dust.

I had good luck with the Powerstops on a previous vehicle: Good stopping, low dust, and attractive price.
Still breaking in the Carbotech, but so far no issues.

Z51CYA

I have a 2020 with power stops put on at 2300 miles now have 15500 no issues

Kracka

PowerStop Z26 rear brake pads installed this morning. No issues, perfect fitment, pad area is identical to stock. I bed them in per PowerStop's instructions and they are silent and performing well. I will do the fronts either tomorrow or next weekend.

The one packet of included brake grease was enough to do the rear job, barely. Would be nice if they included more. I picked up an extra packet from AutoZone today so I'll have one for each front corner since they're larger pads.

The rear job was very easy! All I needed once the wheels were off was a hammer and a punch, no other tools required. The pads slid out by hand and new ones slid right in too; I did not have to compress the pistons. I refused the factory hardware rather than using PowerStop's included hardware. I did not disconnect the battery and did not experience any errors or faults.

loutruffa@gmail.com

I’ve been holding off on this job mainly cause of the battery disconnect at negative thing , will I loose all my personal settings ie my mode , Zmode , seat memory , radio presets ,dash layout etc. ?

Kracka

No. With that said, I didn't disconnect my battery to do the pad swap. When I have disconnected the battery for other things I did not lose any settings.

NoMatter

I've left the battery undone for 9 days and lost nothing.

Kracka

Front Powerstop Z26 pads installed this morning! Easy job, nothing out of the ordinary, no special tools required. I did not disconnect the battery! You will need a breaker bar w/21mm socket; an impact gun makes things even quicker/easier but by no means required (I have an electric one from Harbor Freight). I reused all factory hardware. Powerstop does not include enough grease to do the fronts. They only include 1 packet of brake grease but for the fronts you'll need a 2nd so I picked one up from AutoZone (the guy was nice enough to just give it to me, but they're under $2/each normally). Pads are bedded in and feel great!

NoMatter

The only reason to disconnect the battery is if you open the door or the car ends up reading the key if it comes close enough during the process it runs a quick self check it will cycle the system and if the pads are not in or right it will through a code. Yet its easy and simple to reset. I know you already knew, Kracka (Love saying that) but for the other masses. Lol. I've had my keys in the house and like all my other rides you hear all sorts of electrical sounds just randomly with no key remotely present. Just walking by our X5 would do it every time. Pretty wild.

EC145Pilot

No and Yes.
None of the settings, such as seat memory, radio presets, etc,,,will be lost, however the window indexing will need to be reset.
This is the indexing that lowers the windows slightly when opening the door and raises them when closing the door.
To reset the index, once the battery is reconnected, lower each window all the way down and hold the switch for about two seconds, then raise the window all the way and hold for about two seconds. Procedure is in the owner's manual.

Kracka

Since I was curious on Powerstop's Z26 temp range rating, I reached to them for confirmation.

Min: ambient (per Jeff H. on their team)
Max: 1,500F (which they openly advertise)

KNSBrakes

Why not just say 2000 degree's or even 5000?

Kracka

Well, simple answer is because that is not the spec in which they are rated for.