vettejoel

Does the Z come with them? If not, are the available yet? Thanks

Foosh

No to both questions.

There are many brake pad threads here. Do a search to see the pros and cons.

The stock street pads are amazing in terms of stopping distance, but dirty, and may not be suitable for very hard track use past 2 or 3 sessions. However, I don't know of any brake set-up for any car that is equally suitable for both street and track. As the many brake experts here will tell you, the two applications have very different requirements.

Short-Throw

but....................



I was concerned with this as well as many believe this.
I've mentioned in earlier threads that I am running Raybestos ST-43 pads. I have not had the opportunity to try them out in the colder weather but they work absolutely fine on the street and even better on the track. It's now been 2 months since I installed them and they are still better than 1/2 new after 7 hard track days.

You can actually feel the difference in pad material with your fingers.
If you take a stock OEM pad you can feel the material is gritty and rubs off. The Raybestos are solid and smooth, but not beveled.

I have another friend who is running Hawk pads with the same success.

The only downside is they both squeak a bit.

vettejoel, if you'd like more detailed info feel free to PM me.

Mike

vettejoel

Thanks pm sent

Foosh

But, have you compared cold, street stopping distances on stock and your mods? You may say they work "fine", but I don't know what "fine" means in this context. Heated up on the track is entirely different than normal street use.

I'm running Wilwood racing pads on a Shelby Cobra replica too, and I know well, they are no where near as good as street pads until they are very hot! That's the difference. Yes, they work "fine" on the street, but they don't stop nearly as quickly as street pads until very heated up, and I can't usually get them that heated on the street.

If you track your Z06, you should change the pads for the track and then switch back for the street. It is no accident, GM selected what they did for this car on the street. Your own post above (you can feel the OEM pad material rubbing off) is exactly what I'm talking about. That makes a street pad stop faster under street conditions.

Moreover, they are not ceramic.

Short-Throw

Foosh,

Yes I have. I'm sorry, I probably didn't explain it well.



It has not been cold since I've had the new racing pads. Temperature wise, I have not tried them out, but never will because when it's that cold I will have the stock pads back in as I will not be racing.

In terms of cold street stopping. I do not have any specific or controlled data but I have performed numerous panic stops from high and low speeds 5 minutes out of my garage over the last 2 months. The only difference is they grab a little sooner and you have to develop a gentler foot.

I drive my car 70 miles each way to the track, sometimes in awful traffic. (Anyone in Chicago knows how often the stop and go at all different speeds can be.)

I deliberately avoided racing pads on the street for the reasons you and others have mentioned over the years. It wasn't until I tried these after speaking to Porterfield about the specific compound I'm running that I found they really are OK for the street (at least with how the weather has been here lately).

Mike

outnumbered

I have now 6 track days on the factory pads.No fade,no vibrations etc.They won't go another track day but can probably use them on the street some.I will change them anyway.02impactblue and I went to the Glen.He got new pads for his C6Z51.We think they changed them to ceramic.His new factory pads melted.His original pads were great.

I will live with brake dust for the performance.

Be careful what we wish for.

blandcastle

AU N EGL

no ceramics for the PBR 6 pot brakes. Performance car and you want it too stop too?? then dont even consider putting on ceramic pads, just wash the car more often.

OK OK technically the Carbotech are a form of ceramic pad, but not what ppl think.

Foosh

Mike,

I wasn't talking about outside air temp., which has nothing to do with it, but brake temps. My point was that the purpose of track-type pads is to withstand glowing red-hot (literally) brake temps without fade and to make sure you have enough pad material to make it to the end of a race. You don't see those types of brake temps. on the street.

Yes, they will stop on the street and in normal driving, but I'm also talking about panic stopping distances. I think if you did a controlled test of stock and track pads (even your Porterfields), accelerating to 70mph and then nailing the brakes as hard as you can, you'd be shocked at how much longer it would take you to stop on track pads at normal street brake temps.

Sorry, if this is a "pet-peeve" of mine, but I think a lot of people who go out and change stock pads to something more "racy" would be shocked to learn how much stopping capability they'd actually lost on the street. People mod their cars to get more HP, and then the same people often mod their cars to make them stop worse on the street.

It may not be noticeable in the normal braking for traffic lights, etc., but the next time you need them in a panic situation, it could be the difference between avoiding a collision or not. It only takes a 10-20 feet to make a huge difference, and an 18-wheeler is only 53 ft. long.

GM put those dusty, soft pads on for a reason in such a high-performance street car, knowing how customers would probably drive this car on the street. They work very well, and it stops as short as any of the world's supercars. In my book, stopping fast is probably more important than going fast.

Short-Throw

Foosh,

I was talking about brake temps as well.

I really do not disagree with anything you've said.

I do not street race. My point was from legal street limits they are as good as OEM, if not better. Until I tried them, I never would have believed it myself. If I was running a compound like St-41, I wouldn't even attempt to street them.

Next time I'm at my track on a weekday, I will swap pads and test them when the corner workers break for lunch.

Mike

Foosh

Thanks for the PM. I would like to talk to you about the Porterfields some time and get some more data.

Best, Clay

rwpatte

I believe Carbotech makes ceramic pads for the C6 ZO6. You need to call.


http://www.carbotecheng.com/main.htm

MA ZO6

I hate the factory pads, they leave crap all over the wheels and the SIDE OF THE CAR after 20-30 miles. The yellow really shows the dirt and dust from the pads, my old 2003 Z06 only got the rims dirty, not the whole side of the car.

I would give up a little stopping power for pads that don't make as much dust, does anyone know of better pads for less dust?


John

patton

give up a little street stopping power because of dust ? ya know skip you are the poster boy for anti-tamper bolts

MA ZO6

The stock pads are great for the track but a little overkill for street use.
If I went to the track I would put the stock pads back in for the day.

John

0David_Yu

Done a little digging around for pads that can stand up to medium track use and Porterfield Brakes can supply Raybestos ST43s for $479 fronts, $329 rears.

Does anyone here have any experience of Raybestos pads?

I've never heard of them over here in the UK, but choices are a little thin.

(Pagids run at over $1200 a full set!)

The salesman warned me they will squeal on the road. Does anyone know how badly? I don't want it to sound like a bus at every light!

It's not as if stock pads are that bad on track, although I hear they don't last very long.

J Ritt

I have a really nice ceramic pad that I'll post details about within the next day or two. We're going to offer an introductory price to corvetteforum.com members through LG Motorsports. We haven't done anything like this for forum members yet, and we've been sponsors for nearly 6 months already...time flies!:eyes:

If you are interested in a set of low dust, relatively low noise ceramic pads at a price far lower than stock (probably less than half the price), please post on this thread. I want to make sure we have enough to cover our orders.

We'll probably start accepting orders later this week. I have some parts on the shelf, and I'm having one of my people talk to the manufacturer about this issue tomorrow.

These are NOT race or track pads. These are low dust, relatively low noise pads (very few pads are silent), which should address a lot of the concerns many owners are having while driving their cars on the street. Let me repeat that...these pads ARE NOT FOR RACETRACK USE, period. Are we clear on that point?

Again, pricing will probably be in the $300-400 range for the entire car. I'm still trying to hash out details, but I'll post as soon as I have anything further.

jimmy j

Twenty miles and the yellow looked like black dots over the whole car sides. whats up with that! MA z06 I feel the pain!

ZL-1

I'm interested if the price is right.