Brakes

[t3intercooled]

I was curious, ive been doing some research and saw that some people used corvette brake systems as and upgradefor our cars as a less expensive way thanks buying front and rear Baer, brembo, etc. So I would be in everyones debt if someone coukd tell me:

1. If its true
2. What year and models work
3. What exactly I need to buy and modify to get them to work in the front and rear

Thank you all in advance!

 

[charlief1]

Yes there have been several people that've used the Corvette front and rear brakes on their cars. Do a search for flynbye and you should find a guy that sells all the parts to do it. You will need to go with at least a 17" wheel though.

 

[Instro84]

dont know about the corvette brakes but i used the brakes from a 2002 camaro on mine. works really well.

 

[my406cid]

Same here c5 front and rear brakes 20" wheels.stops like a champ

 

[scojack_2001]

I just upgraded to the 12" LS-1 F-Body setup this past weekend. Wasnt too bad. Used late model S-10 spindles. I put some tubular control arms on while I had it all torn apart.

So far I've put about 20 miles on the car. Still need to get the new tires mounted up and have the car aligned. Brakes feel good. I did have to run a small spacer and clearance the calipers, but the setup fits behind my 16" GTA wheels.

 

[Paul69camaro]

1. Yes it is true
2. depends on what you use for spindles, typically C5 or C6 brakes are the popular ones with the pro-touring guys.
3. for the fronts, you'll need a spindle swap, like Scott mentioned, the S10 is probably the most inexpensive option, the best option is probably either the ATS spindle that speedtech now sells or maybe the L&H spindle. The ATS spindle already has mounts for corvette brakes, the L&H requires brackets but that gives you a lot more brake options (CTSV 4 or 6 piston brembos, latest camaro 4 piston brembos etc.) For the rears, I've been researching and it looks like very few people have "corvette" rears, most people seem to go with the LS1 f body rear set up. I haven't done my rear brakes yet so I can't be of much help. I do know that a while ago, Kore 3 had a bracket to setup c5 or c6 rear calipers on our stock rear end but you lost the e-brake. I just did my fronts so if you have any questions regarding that feel free to PM me, I'd be glad to help.

Paul

 

[scot w.]

You need to ask yourself if your up to doing this labor of swapping Make & Model brakes onto your Buick and whats all involved, If your good at that sort of thing and have the tools and the knowledge it won't be too hard for you... When doing things like this I always tell my customers to First do a thorough price comparison on what "exactly" it costs to convert over to the corvette brakes in front vs the similar aftermarket brake system, you might be surprised to find out it's sometimes More than a aftermarket system or can be very close to them....and to me if the corvette swap is close or even more than lets say a BAER system it's a no brainer! One it simply Bolts on! Two your brake system Front & Rear will match! A Lot can be said for a complete bolt on system that comes with "Everything" included.

There is a member here a while back who spent like $2,000 - 2,500 on his Front Corvette brake set up by the time he was done and guess what? I could have saved him $251.00 -$751.00 buy going with a BAER front system! I am sure pricing has gone down on the corvette parts since then but just price everything that you are going to need in order to do the swap and then do some comparisons...

Either way you go it will be an improvement over the stock brakes for sure!

sw.

 

[Paul69camaro]

Scot brings up a great point. It really depends on what you want to do with the car and what your skills are. If you want a straight foward bolt on solution, your not going to beat Baer. However, if your mechanically inclined, and don't mind piecing together a brake combo, the corvette system can easily be done at a better price point and perform just as good, especially if you find a good used set of calipers or spindles from a board member or craigslist. When I was doing my front brakes, I considered Baer, hell I'm actually still considering their rear 4 piston setup. For me, the suspension (spindle) cost was a sunk cost, I was going to upgrade that regardless, so that cost was not factored into my brake expenses. That being said, I bought a brand new Z06 6 piston, 14" DBA 4000 rotor setup that cost me 1300 bucks shipped. Bang for the buck, you'll be hard pressed to find something that'll beat this setup. If you don't want to go that route or don't want to have to run a crazy wheel to fit that setup, a C5 or C6 setup from Kore3 will cost you between $525-$610 for the fronts however, you'll still need a 17" wheel. Keep in mind, this is my opinion...

 

[scot w.]

Scot brings up a great point. It really depends on what you want to do with the car and what your skills are. If you want a straight foward bolt on solution, your not going to beat Baer. However, if your mechanically inclined, and don't mind piecing together a brake combo, the corvette system can easily be done at a better price point and perform just as good, especially if you find a good used set of calipers or spindles from a board member or craigslist. When I was doing my front brakes, I considered Baer, hell I'm actually still considering their rear 4 piston setup. For me, the suspension (spindle) cost was a sunk cost, I was going to upgrade that regardless, so that cost was not factored into my brake expenses. That being said, I bought a brand new Z06 6 piston, 14" DBA 4000 rotor setup that cost me 1300 bucks shipped. Bang for the buck, you'll be hard pressed to find something that'll beat this setup. If you don't want to go that route or don't want to have to run a crazy wheel to fit that setup, a C5 or C6 setup from Kore3 will cost you between $525-$610 for the fronts however, you'll still need a 17" wheel. Keep in mind, this is my opinion...

When doing a brake up grade like you done Paul you should list the cost of "Everything" needed to complete the install including the spindle cost so others here know exactly how much it's going to cost to complete the up grade you did.

For price comparison purpose the BAER track 4 system with:
13" rotors
4-piston calipers - (Standard Pad replacement- Ceramic same as a 98-02 Camaro)
Choice of Red, Blk, Slvr powdercoated calipers
1.1" thick Drilled & Slotted rotors
Everything already Pre-assembled on OEM spindles from BAER
Stainless steel braided brake lines and all mounting hardware starting at $1,595.00 with Free Shipping to all members! That's a complete Hassle free bolt on kit that anyone can do in 2 hours or less!

Then when it's time to add disk brakes in the rear the 12"-13" SS4 system comes with
"E-Brake" Set up
New e-brake cables
Stainless steel braided brake lines
12"-13" Drilled & Slotted 1" thick rotors
4-piston calipers
Choice of Red, Blk, Silver powder coated calipers
All mounting brackets & hardware starting at $1,195.00 and shipping is also Free through us!

.

 

[Paul69camaro]

I apoligize if that was misleading, that was not my intent. My setup was much more expensive than a simple brake swap because I upgraded several things at once. Like I said before, If anyone wants to replicate my front setup, contact me so I can help you. I will save you a lot of time and hassle by explaining exactly what all was involved. It really just depends on how good of brakes you want, stock c5/c6 can be easily done for under $1000 bucks using s10 spindles and brackets for the calipers(new, used should be much cheaper). The kit Scot mentioned above, the track 4 is a great system, very high quality and is much better than the standard c5 or c6 brake setup. If you are considering the stock c5 or c6 stuff, I'd recommend you save a little more money and buy a track 4 system, not only is it better, but they also look great! I didn't go this route because I was looking at the overall package, like I've mentioned before, I wanted a better suspension with better camber gain, less bump steer, and I wanted the adjustability in alignment so I spent the money on spindles and control arms. At that point, I still needed brakes... no brainer for me, 1300 bucks got me stainless lines, all fasteners, hawk 1 piece HPS pads, 14" 1.25" thick DBA 4000 rotors (slotted, not drilled so they don't crack) 6 piston PBR calipers. There was simply no other cost effective solution that offered me the braking power of this setup. If you are still wondering about my setup cost, here it is:
1. ATS Spindles and steering arms (bought used on pro-touring.com) $1000 shipped
2. Kore3 c6 Z06 kit minus rotors ($930 shipped)
3. DBA 4000 rotors $220 shipped
4. Upper control arms (SC&C upgraded to Hoew scre in ball joints $$$) 600 shipped
5. Rushforth Wheels (not sure you wanna count this but you'll need wheels to clear big brakes) $2600