C5 calipers with C4HD rotors?

[cdrod]

I'm building an Olds 442 convertible as a daily driver and want to upgrade to 4-wheel disc brakes. I've chosen an '01 blazer set-up for the rears with 11.5" rotors. I want to use C5 Vette disc for the fronts but I'm concerned about caliper to wheel clearance. The C4 rotors have a larger offset than the C5 discs. My question is this, can I use C5 calipers (larger piston size for better clamping force) with 13" C4 HD rotors (for better wheel clearance)? The C5 discs are 1.25" thick whereas the C4 HD discs are only 1.1" thick.

[Schwartz Performance]

Shouldn't be a problem. If you really wear down the rotor and pads though, the pistons could go out too far which puts flex on them and they'll leak, or break or something. That's the only disadvantage with running a thinner rotor than the caliper is intended for. If you keep an eye on your pads and don't wear them down all the way you'll probably e in good shape!
You'll need to find a bracket though to fit that caliper to the offset 13" rotor .

-Dale

[mplecha]

I'm running that setup on my 64 Chevelle.

[cdrod]

Schwartz Performance;1089321]Shouldn't be a problem. If you really wear down the rotor and pads though, the pistons could go out too far which puts flex on them and they'll leak, or break or something. That's the only disadvantage with running a thinner rotor than the caliper is intended for. If you keep an eye on your pads and don't wear them down all the way you'll probably e in good shape!
You'll need to find a bracket though to fit that caliper to the offset 13" rotor [/I].

-Dale

Dale:
Could you add an 1/8" spacer behind the outside pad so the caliper piston would over extend? IDK if this is a bad idea, but seems very do-able.

C5 rotor = 1.26" thick
C4HD rotor = 1.1" thick
1/8" spacer = .125"
1.26 - 1.1 -.125 = 0.035" 35 thousandths is not very much!

Rodney

[cdrod]

I'm running that setup on my 64 Chevelle.

Mplecha:
Thanks for your reply, I got some questions for you:
1. What wheels are your running - size and brand?
2. Are you running stock or aftermarket spindles?
3. Did you fabricate your own bracket to mount the caliper?
4. Do you have any pics of your set-up?

Rodney

[Schwartz Performance]

Yes you could do that too.. But it may rattle a bit.. Unless you make it to the same shape as the brake pad back and glue it together.

-Dale

[Skip Fix]

I think Ed miller still sells a bracket for the hybrid set up an second gen F bodies if you want to use the taller spindle.

http://www.flynbye.com/

[mplecha]

Mplecha:
Thanks for your reply, I got some questions for you:
1. What wheels are your running - size and brand?
2. Are you running stock or aftermarket spindles?
3. Did you fabricate your own bracket to mount the caliper?
4. Do you have any pics of your set-up?

Rodney

The car has 17 inch torque thrust 2s on stock spindles. Actually, I used camaro spindles, but they were stock. It's been a few years, so I can't remember where the bracket came from.

[Skip Fix]

There was a guy in Austin TX that used to make some brackets but I think the company quit. Touring Classics.

[Rick Dorion]

Right. And I believe Speedtech did at one time also.

[Skip Fix]

I would think there would still be some demand since they do allow a more varied wheel choice.

[bootlegr]

cdrod, the circle track guys still sale tose pad spacers if you decide to go that way...Did you find someone in town to ream your spindles for the Howe balljoints? I need someone to do mine...i have the Howe reamer.

[MrQuick]

What wheels are you running Rod?

We have a few cars with C5 13" and 17's. Cars with TTII's required a 5/16" spacer to clear the spokes.

[cdrod]

cdrod, the circle track guys still sale tose pad spacers if you decide to go that way...Did you find someone in town to ream your spindles for the Howe balljoints? I need someone to do mine...i have the Howe reamer.

Bootlegr:
I did find the caliper spacers, they come in aluminum and titanium and are used as heat shields. Learn something new everyday-LOL. I'm not sure what your referring to on the spindle reaming. The Howe BJ come in the correct taper for stock spindles; I did however, buy a reamer from Speedway to clean up my stock spindles for a solid connection. I don't want to snap a BJ because the taper was f-d up.

[cdrod]

Attachment 103326Attachment 103324Attachment 103325

What wheels are you running Rod?

We have a few cars with C5 13" and 17's. Cars with TTII's required a 5/16" spacer to clear the spokes.

MrQuick:
I plan to run a 17" or 17f/18r staggered fit, but haven't bought my rims yet. I'm still working out the sizing and backspacing, but I like the American Racing VN500s and the US-Mag U109s. The VN500s come in 15" and 17"; the U109s come in 17" and 18" sizes. I'm not sure the C5 set-up will fit these rims as the caliper hangs out a little past the rotor hub. I printed out the template from Kore3's website, just need to find a dealer in Houston that will let me test fit the template to see if it clears. I'm working on another front brake set-up using 11.74" C3 rotors and the Wilwood D52 calipers that will provide more clamping force than the C5 calipers (bigger piston size) and better brake bias to work with my Blazer rear disc set-up.

Here's pics of my rim choices, I'm leaning more toward the VN500 because it looks more like the factory SSI rims, but the U109s a pretty sweet too:

American Racing VN500s


US Mag U109s

[MonzaRacer]

Call Tobin at Kore3 Corvette brakes are their specialty.

[Nicks67GTO]

This kind of setup is almost exactly like the TRSD Signature series brakes. If that's what you want they are pretty inexpensive and come powdercoated. They are a twin 38mm piston mustang Cobra caliper and C4HD rotor.

[cdrod]

Nick:
I found a 2004 Mustang caliper that fits a 12.99" x 1.1" rotor. Is this the correct caliper? pic attached.

Attachment 103970

[Nicks67GTO]

Well that's what they look like. I guess I cannot confirm 100% though. I think there were a few differences between the calipers of that design. I think earlier design used twin 38mm pistons and later ones were twin 45mm pistons. For confirmation you would have to give TRSD a call. I can tell you though no matter what TRSD tells you their calipers are 38m twin piston and NOT the 45mm ones. If you wanted the TRSD setup, Matts Classic Bowties sold me a set for pretty cheap although I ended up selling them off and just getting the C6 Z51 Kore3 setup. Is there any specific reason you don't want to just go with the old tried and true C5-C6 setup?

[cdrod]

Nick:
I did some more research on the Mustang cobra calipers, they're kinda pricey ($$) and not very that plentiful. I started off my project planning to use 12" C4 set-up for the fronts, but after learning a whole bunch about brake system design and balancing from the PT website I discovered that the smallish 38mm pistons of the C4 calipers were too small to work with the 48mm piston size of the Blazer rear discs I had already fitted for my rear brakes. To answer your question about the C5 set-up, I'm concerned about wheel clearance because the caliper hangs out past the rotor hat (the C4 rotors were tall enough so the caliper didn't stick past the hub). I printed off the template from the Tobin's site, but haven't found a local distributor that stocks the wheels I want to use. It would be so much easier if I could just test fit the template to know for sure the C5 set-up will work. I'm fairly new to the PT site but everyone here has been so helpful and provided good advice. Thanks for taking the time to offer your experience.

Rodney