Looking to upgrade from LS1 Camaro brakes

[David LaBuda]

I've got LS1 brakes front and rear on my Chevelle with a Wilwood pedal/master cylinder setup but I'm not entirely happy with the stopping power. I've been looking at swapping the front brakes to the Brembos off of a 5th gen Camaro but I just want to make sure that's the best option (it's certainly the cheapest). Here are the 3 I've been considering:

1. 5th gen Brembos. Cheap and will bolt on with a bit of machining to the rotor.

2. C6 Z06. I've read that the calipers have some issues with spreading and the "padlets" are goofy but how would the overall stopping power compare to the Brembos?

3. Some sort of aftermarket Wilwood setup. Ideally a 6 piston caliper kit that can use a stock Z06 rotor to keep the price down. Would the aftermarket calipers have much advantage over an OE caliper from a Camaro or Corvette?

People say the LS1 rears were oversized compared to the front brakes so I should be able to get away with just upgrading the front, right? Keeping the Camaro parking brake setup limits my options for the rear axle.

[andrewb70]

Before swapping parts, I would make sure that your current system is working optimally. What exactly are you not happy about? Is it a power system or manual? What size MC are you using? Is the system properly bled? Etc...

Andrew

[David LaBuda]

I don't have a lot of confidence in being able to make a panic stop on the highway, it also takes a bit more force than I would expect when slowing to a complete stop. It's a manual system with 3/4" bore in the back and 7/8" bore up front. The pedal is firm so I think the brakes are bled well.

[andrewb70]

So it's a dual MC system?

Andrew

[csouth]

As far as the C6 Z06 calipers, you can use a one piece pad. Also, you haven't said what pads you are using in your current setup?

Chris

[dhutton]

I would try a pad upgrade first....

Don

[Typhoon1015]

It seems part wise you have a good setup, but I would agree with pad choice. Going from stockish pads to a Hawk HP+ made a good difference on my Chevelle. I am running ls1 discs with a 7/8 wilwood tandem master cylinder. You will have more travel/effort with a manual setup over a vac boosted typical of newer cars. Panic stop style braking needs very sensitive and touchy output with less input from driver. Not ideal for performance systems with the feedback and feel of manual brakes.

You will not gain any force with going with 6 piston or larger setups. Your main advantage on those systems are larger rotor for heat dissipation and stiffer clamping forces over the 2 piston floating setup with the LS1/C5 style setups. This would not help your goals of more responsive panic stopping.

Smaller bore will net you more clamping force, but with more pedal travel, and larger bore the opposite, less pedal travel, less clamping force.

[David LaBuda]

It is a dual MC system. The pads are just standard ceramic replacements so there's definitely room for improvement there but I figured if I'm going to spend the money on good pads/rotors it should be for a better brake system. I understand that clamping force will remain largely the same for a given pedal input but the larger rotor diameter should provide a better mechanical advantage for that clamping force. Would the difference be so negligible that I'd be better off just buying some Hawk pads for the LS1 brakes?

[RT66ProTouring]

The 5th Gen Brembos and C6 Z06 calipers will both reduce your caliper piston area which will take you in the wrong direction. Your current setup (LS1) has 4.81 in^2 of piston area, the 5th Gen Brembos have 4.29 in^2 and the Z06 have 3.98 in^2. You'd need an even smaller bore master cylinder to make up the difference. (With the Z06 calipers you would need really aggressive pads or to add a power booster or hydroboost and go up in MC size) I have a different suggestion:

1. Keep your LS1 calipers

2. Buy a set of C5 caliper abutments and pins

3. Buy a set of C5 rotors and pads

Bought right you're in for under $500, increased rotor diameter of 0.88" and increased clamping force 8.4%.

You still need to change to a performance pad, but you can package that with rotors. Powerstop has packages for street or track. In your case I'd suggest street.

[David LaBuda]

The 5th Gen Brembos and C6 Z06 calipers will both reduce your caliper piston area which will take you in the wrong direction. Your current setup (LS1) has 4.81 in^2 of piston area, the 5th Gen Brembos have 4.29 in^2 and the Z06 have 3.98 in^2. You'd need an even smaller bore master cylinder to make up the difference. (With the Z06 calipers you would need really aggressive pads or to add a power booster or hydroboost and go up in MC size) I have a different suggestion:

1. Keep your LS1 calipers

2. Buy a set of C5 caliper abutments and pins

3. Buy a set of C5 rotors and pads

Bought right you're in for under $500, increased rotor diameter of 0.88" and increased clamping force 8.4%.

You still need to change to a performance pad, but you can package that with rotors. Powerstop has packages for street or track. In your case I'd suggest street.

Would the C5 abutments space the calipers correctly with the LS1 mounting points or would I need a new adapter?

[RT66ProTouring]

You would need a different adapter. Sorry, I failed to mention that.

[David LaBuda]

If I have to change adapters, it wouldn't cost much more to step up to a used set of Brembos. I've been playing around with a calculator and it seems like stepping down the front master cylinder to .75" in addition to the Brembo calipers would have next to no net change in pedal travel because of the smaller piston size. It would substantially increase the front rotor torque though. Does this train of thought make sense? It would shift a ton of bias to the front but that could be corrected with the balance bar without sacrificing stopping power.