C5 Needs Brakes

[George C.]

My 2003 Convertible needs brakes, and I need your help again. This is my daily driver, which has about 56K miles.
I am guessing that I will need to replace all the rotors, just because it seems they don't outlast the pads by very much anymore. Please let me know what you have experienced.
Again thinking I need to replace all the rotors, I called the local GM dealer and got a price, list of course, of about $700.00 for the pads and rotors all around.
A quick tour on eBay finds pads and rotors from $250 to $2,000. I don't think I need the Brembo brakes, but I don't want junk either. Can you share what driver brands you like? There are many out there.
Last question ThePartsLady is advertising Delco drilled and slotted rotors & ceramic pads for like $400, this sounds like an option to me. Has anyone used these and how are they working out?
Thanks in advance,
George
36809

[Henry S.]

Re: C5 Needs Brakes

My 2003 Convertible needs brakes, and I need your help again. This is my daily driver, which has about 56K miles.
I am guessing that I will need to replace all the rotors, just because it seems they don't outlast the pads by very much anymore. Please let me know what you have experienced.
Again thinking I need to replace all the rotors, I called the local GM dealer and got a price, list of course, of about $700.00 for the pads and rotors all around.
A quick tour on eBay finds pads and rotors from $250 to $2,000. I don't think I need the Brembo brakes, but I don't want junk either. Can you share what driver brands you like? There are many out there.
Last question ThePartsLady is advertising Delco drilled and slotted rotors & ceramic pads for like $400, this sounds like an option to me. Has anyone used these and how are they working out?
Thanks in advance,
George
36809

George, I have a 03 Anniversary that we got from one of the BG judges (Guy Larsen) a couple years ago. He put some drilled and slotted rotors on and gave us the originals. I believe he got them through Midamerica. I'm headed to the shop latter this morning so I'll check the boxes to see what they were and let you know. I was thinking they were Baer but not positive. We've been happy with them. Also don't know if you have painted calibers or not but there's a guy on the CF that did mine and IMO did a great job/quick turn around/real reasonable. I'll pass that along also. Good luck, Shooter

[Henry S.]

Re: C5 Needs Brakes

George,

Guy did get the Baer Eradi Speed Rotors. Part number front: 2301025 Rear: 2302020

He got them through Midamerica.

They seem to work pretty good and we haven't had any problems.

I had corvette pilot (Mike Golding) over on the CF paint our calipers and he did a great job. We have a 50th Anniversary so we painted them the Anniversary Red and they look great. Here's his website: http://www.thepowdercoater.com/

[Joe L.]

Re: C5 Needs Brakes

My 2003 Convertible needs brakes, and I need your help again. This is my daily driver, which has about 56K miles.
I am guessing that I will need to replace all the rotors, just because it seems they don't outlast the pads by very much anymore. Please let me know what you have experienced.
Again thinking I need to replace all the rotors, I called the local GM dealer and got a price, list of course, of about $700.00 for the pads and rotors all around.
A quick tour on eBay finds pads and rotors from $250 to $2,000. I don't think I need the Brembo brakes, but I don't want junk either. Can you share what driver brands you like? There are many out there.
Last question ThePartsLady is advertising Delco drilled and slotted rotors & ceramic pads for like $400, this sounds like an option to me. Has anyone used these and how are they working out?
Thanks in advance,
George
36809

George-----


First of all, make sure you actually need rotors. I think a lot of rotors are unnecessarily replaced just as a matter of "routine". If the rotors have runout within spec, thickness within spec, no surface cracking, and no serious "gouging" (circumferential scratches are ok), then they are ok for re-use. On the other hand, original GM rotors are really not very expensive for your application, so if you want to skip a close inspection and spec checking, you could just get new ones.

What would I use? I'd use original GM. The pad formulations for your car were specified after exhaustive testing to determine the best possible OVERALL braking performance for the car. Why "throw away" all that testing and effort by going with some sort of "super-duper", aftermarket pad?

Here's what I'd use:

rotor, left front-----GM #10445857-----about 65 bucks, discount

rotor, right front----GM #10445856-----about 65 bucks, discount

rotor, left rear------GM #10445859-----about 65 bucks, discount

rotor, right rear-----GM #10445858-----about 65 bucks, discount

front pads----------GM #19181427-----about 140 bucks, discount

rear pads-----------GM #88964095-----about 90 bucks, discount

So, you should be able to get all the genuine GM parts for less than 500 bucks.

[Louis T.]

Re: C5 Needs Brakes

Hi George,

I agree with Joe – for street use, I’d stick with GM rotors and pads (and like he said, that assumes you really even need to replace the rotors in the first place). Also realize that with aftermarket rotors, while you’re gaining in looks, any theoretical performance gains will be negligible in normal street driving. I imagine service life may be increased with the better ones, but keep in mind that opinions on drilled and slotted rotors in street use aren’t universal either (which is why all OEM manufacturers haven’t adopted them) – some dislike the fact that they tend to eat up brake pads quicker, and while drilling reduces unsprung wheel mass and better dissipates high temperature outgassing, it also weakens the rotor making it more prone to failure from stress cracks. Like Joe said, OEMs go to a lot of time and trouble to engineer brake systems that meet and balance a whole range of criteria including stopping power, durability, brake dust, and noise (and you know they strive to reduce warranty claims). Many owners upgrade all or a portion of their systems without trouble or regret, while others open up a can of worms (like some owners experience when they install aftermarket performance exhausts that rattle their dashboards and teeth at certain RPMs).

While some of the huge price range among different brands and models in the aftermarket might have to do with marketing, I’m sure that there are differences in metallurgy, manufacturing techniques, and quality control, and there’s always truth in the old adage that you generally get what you pay for. Then again, you’re also paying a premium due to the substantially lower production volumes over OEM who benefit from economies of scale. If you want to try the aftermarket on a budget, you may be better off trying high quality smooth rotors and forego the unnecessary bells and whistles. Then again, the $400 deal from the very reputable eBay vendor you mentioned sounds tempting too should you want to experiment, and your outlay isn’t much should you decide to go a different route in the future.

Lastly, if you do opt for high-tech aftermarket rotors, just make sure they’ll fit your existing wheels and caliper setup as many rotors are marketed to individuals simultaneously swapping their wheels for larger ones (check with the manufacturer in case the distributor is glossing over some of the details). And remember that drilled and slotted rotors are usually directional (left vs. right), so you must install them per the manufacturer’s instructions so that vanes and slots work as designed for heat and dust dissipation.

Good luck whatever your decision!

Louis

[James W.]

Re: C5 Needs Brakes

Hi George,







Good luck whatever your decision!

Louis

George,

If I were you and you were me I'd pop over to the C5 Corvette Forum at forums@corvetteforum.com. Lots of good technical info there from people who are driven the H#ll out of them. Good fixes and tips for almost any problem.

Jim

[Michael F.]

Re: C5 Needs Brakes

NAPA even autozone etc. could help you out with decent stuff, doesn't have to be from Generous Motors

[George C.]

Re: C5 Needs Brakes

Henry, Joe, Louis, ames, and Michael,
Thank you all for the insightfull responses. I guess I better go measure the wear on the rotors next. As I had posted it was an assumption that they need replaced. And then it is off to the local dealer to beg for a discount, in the old days when I was breaking and replacing stuff on a regular basis, I was on a first name basis with all the parts guys at my local Chevy dealer, and had no problems getting a discout.
I am still interested in the AC Delco package I mentioned before. I attached the link below, if anyone has tried these out let me know your experience.

http://contact.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws1/eBayISAPI.dll?ShowEmailAuctionToFriend&item=400036140061

Thanks again,
George

[Joseph K.]

Re: C5 Needs Brakes

George,

I just bought a 2001 in Il and drove it to NJ. The brakes shown here worked great. There response at any speed was great. I had to stop quickly doing +/- 90 and there was no fade. I attached a picture of the rotors. I have no clue what the pads were but they left very little dust afer 1,000 miles.

[Joe L.]

Re: C5 Needs Brakes

Henry, Joe, Louis, ames, and Michael,
Thank you all for the insightfull responses. I guess I better go measure the wear on the rotors next. As I had posted it was an assumption that they need replaced. And then it is off to the local dealer to beg for a discount, in the old days when I was breaking and replacing stuff on a regular basis, I was on a first name basis with all the parts guys at my local Chevy dealer, and had no problems getting a discout.
I am still interested in the AC Delco package I mentioned before. I attached the link below, if anyone has tried these out let me know your experience.

http://contact.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws1/eBayISAPI.dll?ShowEmailAuctionToFriend&item=400036140061

Thanks again,
George

George-----


This Delco kit is a very good value and I'm sure it will perform fine. However, these parts are not PRODUCTION type parts. GM and Delco offer at least 2 lines of brake parts. The PRODUCTION pieces are available through the GM parts system and SOMETIMES also through the Delco parts system. Delco has other lines of brake parts, one of which is called "Durastop". These are, basically, aftermarket-type parts. I believe that's what these parts are, especially the pads.

[George C.]

Re: C5 Needs Brakes

Joe,
Thanks for the detailed information. I have seen the Durastop pads advertised, I'll keep looking.
George,
36908