[CDW6212R]

for the guys not liking the corvette or gto logos i found ones without

CENTRIC 14162128
Front Left; Except Corvette Logo

CENTRIC 14262128
Front Left; Except Corvette Logo

Yes, the parts store I checked with made it sound like there are generic versions of each one, and to get the original calipers is harder. Some were not available and about half had to be shipped in from other stores.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Yes, the parts store I checked with made it sound like there are generic versions of each one, and to get the original calipers is harder. Some were not available and about half had to be shipped in from other stores.

Not a bad problem to have really as i'm sure most guys reading this thread would just opt for the plain-faced calipers void of any logos. I checked rockauto.com a year or so ago, and could swear that wasn't even an option back then. Now that i see it is, no reason to not get the blank ones.

At some point, as reman prices drop (and they have since a year ago when i did this project) i'll pick up a set of plain-faced calipers, paint them red and maybe add a bullitt-style running pony on them and swap them out with my current red Z06 style calipers and just toss those on Ebay.

Hopefully Baer has no plans to discontinue that specific bracket, as the only option if that happens is to use the Z51 brackets (which are $50 each, vs $135 for the Baer) and hog out the holes on your Sn95 spindles.

I'd really like to figure out a cost-effective 1.25" rotor for this setup as well at some point.

 

[ChristophrC]

Mike... what is the overall thickness of the pads for the c5 calipers?

There was a fella that raced CMC a few years ago that did this same swap. I believe he used the c5 brackets instead of the Baer brackets. I know he did a write up but the pics are long gone due the photo bucket debacle.

Wilwood has many different hats... I am sure something could be put together for a reasonable 1.25 rotor...

 

[pkstang]

i'm tempted to buy the following rotors and see how they stack up as i've been unable to find a direct comparison between them besides the typical od and thickness. if anyone has any feedback/thoughts please chime in.

cobra 13x1.1 as baseline

GT500 (14x1.25) figured the od can be machined down

'15 GT (13.8 x 1.26) same deal with the od

maybe even a gen 1 or 2 viper as its a 13 x 1.26 although vipers use a 6 on 4.5" bolt pattern so not sure if re-drilling them is possible without the swiss cheese effect

just an idea...

 

[Mustang5L5]

Mike... what is the overall thickness of the pads for the c5 calipers?

It's a D731 pad

14.6mm overall thickness (pad + backing plate)
~10mm pad thickness

Wilwood has many different hats... I am sure something could be put together for a reasonable 1.25 rotor...

I'm sure it can be done, and has been done. The question is how much is such a set going to cost?

 

[rstoff]

i'm tempted to buy the following rotors and see how they stack up as i've been unable to find a direct comparison between them besides the typical od and thickness. if anyone has any feedback/thoughts please chime in.

cobra 13x1.1 as baseline

GT500 (14x1.25) figured the od can be machined down

'15 GT (13.8 x 1.26) same deal with the od

maybe even a gen 1 or 2 viper as its a 13 x 1.26 although vipers use a 6 on 4.5" bolt pattern so not sure if re-drilling them is possible without the swiss cheese effect

just an idea...

Go to centricparts.com. They have a vehicle finder and give you the dimensions you need other than the thickness of the hub face.

 

[ChristophrC]

It's a D731 pad

14.6mm overall thickness (pad + backing plate)
~10mm pad thickness




I'm sure it can be done, and has been done. The question is how much is such a set going to cost?

Thanks for the info Mike...

Did you look at the Wilwood Superlites?

Chris Neighbors here on "The Corral" used to make a set of brackets to adapt the Superlites to the SN95 spindle. IIRC he charged ~$100... The Superlite calipers can be had for ~$160 each and can also be ordered for the same cost to accept 1.25 rotors. The advantage of the Superlites is the pad is .800 thick and is relatively cheap due to it being a "race pad" shape. The Superlites can be ordered with 1.62 pistons so the pedal feel remains close to the same as the Cobra calipers...

Just browsing around the Wilwood site it appears rotors and hats would probably run ~$750 to put something together. Coleman may be able to supply the rotor rings for a lesser cost. If you are tracking your car and going through the trouble of getting two piece rotors I think it would probably be best to go with a full floating rotor.

 

[CDW6212R]

Thanks for the info Mike...

Did you look at the Wilwood Superlites?

Chris Neighbors here on "The Corral" used to make a set of brackets to adapt the Superlites to the SN95 spindle. IIRC he charged ~$100... The Superlite calipers can be had for ~$160 each and can also be ordered for the same cost to accept 1.25 rotors. The advantage of the Superlites is the pad is .800 thick and is relatively cheap due to it being a "race pad" shape. The Superlites can be ordered with 1.62 pistons so the pedal feel remains close to the same as the Cobra calipers...

Just browsing around the Wilwood site it appears rotors and hats would probably run ~$750 to put something together. Coleman may be able to supply the rotor rings for a lesser cost. If you are tracking your car and going through the trouble of getting two piece rotors I think it would probably be best to go with a full floating rotor.

I like the options for calipers, but I was most interested in the C5 PBR calipers because they have OEM dust seals, street seals. The race calipers all come without any street seal, just the simple internal seal. Those are more trouble to use on the street with typical care. They really need to be serviced regularly, which they have in race applications. I have a set that each time I replace pads I have to spend extra time cleaning behind the SS hardware pieces. But the lack of street seals means debris can reach the inner seal, which will reduce the lifespan compared to OEM type calipers. I want the street seals for my Lincoln.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Just browsing around the Wilwood site it appears rotors and hats would probably run ~$750 to put something together. Coleman may be able to supply the rotor rings for a lesser cost. If you are tracking your car and going through the trouble of getting two piece rotors I think it would probably be best to go with a full floating rotor.

I'll be honest and say i probably have raced for the last time on a track/autoX/Drag course. The kiddos keep me occupied these days so getting away for day is impossible for me for the next 10-15 years or until the kids decide they like their friends more than me and my wife.

I'm an engineer by trade, so i'm always trying to learn and figure out how i can improve upon something. So really, at this point the 1.25" rotor search is more about information and the fun of research. I really don't need 1.25" rotors to go to the local coffee shop.

The reason the C5 PBR appeals to me is that, other than the Baer specific bracket, i can source any of the parts i need for the front brake setup from my local parts store if needed. Caliper, pads, pins, seals, hardware, rotor (The standard Cobra 13.1" x 1.1") hub, etc. for cheap money. The setup also fits inside a 17" wheel, which i prefer on my car. I also went this way because the car will primarily be street driven, so i don't really need an exotic front brake setup.

I briefly considered the Brembo setup, which could also accept a 13 x 1.25" rotor, but it usually requires an 18" wheel, and caliper components are a little harder to come by, and the entire setup is generally more expensive.

Of course, there are limitations to the PBR caliper in general, and if i was really serious about road racing, i would look elsewhere.

Brakes for the Corvette? - SCCAForums.com - SCCA Racing

Page 3 pics really show the downside of the PBR caliper...flex under hard braking. The C5 caliper is supposedly stiffer than the Cobra/C4 caliper, and allegedly the C6 caliper is even stiffer. I have yet to look into how direct of a swap a C6 caliper would be, but the casting looks a little different. I do not see any blank C6 calipers offered by the reman companies just yet, but if they do, i may swap a pair on to rid myself of the lettering.

 

[Mustang5L5]

So just an update and some new info.

Decided to ditch the corvette lettering. Since I wanted to sell off the red z06 calipers, I didn't want to grind the caliper face off.

Ended up picking up a set of very clean 06 GTO calipers for under $100 shipped. Discovered the GTO caliper is actually based on the C6 casting and not the c5 as previously stated. Now, rumor has it these are stiffer than the c5 caliper but I can't comment on accuracy of that statement.

But I'll get these painted up plain, get them on the car and enjoy. The c5 setup has been a very stout setup on the street. I've been very aggressive on these brakes and they just bite hard. Are they much better than cobra stuff? Eh prob not measurable difference on a street car.

I do have a 1.25" thick rotor to test fit as well

 

[CDW6212R]

That sounds good Mike, good find on those GTO calipers.

I'd like to also try a thicker rotor with mine, but I'll begin with the thin Cobra rotor first. Then it should be more obvious if it's possible to locate a 1.25" rotor in there, feasibly, near the 0.350" Cobra rotor offset. If it isn't really easy to do that, I'd prefer to move the rotor inboard, and create more space to the wheels.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Update: no more Vette calipers. Refinished the GTO calipers and they are now on. More appropriate.

So for those of you who don't want CORVETTE showing on the calipers, you can purchase the blank versions and refinish as you see fit. These were painted red, and then a high temp decal (2.5" IIRC) was affixed to the caliper and then it was cleared over.

EDIT: One year later, they still look this good.

Also, comparison of C5 (right) vs the C6/GTO casting on left. Ribbing is a bit beefier with the C6 casting.

Also may have found a solution for a 13.1" x 1.25" rotor for this setup. Credit goes to "pkstang" for doing the legwork on obtaining and measuring a number of 1.25" thick rotors and finding something that will work. Will update that in a day or so

 

[Mustang5L5]

Also may have found a solution for a 13.1" x 1.25" rotor for this setup. Credit goes to "pkstang" for doing the legwork on obtaining and measuring a number of 1.25" thick rotors and finding something that will work. Will update that in a day or so

I never updated this, but this was attempted about a year ago. I figure it might be worth posting about it before the info is lost.

PkStang took a GT500 14" rotor and had it turned down by a machine shop to 13.0". I then bolted it right onto my car. Only cut one rotor down, and did not drive on it, but clearances seemed to be ok. With wheel torqued on and freely spun, no rubbing issues at all. You can see the pad alignment to the swept surface of the rotor seems perfect.

That's as far as we got. No second rotor was ever machined down to do a test drive with. I peronally do not have any plans to go any further with this.

 

[Mustang5L5]

More pics

 

[pkstang]

I never updated this, but this was attempted about a year ago. I figure it might be worth posting about it before the info is lost.

PkStang took a GT500 14" rotor and had it turned down by a machine shop to 13.0". I then bolted it right onto my car. Only cut one rotor down, and did not drive on it, but clearances seemed to be ok. With wheel torqued on and freely spun, no rubbing issues at all. You can see the pad alignment to the swept surface of the rotor seems perfect.

That's as far as we got. No second rotor was ever machined down to do a test drive with. I peronally do not have any plans to go any further with this.

hoping to get the other rotor machined this month (i bought two rotors but only machined one to test fit and prove it out). after that gotta drill out my SN95 spindles to accept the 14mm GM bolts, get new calipers (i posted pn above of ones without the corvette logo) and then it's rock and roll time. putting in lot of hours at work but do need this done by summer. pk

 

[pkstang]

here's an update on the GT500 rotors as i've been running them for few months now.

mike greatly detailed the benefits of the C5/C6 corvette calipers above (thanks mike), and i went the GT500 rotor route as i wanted a 13x1.25 setup for the added thermal capacity. the added benefit is that this brake setup clears my 17" drag wheels (center-line competition series qualifier, my "street" wheels are 18" saleen lemans), and the GT500 rotors are nearly identical to the cobras as far as offsets go only pushing out the wheels by 1.3mm (sorry i pretty much live in metric world for work).

here's some info on the parts and modifications needed...

2007-2015 GT500 rotors, which i had turned down to 12.90" (327mm)
cobras are 330mm (12.99") x 28mm (1.10"): this is advertised and actual is around 12.95" (329mm) from what i've seen.
GT500s are 355mm (13.98") x 32mm (1.26"): cobras should have come with 1.25" thick rotors!

i originally posted above that centric has black coated calipers WITHOUT the corvette logo, but later learned that they are being phased out, but there's another option...
142.62128 Front Left; Except Corvette Logo (this is a black coated caliper)
142.62128 Front Left; Except Corvette Logo (this is a black coated caliper)
141.62128 Front Left; Except Corvette Logo (standard finish and readily available and what i bought)
141.62128 Front Left; Except Corvette Logo (standard finish and readily available and what i bought)
i was able to re-use my speed bleeders as the vett and mustang share the same porting and pn.

bought the Z51 abutments (ac delco 88964166), which needed 0.186" removed from the mounting boss to center the machined GT500 rotor inside the brake abutment.
i also clearanced the abutments to clear the od of the rotor using a bench grinder. 10" or 12" grinding wheel would make this super easy, but its doable on an 8" just remove the protective covers (i had to space my grinding wheel out a bit using washers to gain the needed clearance).

machined the spindles to accept gm's 14mm brake abutments (ford spindles use 12mm on 130mm vs gm's 14mm on 128mm), and also upgraded my existing maximum motorsports tapered-stud bumpsteer kit to bolt-through since i had the spindles at a machine shop.

abutment bolts (bought some oem bolts on ebay): all 05-12 corvette uses the same 14mm bolts

i used ac delco ceramic pads (will dig up the pn) as i ran a similar pad on my G8 GT when i upgraded to CTS-V brembos and found them to be awesome for the money (very similar braking performance to hawk's hps but lot less dust). these pads also come with all the needed brake hardware, and you will need to clearance the anti-rattle clips for the rotor, but this is a quick job using a bench grinder.

 

[Mustang5L5]

bought the Z51 abutments (ac delco 88964166), which needed 0.186" removed from the mounting boss to center the machined GT500 rotor inside the brake abutment.

That's interesting that you had to machine the flange to center the rotor. I didn't have to do this at all, but it might be due to the fact that i was using the Baer brackets already set up for SN95 spindles. Perhaps they already had this done.

 

[pkstang]

i had an error in the part numbers above so quick update for those interested

142.62127 Front Right; Except Corvette Logo (this is a black coated caliper)

142.62128 Front Left; Except Corvette Logo (this is a black coated caliper)

141.62127 Front Right; Except Corvette Logo (standard finish and readily available and what i bought)

141.62128 Front Left; Except Corvette Logo (standard finish and readily available and what i bought)