Looking for the best z51 brake pads
- Thread starter yyuksel
- Start date
I ordered mine from Paragon Performance ... so right now on Paragons website they are 1050 USD ( pair ) for the front and the same for the back plus shipping
I bought mine 2 years ago and paid a couple of bucks ( nothing significant ) less ... if you sourced them here your paying pretty much exactly the same because these rotors come from the US and of course they factor in the exchange rate and shipping into the CDN price . I know I tried and it was bang on .
And usually if you find someone that sells them here like JRP in Oakville they are usually on back order or some stupid s^*t like that
On Paragons website the replacement rings are sold in pairs for 750 USD front ... same for rears
These are great rotors and Girodisc has changed the look of them and they look even better now with black hats and curved slots
But something to be aware of these rotors ( at least mine ) were NOT coated and after the first wash the non contact surfaces rusted ... Not the hats or hardware as they are alluminum
So being the freak that I am I removed them and painted the vents and non contact surfaces of the disc with VHT Alluminum paint ... and no issues since ... so they look as good as they perform
Not sure if the newer versions are coated or not but that may be something you'd want to inquire about
Last edited:
Shane, which do you feel are the best for dust reduction, improved stopping power and no squeaking? I had heard the Powerstop Z26 was good for all of these items but you have mentioned many others.Any high quality ceramic pad will be lower dust, and should be perfectly adequate for spirited street use. I personally haven't used any of these, but they all seem to be well reviewed, and from reputable brands:
Hawk PC
G-Loc GS-1
Carbotech 1521
EBC Redstuff
Powerstop also has pads for the Z51, although IMO I'd tend to rate Powerstop as more of a budget pad compared to the above.
TDot has good pricing on EBC. Much cheaper than you are likely to find the other brands for.
FMSI pad shapes for the Z51 I'm pretty certain are D2312 (front), D2366 (rear)
EBC Brakes DP33112C - Redstuff Ceramic Front Brake Pads
Position: Front Pad Material: Ceramic Quantity: Sold as a set FMSI: D2312www.tdotperformance.ca
EBC Brakes DP33113C - Redstuff Ceramic Rear Brake Pads
Position: Rear Pad Material: Ceramic Quantity: Sold as a set FMSI: D2366
Ceramic pads all pretty similar IMO. Generally any ceramic type compound will have reduced dust, tend to be quiet, but also to start fading at a lower temp. compared to more performance oriented compounds. They have average stopping power when kept within their temperature range in that they work well, but are not as powerful as more performance oriented pads with higher friction coefficients. For street use I'd just go with whichever ceramic pad you can get for the best price if quiet and low dust are the priorities. Never used them, but Powerstop seems to have good reviews for the C8, as do most of the other brands I mentioned. Street use only.
For improved stopping power you really need to step up to more performance oriented compounds like the Hawk HP+, EBC Blue or similar. 2 pads I really liked, that can be used on the street with a bit of noise/dust, and are OK for light track use are the Ferodo DS2500, and Project Mu HC+. Neither of which is available for the C8. The stock Z51 pads so far seem pretty similar to those 2 in terms of performance.
It's always a trade-off. What is quiet and low dust doesn't work as well as temperatures increase, and you'll need to go with a noisier, dustier pad if doing more aggressive driving. Proper race pads won't get up to operating temp on the street, so you end up swapping between street/track pads for track events. The closest I've found to a do it all street/light track pad were the DS2500s, and Project Mu HC+. I think GM may have done a pretty good job with selecting the stock Z51 pad in terms of having something that will also work on the street, and for light track use. The tradeoff is always noise, dust.
Last edited:
If anyone is looking for really good brake fluid, Nengun Performance will ship Endless RF-650 out of Japan for prices far below what you can get it for here in Canada even when shipping and taxes are factored in.
www.nengun.com
Endless - RF-650 Racing Brake Fluid
The Endless RF-650 Racing Brake Fluid has been designed and tested to withstand the harsh demands of racing, whether rally, circuit or street.
www.nengun.com
Scott, here are a couple of videos put together by the Steeda/Hawk guys that show the differences in the types of pads. (FWIW I believe all of the Hawk compounds are available for the Z51)
Most performance brake pad manufacturers will have something that falls into each temp range/class of pad moving from street to full race. Low dust performance ceramic pads are firmly at the street end of things for drivers who do a bit of spirited street driving, but want to prioritize low dust and low noise. If trying to compare apples to apples I find it's best to look at torque vs temp graphs if available and/or specified operating temp ranges. Even then it gets a bit tricky because differences in pad composition can control things like initial bite and pad endurance, and there are instances where a more progressive pad with less initial bite (or vice versa) is desired like at high speed tracks where too much much initial bite can unsettle the chassis into fast corners. Also not all manufacturers report friction coefficients and temp ranges the same way. Feel/driver preference is also a big part of selecting a race pad. Exchanging notes with other drivers of similar class cars at the track is always helpful.
I think the pad with the widest operating temp range I've ever run is the Project Mu HC+ on an R33 Skyline GT-R, (50-800C) but it still wasn't as good as 2 sets of dedicated pads for street/track. That pad gave off a wierd purple dust, squealed like a UPS truck on cold mornings, were awesome for fast street use, and could still stand up reasonably well to a couple of track days. The tradeoff, if you could tolerate the noise and dust, was that you didn't need to swap back and forth to do track days and could leave one pad in the car until they were done. The OEM Z51 Pagid/Brembo pads I believe are somewhat similar, where you have a pad that can be used for light track use, but with some dust/noise on the street. It's a good pad for what it (and the Z51) was designed to do. The Ron Fellows school from what I understand uses OEM pads on all their Z51s. I think the Hawk HP+ in the Steeda video might be comparable to the OEM Z51 pads to see how the OEM pads compare to a performance ceramic pad.
Street pads:
Track pads:
Most performance brake pad manufacturers will have something that falls into each temp range/class of pad moving from street to full race. Low dust performance ceramic pads are firmly at the street end of things for drivers who do a bit of spirited street driving, but want to prioritize low dust and low noise. If trying to compare apples to apples I find it's best to look at torque vs temp graphs if available and/or specified operating temp ranges. Even then it gets a bit tricky because differences in pad composition can control things like initial bite and pad endurance, and there are instances where a more progressive pad with less initial bite (or vice versa) is desired like at high speed tracks where too much much initial bite can unsettle the chassis into fast corners. Also not all manufacturers report friction coefficients and temp ranges the same way. Feel/driver preference is also a big part of selecting a race pad. Exchanging notes with other drivers of similar class cars at the track is always helpful.
I think the pad with the widest operating temp range I've ever run is the Project Mu HC+ on an R33 Skyline GT-R, (50-800C) but it still wasn't as good as 2 sets of dedicated pads for street/track. That pad gave off a wierd purple dust, squealed like a UPS truck on cold mornings, were awesome for fast street use, and could still stand up reasonably well to a couple of track days. The tradeoff, if you could tolerate the noise and dust, was that you didn't need to swap back and forth to do track days and could leave one pad in the car until they were done. The OEM Z51 Pagid/Brembo pads I believe are somewhat similar, where you have a pad that can be used for light track use, but with some dust/noise on the street. It's a good pad for what it (and the Z51) was designed to do. The Ron Fellows school from what I understand uses OEM pads on all their Z51s. I think the Hawk HP+ in the Steeda video might be comparable to the OEM Z51 pads to see how the OEM pads compare to a performance ceramic pad.
Street pads:
Track pads:
Last edited:
The instructors at Ron Fellows told us they use stock GM Z51 brake pads because these cars have a two level, computer controlled anti brake fade system. The first level being a warning on the Driver Information Centre and the second level puts your car in limp mode. The friction coefficient differs between different pad brands. Limp mode would require a trip to the dealer though, and if the dealer found non compliant brake parts, it probably wouldn’t be covered by warranty. I personally have never heard of anyone having that system come on.
My guess with regard to the computer controlled fade system would be that it would only activate in instances of fade/low friction, and that you would be far more likely to activate the system using a lower temp/lower friction pad, such as a low dust ceramic, in a high performance driving environment, and not by using a high friction/ higher temp pad on the track.
Lots of drivers regularly run race pads (with high temp fluid)on track in the C8 with no issues activating the anti-fade warnings. Running a low dust performance ceramic pad that has a lower operating temp than the stock Z51 pads, or NOT using high temp brake fluid on track I can see causing issues with the anti fade system on the C8.
How have these held up for you? Do you recommend?I've gone a different route. I will keep everyone posted on how these compare to the stock z51 brakes...
Front and Rear High Performance Cross Drilled EVO GEOMET Koted Rotors and High Performance Carbon Brake Pads w/ HW Kit - XDG-60447084-K
a:1:{s:16:"CORVETTE=6.2L V8";s:58:"Front and Rear; Z51 Performance; 345mm Front and Rear Disc";}www.crossdrilledrotors.ca