,
The caliper also has stainless steel abutments to protect the aluminum caliper body from being galled by the steel brake pad backing plate.
The rear rotor is somewhat unusual, as it is a two-piece part, but the rotor hat is made out of steel rather than aluminum.
Steel is used because the car uses a drum brake for a parking brake, and the hat is actually the brake drum for the parking brake itself. If the hat was made of aluminum, the parking brake shoes might wear into the soft aluminum quickly.
The hat is given an aluminum plasma spray to keep it from rusting.
You can see the brake drum integrated into the hat here.
The anti-rust coating is also applied to the friction ring of the rotor. Like the front rotors, the rear rotors also have the curved slots cut into the friction surface of the rotor.
Also like the front rotors, the rear rotors have the friction ring of the rotors fully floated from the hat. This is to prevent high-temperature distortion of the friction ring caused by being attached to the heat sink hat on one side and differential cooling. The same hardware is used to float the friction ring as on the front rotors.
Now it was time to install our brakes! First, Howard removed our front wheels.
As you can see, the stock Z51 brakes are no slouches and would be considered a great upgrade for many lesser cars. This would not do for us, as the C7 is the American made exotic!
13 comments
Thank you for the video and article regarding the Stingray upgrades. I have been looking at the Chevy brake upgrade but was hesitant due to Chevy performance article stating that the brake upgrade was not compatible with the z51 stock wheels for clearance. I saw your car in the video and read the article that you used the stock wheels. Therefore I wanted to ask if you had any trouble with the stock z51 wheels fitting the upgrade? Was a spacer needed? Thank you for any help or detailed pictures regarding brake clearance with stock z51 wheels.
Yes, we had to run a 5mm spacer to clear the calipers in the front.
What is the weight difference between the OEM z51 brakes and the upgrading unots?
They are slightly heavier. A couple of pounds I belive.
They are slightly heavier. A couple of pounds I believe.
Which are you referring to as being heavier, the OEM units or the upgraded units? Do you know the actual weight of the upgraded calipers and rotors?
can you put the upgrade on a z51 stingray
Yes, this is a Z51 and it fit fine.
Can you upgrade base stingray to big brake kit
Yes, all the parts apply.
What is the GM part number for this kit? My local GM Performance dealer was quite confused! The entire C7 project series was amazing and gave me inspiration to upgrade my 2019 Z51.
Front kit: 23386144
Rear kit: 23386145
ST Suspensions spacers for front wheels (5mm): 56055021
So you did the video showing the b4 the Z51 brake upgrade. What about the after video (I can’t seem to find it). Also it appears that there are disclaimers for using this upgrade kit and it appears the spacer is not available.
Please advise.
Thanks in advance..