C5 rotors with stock LS1 calipers/ abutment brackets
I read somewhere that you can use the stock ls1 calipers and pads with the C5 rotors when using the UMI or other C5 conversion kits. Has anyone actually done this? I would like to run this setup for a while to save some money, and maybe eventually upgrade to the better C5 calipers if I feel it necessary. I dont need a bunch of people telling me why the C5 calipers are better, I just want to know if this is possible. Thanks in advance.
-Jerry
Last edited by SierraCarver; 11-02-2009 at 01:11 PM..
Reason: title does not reflect question
OK what I read was the calipers were the same except the C5 calipers have more beef on them, and thus, flex less. They also have better heat dissipation. I think it still may be necessary to run the Corvette abutment brackets with this setup. Either way is much less expensive than a complete C5 setup. A set of corvette Brembo rotors is $110 from tire rack, while camaro ones are around 250. Also, you can get a set of the corvette abutment brackets from ebay for around 70 bucks. The cheapest I saw the corvette calipers on ebay was just over $200. I am assuming if you have to use the Corvette abutment brackets that you will also need corvette pads.
I had heard the same but want to be sure myself. LS1 and C5 calipers are both 2 piston. Other than the vette calipers being pressure molded vs gravity on the LS1's, the major part of the upgrade is the larger rotor.
I want to use the LS1 caliper and C5 rotor with a "track bracket" as well. Do you need the Abutment bracket from the C5 as well... Hopefully someone will confirm that it works.
Considering it works, which "track bracket" would you use?
I think the nicest I've seen are a set on Ebay... machined from solid billet and hard coat anodized. When aluminum is hard coat anodized, a metal file just slides over it. It is pretty amazing... nothing like regular anodizing. they are more than the set that Maryland Speed has, but not much more.
From what I remember reading the pistons are smaller on the C5 caliper to work in conjunction with the larger rotor. Therefore, using the larger C5 rotor with Camaro calipers would transfer slightly greater braking force to the front.
This may not be a bad thing as our cars are nose heavy and the rear tires are prone to locking up anyway. This is the reason many who track their car run good pads up front and stock pads on the rear. I can see a C5 rotor only conversion perhaps making it more ideal to run a medium aggressive pad like the Hawk HPS in the rear.
It is an interesting conversion that may actually workout ok. I am interested in doing this swap myself.
I know this has been done before, someone has got to know which abutment brackets and pads (Corvette or Camaro) need to be used with which bracket.......
Some brake performance feedback would be nice too!
They are not of very good quality. I would use UMI's brackets. They are close to trackbirds or the Bishop brackets.
I too thought about using the larger rotor and keeping the LS1 pads/calipers. I am interested to see the results also.
How do you know they are not of very good quality? Have you seen them in person and compared them side by side? Ever heard of any failing or causing issues? Brackets are brackets. They are all just a heavy duty piece of machined aluminum or steel. Some are powdercoated and some are not. I don't see why some places charge over $600 for JUST the two pieces of machined metal and some bolts. If there is a technical design issue that makes the 6LE brackets of lower quality than UMI (like warping) I would be curious to find out.
I read somewhere that you can use the stock ls1 calipers and pads with the C5 rotors when using the UMI or other C5 conversion kits. Has anyone actually done this? I would like to run this setup for a while to save some money, and maybe eventually upgrade to the better C5 calipers if I feel it necessary. I dont need a bunch of people telling me why the C5 calipers are better, I just want to know if this is possible. Thanks in advance.
-Jerry
I spent $750+ for the whole UMI kit and it was worth every penny. I wouldn't half ass it, just stick with stock until you can afford all the right parts.
Half assed job = half assed performance. Do it right, see how this post is going? No one knows how to do it wrong.
__________________ 2001 Z28
Full exhaust, FTI 3400.
12 flat at 112mph.
How do you know they are not of very good quality? Have you seen them in person and compared them side by side? Ever heard of any failing or causing issues? Brackets are brackets. They are all just a heavy duty piece of machined aluminum or steel. Some are powdercoated and some are not. I don't see why some places charge over $600 for JUST the two pieces of machined metal and some bolts. If there is a technical design issue that makes the 6LE brackets of lower quality than UMI (like warping) I would be curious to find out.
The original track brackets were welded bungs, then they started to tie them together to strengthen them, now they are machined out of a solid piece of billet with the bungs tied together with as much as .600 of material and tighter tolerences along with higher tensil strength aluminum and special anodizing that penetrates the metal. The 6LE brackets look like predecessors to all of these... that's not to say they have any issues?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bro Inc
I spent $750+ for the whole UMI kit and it was worth every penny. I wouldn't half ass it, just stick with stock until you can afford all the right parts.
Half assed job = half assed performance. Do it right, see how this post is going? No one knows how to do it wrong.
Keep in mind the only part being left out is the C5 caliper.
The main advantage of the C5 caliper is the fact that it is pressure cast thus being able to better withstand flexing when they get very hot. For a street application the LS1 caliper is fine and actually can apply stronger braking due to the fact that it has larger pistons than the C5's.
The best application depends on your intended use... I hope this clears things up so the thread can get back on topic.
How do you know they are not of very good quality? Have you seen them in person and compared them side by side? Ever heard of any failing or causing issues? Brackets are brackets. They are all just a heavy duty piece of machined aluminum or steel. Some are powdercoated and some are not. I don't see why some places charge over $600 for JUST the two pieces of machined metal and some bolts. If there is a technical design issue that makes the 6LE brackets of lower quality than UMI (like warping) I would be curious to find out.
There is a thread about them. I searched but can't find it. I think the concern was about how there are spacers used instead of them being a part of the bracket. There was concern about there being "sheer" points because of the way the brackets were made.
Do I have any experience with them personally no. I should have worded my response better than I did. I do not want to be one of the people that add to internet "hype". But I guess that's what I did. If I can find the thread I will post it.
The LG brackets are the only ones that allow use of the C5 rotors with fbody calipers. Works great for me...stops like a mofo.
So with the LG bracket you don't cut an LS spindle at all and use the LS caliper and bracket and not the C5 abutment bracket?
I had heard it moves the brake bias to the front quite a bit as well, any impressions...
So with the LG bracket you don't cut an LS spindle at all and use the LS caliper and bracket and not the C5 abutment bracket?
I had heard it moves the brake bias to the front quite a bit as well, any impressions...
I did a lot of searching last night and that appears correct. LG brackets, C5 rotor, no spindle cutting, LS caliper, LS abutment brackets and LS pads.
It will move the brake bias to the front, but that is probably not a bad thing on our nose heavy cars. Many people run stock or less aggresive pads in the rear for this very reason. If the bias was too great towards the front you could always run a slightly more aggresive pad in the rear to compensate some. I think it will probably be fine though. Like you I would love to hear actual impressions from those who have driven their car hard (autox, open track, etc.)........
I did a lot of searching last night and that appears correct. LG brackets, C5 rotor, no spindle cutting, LS caliper, LS abutment brackets and LS pads.
It will move the brake bias to the front, but that is probably not a bad thing on our nose heavy cars. Many people run stock or less aggresive pads in the rear for this very reason. If the bias was too great towards the front you could always run a slightly more aggresive pad in the rear to compensate some. I think it will probably be fine though. Like you I would love to hear actual impressions from those who have driven their car hard (autox, open track, etc.)........
Correct. You can feel some additional nose dive from the additional braking power (4th gen calipers have more clamping force) but it's very manageable. With my Bilsteins, it's still 100% better than stock in EVERY way. You can adjust two ways, one is more aggressive pads as mentioned above. The other way is simply better shocks with more control of the front springs. I'm going Konis soon so this will be a complete non-issue.
Been searching myself... thanks guys. Looks like LG doesn't make the bracket anymore?
Any other options, 6LE doesnt require cutting but I don't care for the 3 pc design for the reasons in the link above. Saw the same design as 6L's on Ebay... any other options, or anyone with LG brackets they care to part with?
Try contacting UMI. They sell C5 conversion kits and have knowledge in this area. Also, keep in mind C5 calipers obvious hold C5 pads which are larger than LS1 pads. The larger brake swept are is the key to braking performance, while larger rotors absorb and disipate more heat and are less likely to fade.
C5 rotors with stock LS1 calipers/ abutment brackets 
