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Recently I swapped to a 4th gen rear w/ LS brakes and decided the front needed the upgrade.
Size:Price the 04-07 CTS-V calipers are the way to go.
One problem, I wanted big brakes but did not want to swap to a plus size wheel. Solution Use the 13.4" Z51 rotor with a custom caliper bracket. Its been done before, not much coverage. I am doing it again. At the moment neither Flynbye or bigbrakeupgrades offer a kit for this.
All in all this is a budget option, compared to aftermarket kits.
Parts list & Totals:
- Front 04-07 CTS-V Calipers: $300.00
- Front Z51 Rotors (Brakenetic): $210.00 (You can get plain blanks for $100.00)
- Front Hawk HP+ Brake Pads: $90.00
- Moroso Extended Wheel Studs: $15.00
- AC Delco Brake Caliper Hardware: $30.00
- 82-92 Camaro/Firebird 04-07 CTS-V / Z51 Caliper Bracket/Adapter: $100.00
- (8) Grade 10.9 12mm x 1.75 Pitch x 30mm Bracket bolts: $15.00
Brake Lines:
- (2) -3AN 20" PTFE SS Braided Hose: $30.00
- (2) 10MM Fine Thread Banjo Bolt: $10.00
- (2) -3AN Male to 10x1.0 Female Brake Line Adapter: $12.00
- (2) -3AN Male to 3/8" or 10mm 90 Degree Banjo: $20.00
First off let me start off by saying these things are pretty massive.
Mocked up with a mock MDF bracket and .200" of spacers to keep the caliper off the ears of the bracket.
One small issue with the 13.4" Z51 rotor is that you have to sacrifice about an 1/8" of pad to rotor overlap. Due to the design of the rotor its actually not all that bad.
Brackets in from being laser cut. Props to Scott from Big Brake Upgrade. I gave him the CAD file and he laser cut these out of .250" flat stock.
Last edited by blackbmagic; 10-30-2016 at 06:17 PM.
On to the brake lines. In order from hardline to caliper:
Male -3AN to Female 10x1.0 Bubble Flare
20" PTFE SS Braided Line.
-3AN to 90º 10mm Banjo
10mm X 1.0 Banjo Bolt.
For rotors I went with brakenetic RS. Needed to mill down the stock rotors to make hubs for these guys. Stocks are SO TINY.
So you can see the what the stock rotors look like as hubs.
Also need to do some work on the spindles, though pretty much the same on all aftermarket brake jobs I wont bore you with those pics. Just drilled out the holes with a 13/32 and tapped with an M12X1.75.
Also need to get extended studs for the new hubs to keep the same thread engagement. These rotors will be sitting over the new hub(old rotor).
Here is the finished spindle and threaded upper caliper hole. I had to drill out the bottom hole and thread the bracket due to clearance issues.
And here we go all mocked up and behind a wheel. Not much room, maybe 1/16"-1/8" adding a 1/4" spacer will bring the wheel out some and the caliper futher in the barrel for more clearance. In any case I am using these with 17" ZR1 wheels which have a wider barrel.
Now for the fun stuff. Its almost a shame the stock CTS-V coat is so nice, but it had to go. Hit them with a few coats of paint stripper and a quick sand blast.
Decided on Starlight Metallic Red powder and a high gloss clear powder. Yes thats right power coat.
Here is the base coat of red. Honestly I thought it was going to be a little brighter. Added the sticker, then back in the oven and hot flocked the clear on.
The clear really levels out any imperfections and is super slick.
Also did a test wheel with gloss black powder. Dont mind the dust. They came out "okay" but I like this shade of red behind the black wheels.
Here's a shot mounted. You can see about 1/4" gap between the barrel and the caliper Excuse the surface rust, it sat a couple of weeks before I was able to finish up.
Now in terms of performance. They are bad ***. Unfortunately I never did a baseline stock brake test. At the moment I am putting the final touches on my fuel injection install, but after bedding the Hawk HP+ in these stop on a dime, with little pedal pressure, and easy to manipulate. Well worth all the effort and $.
Yeah not much clearance at all on the wagon wheels, but plenty on the ZR1's.
Interested to find out what the effect will be of pad contact on that portion of the rotor. Honestly probably not much of anything, its only around 1/8" and the rotor is just as thick there as anywhere else.
Good job on the brakes looks good. I know I love mine. Hoping to get the rears on soon. Let us know how that overlap does after a few miles. Interested if it will affect the pads at all too.
Honestly this seems to be a hot topic about the pad overlap. It is probably the 5th time someone has commented on it. I would like to know why this can be such an issue? In my opinion there are so many other avenues to be worried about such as the AN brake lines, and the mounting situation of the caliper bracket to the spindle.
The line where it tapers will cut into the pad. It won't cut very deep and it will be touching below the line. It might not affect it at all. It could break the pad but I wouldn't think it's very likely.
Any updates on this setup? Or the CAD file? I've just finished up twin turbos on my car. And with the way this Video inflation is looking. I'd like to get brembos on my car before it gets to crazy lol
10-30-2016, 04:27 PM
Excuse the surface rust, it sat a couple of weeks before I was able to finish up. 
