92Z

iTrader: (1)

Just wondering. Are the Z06 brakes larger dia and thicker? I believe that i read somewhere that the LS1's were 12in. dia. and .81 thick, and the Z06's were 12.75in. dia. and 1.25 thick. Can anyone confirm this? What is the best bet for budget brake upgrade for a 92 Z28? Thanks.

z28cdoyle

I put the LS1 setup on my 85 IROC. IMHO, it was the best upgrade for money. By the way, my cost to put the LS1 brakes on my car was $210. How about that for a budget upgrade? I know of nothing else I will need to complete the swap since it is completely installed on my car. This includes used calipers/caliper carriers (and a set of brake pads that were in the calipers) and new slotted rotors. I made my own brackets and did all the installation myself.

I like the fact that I can buy reasonably priced rotors, pads, calipers at any auto parts store or scrap yard by simply asking for 98 Camaro parts. The Z06 setup is nice too but I have found that, even though the parts may be identical, as soon as you mention Corvette the price for parts seems to go up about 30%.

FYI, the LS1 rotors are 12" diameter X 1.25" thick. I believe the C5/Z06 rotors are 13" diameter but I do not know the thickness. The 12" X 0.81" thick rotors you mentioned are the C4 rotors (and maybe the 1LE, not sure). The C4 is a nice swap too, from what I have heard.

Also keep in mind that the C5/Z06 setup will require 17" wheels minimum. I have 2 sets of 16" wheels with my race tires so this was not a good option for me.

ebmiller88

iTrader: (7)

To answer your question, best bet is the C4 or LS1, especially if you can do the work yourself. $200-250 will get you the setup, not counting the custom parts. My C4s were so good that I didn't even rebuild them, and I also reused the pads that came in the calipers.


Ed

92Z

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the replies. I'm a machinist by trade, so modifying the parts is no problem. Looks like i will go with the LS1 set-up. I'm going to 17in wheels, but wondered if the LS1 set-up fits under 16in. wheels? Thanks.

92 zzz28

I am gonna support the Z06 upgrade, cause that's what I am doing. From what I have been reading, about the only difference is the calipers. They are red, Z06, and say "Corvette". The rotors are 13" diameter, not sure about thickness. However, the vette caliper has some additional material that either needs to be ground off, which I wouldn't do, or use of 17" wheels. Either way you won't go wrong. My total is going to be about $700 for the Z06. I bought all my parts new.

92Z

iTrader: (1)

My 92Z has 4 wheel discs now, any problems with front/rear biasing when going to 13in. fronts (Z06)? Will an adjustable prop. valve be all that is needed? Is changing the master cyl. neccessary?

92 zzz28

My car is disc/drum. For now I am just going to install the fronts. Once I decide on the rears, I am going with some form of discs, then I will get an adjustable prop. valve.

I would think you would be fine with your setup the way it is. An adjustable prop. valve would be a nice feature to have as well...

z28cdoyle

92Z,
When you add 13" fronts, it will definitely foul up your front/rear brake bias. Of course, since the front stopping power will be much greater than the rear, this will push the brake bias towards the front which is the safer way. I'd say you could do nothing with the brake bias and live happily ever after, but (there's always a "but") you will not get the maximum benefit from your upgrade since it will not be properly tuned.

I don't know about the master cylinder in your '92 but I do not plan to change the master in my 85 (4 wheel disc). Based on my calculations from some info I saw on the Wilwood 4 piston rear thread, the master cylinder should work OK with the LS1 calipers and I am leaving my stock J65 rear calipers on my car. I think an adjustable proportioning valve will be all you need.

By the way, the LS1's will fit some 16" wheels. Mine fit fine with my 5 spoke IROC wheels (1985 vintage). But they will not clear my 16" GTA (honeycomb) wheels. A wheel spacer will probaly do the trick though since the outside part of the caliper is rubbing on the mesh part of the wheel. The spacer would push the wheel away from the caliper and cure the problem.

92 zzz28

I am totally going to get an adjustable prop. valve. I am going to research a new MC to see if that would help to get everything tuned in once I change the rears to discs. What do you think about a Master Cylinder, would I need or want a new one for 4 wheel disc?

I was thinking about that Wilwood rear kit but after some research and reading all the posts over there, I have decided to go with the LS1 rears, or maybe C5 rears!! I think it will work out pretty well for me in the end. I plan to start the rear part collection and do the modification soon after I get the fronts on the car.

z28cdoyle

I don't have any good advice for your M/C question. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not changing mine. However, I'm leaving my stock J65 rear discs on my car and the total piston area of the LS1 front calipers I put on is not much more than the stock front calipers. For your setup, going from rear drum to LS1 rear discs is more of a change. I did come across this M/C info posted on another thread by justins86bird:

1984-92 J50 drum mc p/n 18014286
1989-92 ('88 1LE) J65 disc mc p/n 18014268
1984-88 ('88 exc 1LE) J65 disc mc p/n 18014287

p/n 18014287 would be the 1" bore.

This indicates that the disc/disc M/C is different than the disc/drum unit. I'm not sure how though.

You could always try your stock M/C to see how it works. It is not that much trouble to change the master later if your stocker doesn't work well.