Home /1999 C5 Corvette /Cadillac Brembo Front Brake Upgrade on a C5 Corvette - Information, Notes, Track Testing! /C5 Corvette Caddillac Brembo Brakes - Brake Pad and Rotor Reviews

C5 Corvette Caddillac Brembo Brakes - Brake Pad and Rotor Reviews

Submitted by shredjesse on Wed, 02/14/2024 - 07:33

Available Track Day Pads - Compared

So now having gone through two sets of the PowerStop brake pads and... I'm interested in seeing what else is available out there and how it compares. Currently, I'm only getting three track days to a set of front brake pads. That adds a good chunk of change to my track day costs. The powerstop also throws up a TON of brake dust.

I'll document alternative track oriented brake pads for these calipers here and write about my experience with them as I get them.

Current brake pads I've been able to find, and some notes on those I tested:

  • Carbotech XP-10 (CT1001A-XP10) - $220 a set
    • Personally track tested! I endorse these!
    • Excellent track wear. 9 track days before changing, and probably had one day left.
    • Reasonable street manners
    • Modest brake dust compared to Powerstop Track pad, but still notably dusty.
    • Modest rotor wear.
      • EBC SR series brake pads
        • SR11 - DP81210.15SR11 (Medium/Endurance)
          • Just mounted onto my car, will begin track testing soon!
          • Claimed Ultra low dust and rotor wear.
          • Claimed good street manners
          • Claimed strong initial bite
          • Recommended with ABS
        • EBC SR21 - DP81210.15SR21 (High friction/Time trial)
          • EBC does not recommnd with ABS
          • Claimed ultra low dust and rotor wear, but more than SR11
          • Not so great street manners, intense initial bite?
          • Doubts raised about these for intermediate track drivers.
      • Powerstop Track Day Pads - PST-1001- $128 ea
        • Personally track tested! I DO NOT RECOMMEND.
        • HIGH rotor wear. 3 track days with these looked twice as bad as 9 with the Carbotechs.
        • The worst brake dust I've ever seen, and it's very caustic and destroys paint. Not recoomended!
        • Tested and Lasts 3 to maybe 4 track days.
        • Zero brake fade, pretty good cold feel entering track, bearable on the street minus intense rotor wear.
      • Hawk HB910G.590 - DTC-60 - $200 a set
      • Hawk HB910U.590 - DTC-70 - $230 a set
        • Medium/high wear ?
        • Notable braking power
        • Modest cold braking power
      • EBC DP51210NDX  - "Blue" Track Pad - $120 a set
        • Medium/high wear?
        • Good street manners ?
        • Supposed/reported brake fade above 600 degrees

      Available Rotors - Compared

      Going into a recent track weekend, I noticed my rotors were starting to crack a bit along the drilled holes. This is a pretty common complaint for the drilled rotors and why very few people recommnd them for track weekend. For what it's worth, with the powerstop brakes the holes got so filled with brake dust they were pretty much worthless anyways, so there really isn't a reason to run them. I started doing some investigation into the brake rotor options, and I figured I'd document my research here for those interested in comparing everything.

      Rotors, and general notes on them:

      • DFC Blank Rotors - Part # 60047034 - $78ea at time of writing
      • KNS Solid Rotors - $110ea
        • I've tested these. Work good. HEAVY, but wear well.
        • Available direct from KNS (Manufactured by DBA)
        • PROS
          • Tested and known to have pretty good durability.
          • Supposedly has special vane structure to improve structure durability and cooling. No test data found to support this though.
        • CONS
          • No cooling benefits like slotted or cross drilled
          • Heavy!
      • DBA T3 4000 Series Slotted Rotor - $210ea
        • Available from KNS
        • PROS
          • Potentially improved braking and cooling
          • Slightly lighter than solid rotors.
        • CONS
          • Pretty much double the cost with no confirmation of double the durability or additional cooling data
      • DBA T3 5000 series Rotors - $447ea
        • Available direct from KNS (Manufactured by DBA)
        • PROS
          • Probable reduced rotational mass, but not mentioned in description.
          • Better cooling and rotor shape since inner and outer can cool at different rates.
        • CONS
          • Expensive initial buy in of 4.5x as much as KNS blanks.
          • Replacement rings are 3.5x as much as KNS blanks
          • No data supporting these lasting 3.5-4.5x as long or improved cooling.
      • Girodisc C6Z06 rotors - $500ea
        • Available direct from Girodisc
        • PROS
          • 6lb reduction in rotational mass over OEM
          • Better cooling since inner and outer can cool at different rates
          • Full floating setup (improved pad wear + braking power)
          • Low noise design with springs as part of full floating setup.
        • CONS
          • $650 replacement cost for rings, so again 3.5x as much as OEM.
          • No data supporting the increased durability of these rotors.
      • AMT Motorsports Full Floating Rotors - $1050 total / $525ea
        • Available direct from AMT
        • PROS
          • Takes the KNS 5000 series and improves upon them with a floating design
          • Presumed reduced rotational mass
          • Better cooling since inner and outer can cool at different rates
          • Full floating setup.
        • CONS
          • Presumed higher replacement cost of rings as you not only need to order the KNS rings, but also presumably replacement AMT hardware to work with their hat design, unless the hardware never wears out?