Carbon brake rotors

[oil pan 4]

I was looking to see what it would cost to replace the corvette C5 brakes on the front of my firebird with corvette Z06 ZR1 front brakes which weigh about as much as a saltine cracker.
Well they are about $1,400.
Each, just for a single rotor.
So scratch that idea.

[nemo]

Cheap a twice the price. Go for it.

[Frank Lee]

And that is one reason why owning such a vehicle would cause me far more agony than pleasure. :/

[hamsterpower]

Weight is not the only factor here. Carbon ceramic brakes need to be hot before they work. Normal street driving would be very disappointing- even dangerous.

[oil pan 4]

If that is true then how did the brakes on the ZR1 performance package even make it on to a street driven mass produced vehicle?

[hamsterpower]

Because it is a "performance" package for a limited production/ special edition car. Just because something is available doesn't mean it works for everyone. Performance parts often make cars less usable on the street.

[oil pan 4]

I was told the same thing about ceramic brake pads too when they first started to become more widely available for street driven cars.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

If that is true then how did the brakes on the ZR1 performance package even make it on to a street driven mass produced vehicle?

Because there are enough people with more money than sense?

I'm having a little trouble wondering just how long those carbon brake rotors are going to last...

[oil pan 4]

If replacing cast iron rotors with carbon ceramic rotors anything like replacing steel bearings with ceramic bearings then the life is something like 2x to 4x longer on the ceramic.

[oil pan 4]

The newest generation ZR1 brake rotors use a reinforced carbon ceramic silicon carbide composite.
That just sounds expensive.
These are not the first generation carbon/carbon rotors that wore out quickly and only worked properly when very hot.
Supposedly the old carbon/carbon were better at very high temperature and the newer generation may not be as good at the top of the temperature limit but they are far superior when cold or street driven.