C4 Corvette Brakes - Stainless Steal

Since we were changing out the brake fluid anyway, we decided to refill the system with AMSOIL severe-duty Series 500. With a dry boiling point of 525 degrees (F), Series 500 is suitable for use in virtually any street, high-performance, or racing application.

The kit also comes with stainless flex lines and a full complement of installation hardware (not all of which is shown here).

The rear of the car also got the Big Brake treatment, albeit in a slightly smaller 12-inch configuration. We did preserve the factory calipers but upgraded them with a pair of high-performance SSBC pads.

As we have so often in the past, we entrusted this installation to the Vette-fettling specialists at AntiVenom in Seffner, Florida. Here, AV tech Kyle Miller begins the job by removing the wheels.

Like all ’95-’96 Vettes, ours came from the factory with the excellent, ZR-1–spec J55 braking system. Ours was showing its age, however, with visibly grooved rotors and a nascent leak in one front caliper.

Hammer time: AV proprietor Greg Lovell employs the art of gentle persuasion to break loose the front passenger-side rotor. While this approach gets the job done in a hurry, it’s also likely to warp or crack the rotor—something to keep in mind if you’re planning to sell off your old parts.

This photo shows the new front SSBC rotor and caliper as installed on the car. The Big Bite rotors are side specific, so the orientation of the cooling vanes is correct at both corners. You won’t get that from a new Z06.

The included stainless lines are sized for the C4 and fit perfectly. An absence of unpleasant surprises is one of the bene-fits of buying a complete, application- specific brake kit.

Happily, Miller was able to get the rear rotors off without resorting to blunt instruments. Note the extensive surface corrosion on this disc, a phenomenon the zinc-plated Big Bite rotors are designed to resist.

While a new pair of Tri-Power rear calipers might have made for a nice cosmetic upgrade, it’s unlikely the swap would have had any measurable effect on braking performance. We simply loaded the lightly taxed stockers with fresh SSBC pads to keep costs to a minimum.

Miller and Lovell bleed the system before topping it off with fresh AMSOIL fluid. While the rest of this project can be performed by one worker using jackstands, bleeding is a two-man operation unless you have access to specialized equipment.

The burly Tri-Power won’t fit under the stock wheels, but our ’96’s Grand Sport rims accommodated them just fine. Once we’ve had a chance to perform SSBC’s recommended break-in procedure (a series of 50-to-10-mph stops, followed by at least 200 miles of regular driving before hard use), we’ll be back with a battery of instrumented testing.