I'd like to start this month's dispatch from our ongoing C4 saga with a simple statement of fact: Your late-model street Corvette does not need a brake upgrade. Now, before you aspirate your Hubba Bubba over what might at first sound like rank apostasy coming from a performance-themed magazine, consider the three critical qualifiers contained in the foregoing declaration—"late-model," "street," and "need." Let's examine them one at a time.
Since the introduction of the antilock braking system (ABS) in 1986, every Corvette has been more than capable of quickly and safely hauling itself down from speed on a wide variety of road surfaces. The car's braking hardware further improved in 1988, with the introduction of dual-piston front calipers, and again in 1995, when the ZR-1's excellent J55 binders (with 13-inch front and 12-inch rear rotors) were made standard across the entire lineup. Since then, incremental improvements have kept the Vette at the forefront of braking technology, a process that culminated in 2011 with the debut of the latest ZR1 and its fantastic (and fantastically expensive) carbon-ceramic Brembos.
SSBC’s Tri-Power front upgrade...
SSBC’s Tri-Power front upgrade kit (PN A113-12) comes standard with a pair of slotted 13-inch rotors, but ours was upgraded with the optional drilled-and-slotted Big Bite units. A bright-zinc plating adds to the bling factor, a critical consideration for many big-brake buyers.
In typical street driving, where repeated heavy use is rare and brake components have plenty of time to cool between uses, you'd be hard pressed to discern a difference between properly functioning factory hardware and a pricey "big brake" kit. In fact, if simply reducing your C4, C5, or C6 Corvette's 60-0 stopping distance is the goal, installing a set of wider and/or stickier tires is likely a better option. The same can't, however, be said of road-course driving, where back-to-back heavy deceleration can push the stock pads and rotors past their design limits in a hurry. (The Nürburgring-conquering ZR1 is a notable exception.) It's in this arena that the benefits of a purpose-built, high-performance brake kit can truly be appreciated.
Finally, as is the case with all aftermarket modifications, it's important to distinguish between alterations that make a quantifiable difference in the car's objective performance and nominal "upgrades" that serve other, more esoteric functions. No, a quartet of mega-pot calipers and cross-drilled rotors won't endow your street car with the stopping power of a C6.R. But if, like many Corvette owners, you find the race-inspired appearance of such hardware to be worth the extra investment, you shouldn't let something so piffling as a lopsided cost-benefit equation stand in your way.
We certainly didn't. Sure, when the time came to change out the stock pads and calipers on our '96 coupe, our initial impulse was to simply replace them with fresh factory parts. It didn't take long, though, to realize that our C4's brake breakdown had furnished us with a unique opportunity—specifically, to determine whether it was possible to install a sharp-looking, track-ready set of aftermarket binders on the car without doing grievous injury to our bank balance.
The Tri-Power calipers employ...
The Tri-Power calipers employ a trio of 38mm pistons to serve up some serious clamping force. A clear-anodized finish is standard, with an assortment of powdercoated colors and even a polished treatment available optionally.
Our first step was to contact Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation, located just outside Buffalo, New York. SSBC has been building performance braking systems for Corvettes, muscle cars, and trucks since the 1970s, and over the years has built a reputation for offering quality products at palatable prices.
Company president Mike Jonas recommended SSBC's Tri-Power front upgrade kit (PN A113-12), which, as its name suggests, employs a trio of 38mm pistons to dole out significantly more clamping power than the two-pot stockers. The kit comes complete with application-specific performance pads, braided stainless steel lines, and all necessary installation hardware.
A pair of 13-inch slotted rotors are standard with this setup, but ours arrived with SSBC's optional drilled-and-slotted Big Bite rotors, which are said to offer superior heat-dissipating characteristics and resistance to fade. While those traits won't pay dividends in day-to-day driving, they could make a real difference if we ever decide to enter the car in an autocross or track day.
Since the front brakes do most of the work in a front-engine street car, our stock rear calipers were deemed sufficient for our purposes. SSBC did kick in a pair of 12-inch Big Bite rotors to replace our well-worn factory pieces, along with a complementary brace of fresh pads.
The Tri-Power front kit costs $1,395 with the standard rotors, a bit more with the optional Big Bite units. Tack on another $331 for the Big Bite rears, and the total cost of our upgrade came in at just over $1,700. That's more than you'll pay for stock replacement pieces, but far less than most competitive big-brake systems. And if your snazzy new braking hardware happens to elicit a few envious glances from fellow motorists from time to time, well, that alone is probably worth the price of admission.
Since we were changing out...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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.