What brake upgrades will fit under 18" wheels?

[SpaceFrank]

Will any of the easy brake upgrades still work with 18" wheels? I've been considering upgrading the brakes on my G8 GT for some time. Not sure if I'd want to go GXP, early CTS-V, or late CTS-V. However, I also need to replace the cheap, gravity-cast aftermarket wheels that came on the car, as they are all bent to some extent after driving in Houston for 2 years. I'd really like to go smaller on the wheels. The wheels are currently 19", but I'm thinking of going 18" with taller rubber. I don't particularly like the low-profile look, and I don't track the car that often.

[Leon McJones]

Stock 18's don't clear much. Some aftermarket 18" wheels clear GXP Brembos. I run dba 4000 rotors, Hawk HP Ceramic pads, Russel stainless lines, and Motul RBF 660 fluid underneath the stock 18" rims. Quiet, near dust free. Much improved over factory. You could also look into longer wheel studs and spacers, but that's not my cup of tea.

[WhatNext]

Read a lot of good things about Carbotech 1521s so that's what I'll be going with. Kinda pricey for pads ~$350 a set but heard great initial bite and low dust. I don't beat on my brakes so I just want to improve the performance over the dead feeling oem pads.

(Sorry, not the question you really asked)

[RichsGreyGT]

I just bought DBA slotted rotors and hawk ceramic pads.

I plan to get a shop to install them. (I'm lazy). Except for the brake fluid, will I have everything I need to hand to the tire shop?

I saw something on Amazon about Hawk pads not coming with clips. was that legit or is that guy smoking crack?

[SpaceFrank]

I appreciate the suggestions on pads and rotors, but I'd prefer to go with a larger setup at least on the front. (GXP and GT rear brakes are the same, unless I'm mistaken.) I wasn't planning on doing the brake upgrade for a while, so I haven't dug very deep yet. I just need to know how much 18" wheels would limit my future choices, since I need to buy wheels soon. If necessary I'll stick with 19s.

I see from other posts in this section that the stock 18" G8 wheels require a spacer to run GXP brakes, but since I'm looking at aftermarket wheels I want to see if it's possible to make this work without spacers. Does anybody have the relevant dimensions for the GXP or CTS-V front brakes? For example, I see on RockAuto that the GXP front rotors are 355mm, but I don't know how far the caliper sticks out past the rotor OD. What about the axial measurement from the wheel mounting face on the rotor to the farthest extent of the caliper? If I get those measurements, I can take a measuring tape to a rim shop and start getting an idea of what'll work.

[TooManyHobbies]

You can fit a 17" wheel on top of Brembos. Weld RT-S for example. The diameter is not as critical as the pad height. If you want 18" wheels without spacers I would look at wheels that fit on 5th gen Camaros.

[G8 GT V8]

The latest breaking news (no pun intend) for brake pads on the Corvette forums is the Powerstop Z26 extremes. They are about 1/2 the price of the Carbotechs and supposedly even less dust. I've been reading up on them and there are many recent testimonials from Corvette owners indicating great results. I was all set to pull the trigger on the Carbotechs, but decided to order the powerstops. Just passing the latest and greatest along. Can't go wrong with the Carbotechs either from what I've read. Jegs has good pricing on the powerstops and there's also a $30 rebate available on powerstop's website.

[G8eraid]

The latest breaking news (no pun intend) for brake pads on the Corvette forums is the Powerstop Z26 extremes. They are about 1/2 the price of the Carbotechs and supposedly even less dust. I've been reading up on them and there are many recent testimonials from Corvette owners indicating great results. I was all set to pull the trigger on the Carbotechs, but decided to order the powerstops. Just passing the latest and greatest along. Can't go wrong with the Carbotechs either from what I've read. Jegs has good pricing on the powerstops and there's also a $30 rebate available on powerstop's website.
Yup also recently read about the Z26 Powerstop pads, will be purchasing them soon. I think the $30 Rebate is for a full brake package but I may be wrong... And there's also the Z23 which are even cheaper and still catbon/ceramic

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[WhatNext]

Thanks for the heads-up on the Z26s. Was also considering Carbotech 1521 but if the Z26 is like half the price....

Update: Was just on the power stop website - the Z26 are listed for the larger GXP rotor setup and not the for the stock GTs.

[G8 GT V8]

Here's a link to the rebate going on...

http://www.powerstop.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Fathers-Day-Promotion-69146.pdf

[G8 GT V8]

Thanks for the heads-up on the Z26s. Was also considering Carbotech 1521 but if the Z26 is like half the price....

Update: Was just on the power stop website - the Z26 are listed for the larger GXP rotor setup and not the for the sock GTs.

I had stock GT brakes on my GT and didn't have an issue with dusting...My Z51 dusts like a mo fo with the stock OEM pads, so that was the only reason I was looking at the PowerStop Z26 and Carbotech 1521 pads for it. The Z26 pads actually arrived today, but I haven't even opened the box yet.

[JonRobbinSS]

In answer to your original question.. You can go pretty big on brakes if you pick the right 18" wheel.

I am running the TSW Nurburgring in 18" x 9.5" with the large 6 pot Brembos in front. I would say they have more clearance than the stock 19" GXP wheels.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8efrcY_SIn8O98wgXbLx9qbTP0l-evPzUf8i3SI4ZVDIDqiGmNHO9YYZHtq4Ao4OCJZDR2jTIMnlZf IdtA0CqdT2AfN5YpTlNWsDHM0F7BRVhyZpahPn666LHsaDmhQD 2GjR5wRLASOOt07PA02h5uepJzC4bknes_qRXUG6sv__lu-MpOdWNGtBhZN9p70KRCGkvxStZ9RoylAcolkoYw4WWPi08fDOr no6XtO9DSR22umIpVrLtG8A8aCrU9qsm0r85t20fb-Poml0R27xynD2P1FInENR2nmB5jtMm2vmuKsnTiPyTb8EjMl-9QL1fKSztMCoW9vljiSPURk4dTDs56WO_5YgSpPyq3fE9e_OIm X3mK9JJdEwOC-HH1A91LquwD0XgxAeqRRuBcPR1ApSepV092-KE15xsQ-2IOKUv6Mqt0NXONgerr9-LLwpBlPIXF5G3WyWvNrq5F7J4YFEXtSKxyuAApxk6hC4yhNeg7 VmpAtREYVRwhAPbMYNC7LNWZ5YvybXryCj9xOn0NE5g-uOgrP0dYzT34k91JMbhwlkFysINqjGjkQ4dQjndoQAwxyYQi0q ACOkZs5J6vC6UVe_F7g=w1920-h803-no

[SpaceFrank]

I realized later this was probably a better question for the Wheels & Tires section, haha. I didn't know there was a separate section for that.

What I ended up doing was putting "2009 G8 GXP" in the Tire Rack website and looking at the selection of 18" wheels they list. I would assume they take brake clearance into account, and the number of wheels they list for the GXP is indeed significantly smaller than the same list for a GT. I ended up going with the BBS SR. Made in Germany, low-pressure cast, heavier and beefier-looking than the craptastic rims I just pulled off, and wrapped in 45 aspect ratio rubber. Bring on the potholes, Houston.

26686

[TooManyHobbies]

I just received the Z26 pads for the wife's Camaro. My first bit of feedback is that the front pads have the stupid roller skates on them. Considering cutting and grinding them off. Makes it hard to clean the wheels.

[-Ray-]

I just received the Z26 pads for the wife's Camaro. My first bit of feedback is that the front pads have the stupid roller skates on them. Considering cutting and grinding them off. Makes it hard to clean the wheels.

The OEM Brembo pads had the same deal. They have now been cut off.