ZL1 brake upgrade on my 1LE...my feelings so far
 

After finding another set of ZL1 brakes I made the swap on my car, hoping to avoid the issues of hot calipers that I had on the last track day. So after a solid week of using them, here are my impressions: Not Happy! My 4 piston set up was carbotech xp12 and xp10, stock rotors and it was so much better, I can hardly describe it. Lets start with initial bite: the 6 piston is slow to bite, the 4 piston carbotech's would put your face in the windshield if you were not expecting it. general stopping: 6 piston is slow but steadily increasing, the 4 piston carbotech's could almost rotate the rims inside of the tires. Release: once again, the 6 piston is slow but steady, 4 piston carbotech's would release instantly or you could modulate them on demand. So am I missing something? I am running Laguna Seca all next weekend and I can already tell I am not going to be able to late brake like I want to. Unless something drastic changes, this is not an UPGRADE, in my books. Any comments???

That is no real surprise comparing track pads to street pads, the 6 piston brakes provide less fade and lower temps because of the greater mass. Breaking is slightly improved over the 4 Pistons but not once you add race pads to the conversation. You'll need to upgrade the pads for the 6 Pistons as well.

incant speak for the late braking at Laguna because I don't know the track but it is hard on brakes I hear. You should be able to late brake without fade until they get too hot which is where break ducts come into play.

My impressions with the ZL brakes are that they are a much better improvement, stock pad vs. stock pad. I don't think they would compare well stock pads against 4 pots with xp12/10's. I've been running the ZL's a year now and they deal well with the heat, not too much issue with fade, and they stay repeatable. I am about due for new pads now and was going to go with a race compound - either The XP12/10 or DTC70/60.

I would get a set of xp12's for the front and use the 10's you have in the rear.

I felt very confident with the ZL1 upgrade. Great feel, bite, etc. I was, however, using Cobalt Friction pads. Would those have felt just as good in the 4 pots? Possibly, but I was also going for better heat dissipation and longevity. Find your happy place with a different set of pads. What kind of rotors are you using? Are all the hardware pieces lubed up to allow for free movement of your pads on the carriers?

So there is no reservoir upgrade needed,

No reservoir upgrade, I feel that will just cause more clutch issues....Don't want to separate clutch fluid into a smaller container as it is just adequate(not really) now. You will end up with concentrated dust in a smaller unit if you go separates.

To build off what your saying... The stock pads on the ZL set up have great bite when new. As you beat on them they start to lose their aggressiveness. They plateau and remain consistent from that point on, better than the stock 4 pots IMO, but once they plateau, the pads somewhat self sacrifice. I'd have to assume that the OP is in that plateau zone. Proper heat range in the pads are a must for keeping the aggression optimum.

I just came from a track day at Portland International Raceway. Two main straights where I was hitting 140 and 125 mph and I like to brake late and hard. I was able to gain ground on several cars that were running R rated tires (I was on PSS) in the braking zone. No fade what so ever. This is on a set of the stock Ferodo brand pads that have now seen 4 track days. They still have some pad left but I will be replacing them before another track outing. The calipers are now nearly black, were red when first installed, so I know I haven't been easy. I also have brake cooling ducts which I know have been a big help. For the money the CTSV/ZL1 brakes are a great setup. I really don't think I will be going to a more aggressive pad as the stock ones are only $160 on Amazon, I'll spend that money on 19" rims with R comp tires.

I understand that "feel" can be a big deal so you might want to spend the extra money for race pads. The PSS tires are my rain/street tires and for dry track days I have always used the stock GY tires. The PSS felt terrible, made a lot of noise and I thought I was slower but when checking my lap times I was actually faster. I knocked 6 sec off my previous best time and went from a top speed of 124 mph to 140 mph. My point being that they worked great but felt like crap, so feel does matter.

I need harnesses before I do anything to make the car faster. My biggest problem was staying in the seat.

love the color earlyapex! Feel is not the issue, bite and agressive slow down are.on The 4 pots with carbotechs I could plant your face into the windsheild, not a chance with the stock 6 pot pads... next weekend at laguna seca will tell the truth, but I have been racing for 35 years and already know....it is going to be slower, I just hope the heat dissapates a LOT better, or this upgrade is a waste of $$$$.

Ok, I have to finally admit here, this red turning black or burnt red thing really bothers me!

Is there any way at all to prevent this, other than not tracking the car at all on certain tracks?

I've yet to really figure it out. Seems some discolor their calipers others don't. I think it may have to do with heat soak. If the brakes don't get a lot of cool down time between braking zones it could lead to concentrated heat build up and the subsequent discoloring. Guess it depends on the track.

My MINI Cooper has Wilwood brakes that are black anodized and the heat turned them a purple color. I guess start with black calipers?

I have ZL1 rotors, 6 pot CTSV calipers. Raybesto's 47 on the front and 45 in the rear, they are amazing. They saved me at the track today when a car 3 ahead of me looped off the track, next car over reacts and nearly stops. then a full race 1900lb race in front of me with slicks, stopped on an dime, with out the calipers/pads I would have punted him. They squeal like no ones business when coming to a slow stop, I'll never try another combo now. Very easy on rotors. I also use titanium backing plates to keep more heat in the pad, less in the caliper. Yes, I painted them red, not they are now in the process of becoming brick brown. I know it you leave them silver, they turn gold.

If you have been racing for 35 years why in the world did you opt for stock pads?

Comparing four pots with aggressive pads to 6 pots with stock pads makes no sense at all. You obviously have gained a larger swept area as well has a larger rotor for heat dissipation, but bite comes from the pad compound, not the number of pistons or rotor size.

Install the carbotech pads in the ZL1 brakes and then report back.