[ZPirate]

Originally Posted by Jofu

Ultimately, in my case I had to order my 2022 ZLE with the copper-free brakes, since I'm in California, but it would be nice to know I got a bit of extra braking performance out of my $500

Geoff

Well you definitely got larger calipers and rotors, so the components alone have to be worth something more than the components in the copper brakes.

[cdb95z28]

The pad mu of the copper frees probably has gone down along with the pad's heat capacity, so everything was increased in size to help with both of those criteria.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by cdb95z28

The pad mu of the copper frees probably has gone down along with the pad's heat capacity, so everything was increased in size to help with both of those criteria.

...and now all one needs to do is slap some proper pads in to enjoy breathtaking brake performance

[Rock-It Man]

Originally Posted by Alpha1BC

All of these brake packages are monoblock calipers.

J6G is the 4 piston front/ 4 piston rear standard brakes that come on the SS without the 1LE package.

J6M is the 6 piston front/ 4 piston rear that comes on the SS 1LE

J6H is the 6 piston front/ 4 piston rear found on the ZL1 and ZL1 1LE. These have slightly larger rotors and calipers compared to the J6M

BCD is a 6 piston front/ 4 piston rear that's even larger than the J6H (there is an error in the GM system saying it includes J6H, they are not the same). What's also special about these is that there is no copper in the brake pads as mentioned before. Out of all the packages listed, these will have the best performance.

I'm not familiar with the PCU brakes, but it sounds like this is a dealer add-on that gets installed after the fact to upgrade to the SS 1LE brakes? I'm only guessing with this one.

Aren't the standard SS rear brakes two piston, not four?

[Nilly Welson]

All SS's Come with Brembos. The SS 1LE comes with an upgrade in additional pistons.

[cdb95z28]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

...and now all one needs to do is slap some proper pads in to enjoy breathtaking brake performance

Bazinga.

As long as the ABS cals stay happy!

But, maybe we are putting the cart ahead of the horse. The new copper free system may be pretty damn awesome right from GM.

[Alpha1BC]

Originally Posted by Jofu

Hello Alpha,

Has there been any announcement with regards to those brakes having better performance than the J6H set? My very limited understanding was that BCD discs were larger to offset the cooling which copper would have normally provided in the pads for J6H.

Not doubting you, I just have not heard or read anything yet regarding performance enhancement or degradation with this new option, other than they were to meet new CA/WA rules.

Best,

Jofu

Copper-free on its own would be a downgrade. As mentioned before, it had to be upsized to match the performance of the existing brakes. They might be slightly better, but regular J6H vs. BCD that difference is going to be pretty negligible.

However, there is only one size for BCD brakes. That size is made to handle track use on the ZL1 and ZL1 1LE. That means if you get this package on any lower trim it's an upgrade in terms of performance. I'd also bet that pads with copper in them will eventually be made to fit these calipers which would also be an upgrade.

[Alpha1BC]

Originally Posted by Rock-It Man

Aren't the standard SS rear brakes two piston, not four?

Nope, they're the same 4 piston as the rear of the SS 1LE.

[RUQWIKR]

Originally Posted by Alpha1BC

Copper-free on its own would be a downgrade. As mentioned before, it had to be upsized to match the performance of the existing brakes. They might be slightly better, but regular J6H vs. BCD that difference is going to be pretty negligible.

However, there is only one size for BCD brakes. That size is made to handle track use on the ZL1 and ZL1 1LE. That means if you get this package on any lower trim it's an upgrade in terms of performance. I'd also bet that pads with copper in them will eventually be made to fit these calipers which would also be an upgrade.

I have a set of the Blackwing 400mm J57 CCB front pads. The pads for the 398/400mm caliper fit it in the 390/394mm (steel / CCB rotor) caliper and vice versa. Backing plates are the same other than an extra ear. Top height of pad material on the Blackwing pad is 3-4mm higher up on the top of the backing plate. A pad made to fit the current 390/394 caliper will leave a bit of a “cold ring” unused area of the 398/400mm front rotor.

The OEM 394mm J57 CCB front pads have same pad material outline dimensions as the new 400mm Blackwing pads. The Blackwing CCB pad material is thinner by about 1.5mm due to the new 38mm rotor width vs. 36mm and an added on NVH shim. I’ll post up once I get ahold of a pad for the 398mm steel rotors.

[RUQWIKR]

Just FYI - the larger front caliper we are talking is going to have clearance issues with the common aftermarket 18” rims we run. I only have 3.5mm clearance to the drop barrel on my Apex 18x11 +7 SM-10. The larger caliper is 3.5-4mm bigger radially.

[Alpha1BC]

Originally Posted by RUQWIKR

I have a set of the Blackwing 400mm J57 CCB front pads. The pads for the 398/400mm caliper fit it in the 390/394mm (steel / CCB rotor) caliper and vice versa. Backing plates are the same other than an extra ear. Top height of pad material on the Blackwing pad is 3-4mm higher up on the top of the backing plate. A pad made to fit the current 390/394 caliper will leave a bit of a “cold ring” unused area of the 398/400mm front rotor.

The OEM 394mm J57 CCB front pads have same pad material outline dimensions as the new 400mm Blackwing pads. The Blackwing CCB pad material is thinner by about 1.5mm due to the new 38mm rotor width vs. 36mm and an added on NVH shim. I’ll post up once I get ahold of a pad for the 398mm steel rotors.

Yeah, that's all true. I should clarify when I mentioned only one size for copper free brakes, I meant on the Camaro there's only one size.

[Whitespeed]

What's the replacement cost on a set of copper pads and rotors, and how much extra do they weigh?


Nigel

[RUQWIKR]

The front BCD / J6H rotor 398mm is 36.6# vs 32.4# on the 390mm J6H. The front pads have the very sticky adhesive to hold the pads NVH backing shim to the pistons making it a bit of a PITA to get the front pads out - like on C8’s (at least the Z51 I’ve worked on of a friend). It has substantial pad area cut away for NVH. If you stick a regular J6H stock or aftermarket pad, you end up with around 1mm of cold ring inboard & outboard not touched by the pad.

On the rears, the BCD / J6H pads use a bonded shim plus the added stainless shim just like a stock J6H pad but has pad area cut back for NVH. It also has, like all the front J6H’s (and J57’s), a wear sensor notch (not used on Gen 6 Camaros).

The calibrations were all developed around the stock copper free pads in the configurations they came in. Not sure what, if any, issues would arise by changing pad compounds to stock regular J6H HP1000’s or aftermarket. Just posting the info and pics up as FYI.

[mRahmani]

Thanks RUQWIKR, that’s awesome info.

Now what will be really interesting is if you can swap in the CT5V carbon ceramics. As far as i know the calipers are the same.