C8 Corvette Brakes and Rotors
Check out some of the different brakes, rotors, and other components we have for the C8 Corvette. You can find the brake parts you need for your C8 Stingray, ERay, Z06, and even ZR1. Whether its minimizing brake dust, squeaks, or improving performance, we have the brands you want for your Vette.
Brake Pads For Your C8 Corvette
Complementing the rotors, the brake pads are what actually grip the spinning discs to slow your C8 Corvette. Upgrading from the OEM pads to performance variants allows you to improve braking power, feel, and heat tolerance before track days or aggressive driving.
Whether you autocross on weekends or want your daily driver to have a firmer brake pedal, installing a quality set of aftermarket C8 Corvette brake pads can provide noticeable benefits.
We’ll outline top-rated pads for the track and street so you can make an informed decision on which set is right for your needs and driving style. All of the brake pads we list on this page are from high-quality, vetted vendors. Some of these vendors know the brakes of the C8 better than the manufacturers themselves, hah!
Ceramic Brake Pads
When it comes time to replace the brake pads on your C8 Corvette, upgrading to ceramic pads can provide significant benefits over standard pads. Ceramic brake pads utilize specialized compounds that can withstand extreme heat while still delivering strong braking power, reduced noise, and lower levels of dust.
Low Dust Brake Pads
One annoyance that comes with high performance brake pads is the excessive brake dust that can coat your nice wheels. For those C8 Corvette owners frustrated with constantly having to clean their expensive rims, installing low dust brake pads could provide a helpful solution.
C8 Corvette Rotors
Complimenting the brake pads, brake rotors on the C8 Corvette are crucial components that allow the vehicle to safely come to a stop. Upgrading the OEM rotors to performance variants can provide several advantages.
Whether you’re looking to enhance your track car or just improve daily driving braking confidence, an upgraded C8 Corvette rotor kit may be a smart modification to consider. We’ll outline some of the top options on the market and provide guidance on selecting the right setup for your needs and budget.
Drilled Rotors
Installing a set of drilled brake rotors is a common upgrade for the C8 Corvette owner looking to enhance brake performance. Drilled rotors feature a series of holes intricately placed throughout the braking surface to help dissipate gas, dust, and heat at an improved rate. This in turn reduces fade during repeated or heavy brake applications.
If you plan on tracking your late-model C8 often or just want to add that aggressive look of holes behind your wheels, drilled rotors could be an impactful upgrade over the standard OEM rotors.
Thousands of owners of the C8 Corvette have complained about a squeaking or squeeling noise when applying the brakes at a slow speed. A vast majority of these complains come from the Z51 models that have the high-performance brake kits installed at the factory.
While these brakes perform well, a downside is a high pitched, squeaking noise when attempting to brake at speeds around 05-30 mph. Chevrolet has acknowledged this squeaking, and basically written it off as ‘part of having high quality, metallic brake pads.’
There are a few key reasons why installing aftermarket brakes on a C8 Corvette can be beneficial:
- Improved performance – The C8’s stock Brembo brakes are capable, but aftermarket options are designed specifically for track use, high heat tolerance, and repeated hard braking. Upgraded brake kits can reduce fade and allow you to brake later and harder lap after lap.
- Eliminate brake dust – Many high-performance brake pads produce significant dust which ends up coating wheels. Aftermarket pads using advanced compounds can provide race-level grip with very low dust output.
- Increased stopping power – Big brake kits featuring larger rotors and multi-piston calipers clamp down more forcefully and shed heat better lowering brake temps. This equals better stopping power during aggressive driving.
- Customizable configurations – Aftermarket brake companies offer rotors and pads optimized specifically for autocross, road racing, or street driving for C8 Vettes. You can match components to your specific needs.
- Aesthetic enhancement – Many aftermarket brake kits feature colorful, painted/powder-coated calipers visible through the C8’s wheels adding visual pop.
Improved heat tolerance, performance, dust control, power, and looks are key motivators for upgrading a capable stock C8 braking system to take things to the next level. Track enthusiasts in particular can benefit from aftermarket brake upgrades.
Yes, excessive brake dust is unfortunately rather normal on the C8 Corvette, especially with the Z51 performance package models. There are a few reasons why C8 Vettes tend to generate more brake dust than average:
The stock brake pads GM equips on Corvettes, particularly the track-focused Z51 models, utilize aggressive metallic compounds for their friction material. These afford great bite and heat handling but dust more.
The massive, high surface area rotors used on C8 models (up to 345mm front discs) provide lots of braking force but also dust build up.
The staggered set of large, open wheels and lack of rear wheel well coverage allows dust to freely eject onto the exterior surfaces more so than enclosed wheels.
While annoying, some brake dust is the trade off for the C8’s supercar-rivaling braking capabilities. Using low-dust aftermarket pads can help reduce cleaning frequency.