First off, I know they are. I know they are huge, and people would kill for them, and I appreciate that our cars have them. But with that being said, I feel like the "gripping" power on our BMW x5 or MB s-class is way better; in fact, when i tap their brakes hard, I actualy fly into the steering wheel-- that doesnt happen on the V. Now granted, the initial "grip" isnt everything..you have to think about fade, etc. But for 14"+ brembos, I would expect to have that initial grip that throws me into the steering wheel.
Does anyone else feel like this? I dunno...maybe im crazy

the pads are probably more aggresive, put some hawk pads on and watch out. BTW it is all in your head, our cars stop better than the BMW or the BM

BTW it is all in your head, our cars stop better than the BMW or the BM

That's what I figured. But you do know what I mean when I talk about that initial grab? Those new pads should help?

I just got out of an '03 Cobra...trust me, these brakes work VERY well!!!

My brake pedal seems to have more travel and take more effort to apply than a m3 i've drove.But having said that,I've never mashed the brakes in a m3 at 80mph or higher.I have in the V,that effer will stop better than any car i've ever drove!Do a 100 and mash em,you'll be surprised.Seatbelts optional on this one.LOL

Ocean,I feel the same way as you, and i don't think it's in your head. This car is heavy and you need to apply the brakes hard. I had to slow down today from 130 to about 75 and I needed to do this fast. I was messing with an M Roadster. I felt like the V was not slowing down as fast as I would have liked for the amount of pressure I had on the brakes.
I applied a little more but was still a bit surprised, Those Hawk pads sound like a great option. How's the wear, and brake dust with those pads? Any squeaking?

i don't know about wanting to strike the wheel on an initial brake tap....
if anything these V brakes are progressive and predictable...there is no sudden "grab" with light application....she brakes linearly with pedal effort....and if you mash em, and the computer does it's "brake management" thing or whatever it's called, well, your eyeballs feel like they are coming out.
I love these things

16000 miles on the V gonna need brake pads soon.More info on the hawk pads would be cool.

generally the more bite you have the harder it is on the rotors. get the hawk hp pads very low dust and they bite on the initial grab but are good on the rotors.

Man, I must have a different V. IMHO the brakes on this car are just as awesome as the powerplant under the hood.

I prefer the progressive feel of the V.... as for BMW, we've had an 00 M5 and 02 X5 for comparison. The V brakes also seem to fade less than the M5 at serious speed.

It's a trip after having been driving my Z-71 for an extended period of time, then hopping into the V........the first few times I hit the brakes, I practically launch myself and any occupants out of the windshield!

I think what you dont like is the pedal effort,, the formula cars i have driven had unboosted brakes that took seriuos effort to work right in threshold braking but when mashed would suck yoru eyeballs out,, i find the V brakes not overboosted but very very efficient brakes,,, plus,, its the tires that stor the car in reality.. you cna only mash them to the point of lockup and then the ABS takes over.. i think ill try to find an easy way to diable the ABS and see what they are like with threshold braking,,,there has got to be a fuse somewhere,,, i got the service manula today.. soo i think its time to crack the books..

As an aside,, my Impala Ss helms manual is 1/3 the size of these three volumes..

Bill
St Louis

My BMWs definitely had a sudden "bite" to them on stopping that none of my domestics ever has. It seems like its something engineered into the braking system, not just the pads and rotors. After all theres alot of european cars that have similar rotor and pad setups and feel completely different.

Not to ask the obvious, but ya'll have seasoned the rotors and done the full bed-in of the stock pads, right? After bedding in, the initial bite is strong and easy to modulate. I have the Hawk HPS (Street) pads on my '03 Cobra, and once bedded, they are awesome. Actually, the feel the same as the stock CTS-V brakes on initial application. The Hawks are a little bit noisy, but quite livable.

Once seasoned and bedded, these stock brakes are as good as any I've ever felt, from any manufacturer.

I have not "bedded" my brakes, but I am very impressed by them. Some jerk cut me off the other day on the highway while I was moving along at a nice clip. A potentially deadly error on his part, which required hard braking on my part. Speed drained VERY fast, launching me against the seat belt stop and launching everything else in the car forward. I was (pleasantly) surprised my the rapid decel.

Very predictable and controlled. I was surprised at how "uneventful" this move was, and it was all the brakes. I didn't have to get fancy with the the wheel or with braking pressure. Not a hint of lockup, of course not a hint of fade, and the ABS never kicked in. I was able to politely give the other driver the appropriate gesture and go on my merry way.

D

That's the beauty of 4 piston calipers. It allows you to modulate the brakes very effecticvely. It may not have the initial bite of a 1 or 2 piston design, but in race applications, having a better feel for exactly what your brakes can do helps control on the track. It may not "feel" as good but it performs much better.

I have had several types of rotors and brakes on my Vet, and they get a lot of hard use road racing. The brakes on the V are as good as any I had, but I only used the V on the street. The wife asked me not to trash another car on the track. The V brakes don't have eye-popping initial bite, but they are strong and linear, as far as I can tell.

they stop much better then my 98 vett

I think they are very special. My wife and two boys would agree. They hauled that heavy car with the 4 of us and the dog to zero before we smacked that 4 point in the road. I was impressed, to say the least. Everything that wasn't bolted down in the back seat (dog) was in the front against the dash.

They're Vrickin amazing, in my book.

my V stops on a dime... I have experience wheel locking though (which took me by suprise) when i had to slam the brakes at 60mph.... slight skid and then it released... I love the stopping power as much as I love the geddi-up power!