This is Why You Need Extra Brake Pads When You Track a Corvette

Two heavy track days absolutely NUKED GM’s Z51 package C8 Corvette Brembo brake pads, which is a great lesson in track prep.

YouTuber, C8 Corvette owner, and friend-of-the-forum, Speed Phenom, dropped a new video today that should be of interest to anyone thinking about tracking a Corvette. Speed Phenom frequently races all of his sports cars (he’s also a big Shelby enthusiast). And after two amazing track days last month at the legendary Leguna Seca in Monterey, California, he heard the tail-tell squeaking from his Brembo brake pads’ wear indicators.

According to Speed Phenom’s description of the events, he started his two-day track session with like-new OEM Z51 package brake pads. What followed was two extremely hard (and exciting) days in temps well over 100-degrees Fahrenheit. He experienced no warning lights. No sensation of brake fade. Just wear-indicator squeaking.

So he limped his C8 Corvette Z51-equipped car home a few hundred miles, ordered replacement pads, and swapped them out in the featured video (below). For anyone who hasn’t seen C8 brake pads in person yet, they might surprise you with their compact form-factor. (Especially if you own a high-performance C7 generation Corvette.)

Speed Phenom found that his rear pads were near-flat, but still useable, while his front pads were completely delaminated. Or absolutely nuked, as his video title suggests.

Which means he was lucky to get home safely.

Which of course is a great lesson for anyone tracking a Corvette. In addition to things like fluids, tools, and safety equipment, it’s a good idea to stock up on other consumables, or invest in a set of track-specific brake pads to swap in for events, particularly if you’re traveling longer distances to specific tracks. One of Speed Phenom’s subscribers, D & K Vloggers, put it perfectly in the YouTube comments section:

When you drive your car hours away from home to track it you need to bring a few spare parts such as pads and some hand tools. Or trailer the car when your going hundreds of miles from home. Another well done video. Just sold my 2019 Z06 waiting for new C8 Z06.

Great advice! Every stay safe out there.

By the way, if you end up watching the above video past the brake job to the 11-minute mark, Speed Phenom attends an OC Cars N’ Coffee event where you get a great walk-around of a very familiar Elkhart Lake Blue Metallic C8 Corvette owned by C0rvetteForum member, Michelle Sadler.

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