C6 Corvette Owners Discuss Carbon Fiber Brake Rotor Resurfacing

C6 Corvette Z06 and ZR1 owners can save money by having their carbon rotors resurfaced, but is a good idea?

The C6 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and ZR1 were offered with high performance carbon ceramic brake rotors which have been proven to superior to steel systems in terms of stopping power and thermal management. The downside to the carbon ceramic setup is that replacing the rotors is very expensive, costing almost $1,600 each, but “Banks53” recently shared an interesting possible solution with the forum.

In the C6 Corvette Z06 and ZR1 section, this thread explains the possibility of having the carbon ceramic rotors resurfaced, adding new materials to smooth out any damage in the worn unit. However, it isn’t exactly cheap, leading some people to question the method.

Corvette Carbon Rotor Refurbishment

When the OP first posted his information he shared background about himself, followed by a tremendous amount of detail on the repaired carbon fiber composite rotors. He provided so much information that we have just grabbed some excerpts to give you a basic idea of what is being discussed.

Some of you know the draw of carbon ceramic brakes. They are big & light and boast incredible repeating non fading stopping power. But that comes at a price. A big one, and replacing worn rotors that have lost weight due to heavy track use is a big burden. In some cases 1500$ per rotor. Some people like me love the novelty and performance of the product over the standard iron brakes every other car has.

Now CCB Manufacturers built a phenomenal product, we know this. On a street car they are likely never going to need to be replaced. But on a track car a heavy user could experience wear to the rotors in 15-20 track days (depending on use). Once worn out racers are faced with ditching the carbon rotors and going back to steel to be able to afford new brakes. Saving money is always ideal but it comes at a cost of adding the weight back into their racecar. Racers, you know every pound saved is so many tenths faster.

Technology has advanced and now replacement isn’t the only option.

MY BACKGROUND:

I am an automotive engineer and full disclaimer I have worn carbon brakes…. I love cars. I don’t engineer brakes but I am fascinated by them. Typically the first thing I do on a new toy car is get the biggest brakes I can fit on them. When I purchased my C6 GS last year I was fortunate enough to find an affordable (at least I thought) set of Carbon Ceramic Brakes. I purchased them and at the time didn’t think much of the slight pitting on the rotors I purchased. Fast forward a year. It’s apparent I’m eating pads. My rotors are severely pitted due to previous owner track use and my spirited braking and high speed stops. I routinely take the car to 170-180mph and bring it back down to 70-80 when traffic presents. I don’t want to go back to irons. Honestly outside of all the mods done to my car. The brakes still draw the biggest crowd. So I’m faced with 5-7 Grand in replacement cost of just the rotors. Let the research begin.

THE PITCH:

I’ve been in contact with Racing Brake and they are offering a REFURBISHMENT SERVICE for carbon ceramic brakes. Obviously they are not going to tell me their process. I’ve done enough research to understand what companies like ReBrake and SICON are doing. Basically it is a lot like retreading a tire. But for the carbon.

After a thorough inspection and cleaning. The rotors are basically baked. Have their faces ground. Then rebuilt with a new top layer of carbon material. Following a much similar process to what Brembo does to create the rotors.

He also included some tables showing the pricing of having a carbon brake rotor refurbished, which would be $1,254 for two rotors. He also included a video from the Discovery Channel program “How It’s Made” showing how a carbon ceramic rotor is produced.

The Community Responds

While several members showed interest in this process, “9sec” was the first to question the idea.

If you wouldn’t put retread tires on your car and race it why you risk your life with substandard brakes?

To which the OP replied with the following.

This isn’t about retread tires. This is about refurbished brakes.
Ask yourself this: Why do people cut/grind iron rotors when they have reached a point where their surface is ‘marginal’? Why is that acceptable yet refurbished carbon brakes is somehow not?

If you understand the process and a bit more about how carbon ceramics are 1-made and 2-comprised. You can see how resurfacing the rotor is possible. 90% of the damage and wear happens on the rotor surfaces while the core is majority unchanged. Therefore removing the damaged surface from the rotor and replacing it under high heat and pressure. Allowing the material to rebond and reintroduce silicon back into the rotors with pressure and heat.

There are more replies, many of which are lengthy enough that we don’t want to include them all, so if you have the carbon ceramic rotors on your Corvette, this is a thread that you want to check out.

.