Here is How To Fix Those Brake Pulsations and Grinding Sounds on C8 Corvette’s Equipped with Z51

By
Mitch Talley
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3
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Here is How To Fix Those Brake Pulsations and Grinding Sounds on C8 Corvette's Equipped with Z51

Photo Credit: Chevrolet


Here’s an easy do-it-yourself solution if the brakes on your 2021 or 2022 Corvette Stingray Z51 are occasionally pulsing or grinding when applied.

An article posted to GM TechLink says the cure is quite simple. Just accelerate your Stingray to 60 mph, then apply medium force to the brake pedal to slow down to 30 mph. Do this burnishing process 10 times, and your brake problems should go away.

You’ll want to check with the owner’s manual for the complete brake burnishing procedure. According to the GM Techlink article:

The procedure includes applying the brakes 10 times starting at 60 mph (100 km/h) to 30 mph (50 k/h) while decelerating at 0.4g, which is a medium brake application. The Friction Circle (or Friction Bubble), found under the Performance menu on the instrument cluster, can be used to monitor the g-force. (Fig. 4) Use the Driver Information Center (DIC) steering wheel controls to view the menus on the instrument cluster. Between brake applications, the vehicle should be driven for at least 0.3 miles (0.5 km).

Here is How To Fix Those Brake Pulsations and Grinding Sounds on C8 Corvette's Equipped with Z51

The Techlink article also says that while performing the brake burnishing procedure, “the brake pads may smoke and produce an odor. The braking force and pedal travel also may increase. After the procedure, the brake pads may appear white at the rotor contact.“

Apparently, the brake pulsing or grinding noise when applying the brake is caused by brake pad spotting and brake rotor surface grooving or pitting, mostly with cars that sit for prolonged periods without use, especially in a high-humid environment. You can see those conditions on these images in the Techlink article:

Here is How To Fix Those Brake Pulsations and Grinding Sounds on C8 Corvette's Equipped with Z51 Here is How To Fix Those Brake Pulsations and Grinding Sounds on C8 Corvette's Equipped with Z51
GM says the burnishing process should only be used for cars with the Z51 Performance Package and associated brakes (RPO code J55) and not for the standard JL9 brake system.

The Z51 package includes special brakes, suspension, exhaust, and rear axle ratio, along with Electronic Limited Slip Differential and heavy-duty cooling system.


Source:
gm-techlink.com

Related:
GM Issues Technical Warning that Radar Detectors Can Damage the C8’s Side Mirror Glass
More C8 Corvettes Dealing with Faulty Valve Springs As GM Extends Build Window for Affected Engines
GM Creates a Technical Assistance Center (TAC) for the 2020 Corvette

 



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3 COMMENTS

  2. why would you let the car leave the factory in that condition? isn’t that supposed to be a quality check job? to make sure that isn’t gonna happen? after all it is over the car is over the $ 100 thousand dollar mark when we purchase one. Com’on corvette, DO BETTER ! how is it that we can’t have a brake dust free rim and a system that doesn’t operate correctly out of the box??

  3. it doesn’t come from the factory like that normally, this happens at home sitting around or after being stored over the winter in a humid environment. I have noticed this with numerous vehicles after it rained then sat for several hours but that is just surface rust which just needs a few brake applications and it’s gone. Same principle though

Comments are closed.