ME’s Do Not Melt In Bad Weather

[John]

Thanks to Corvette_Nut for this video. Good thing they do not melt — for some of us live in wet and sometimes snowy weather.

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[Z_Rocks]

So, GM is driving these C8s side by side with Porsche in wet slippery roads to see how they hold up, against one of the best cars' chassis (Porsche AWD 911).
Looks the the final stages of tuning that chassis.

[JB]

That was a crazy fast flash...

Corvettes dont melt....even rear mid engine ones...

this is part of GM s 300k mile validation testing...

i didnt know if that ended with the
altered drivetrain warranty of 5 yrs/ 100k miles hich dropped to 5 years/60k miles over the past few years...

doent matter to most of us as the average corvette owner probably drives on average 12k miles a year at most so it works out perfectly

[bobbytinvab]

Dang it ... how come they never test these things where I live? Nice vid corvette nut

[Racer86]

Dang it ... how come they never test these things where I live? Nice vid corvette nut

If we get our C8 before you get yours, I’ll be happy to drive it past your house

[bobbytinvab]

If we get our C8 before you get yours, I’ll be happy to drive it past your house

cool ... sounds like a plan

[Boomer]

ME’s Do Not Melt In Bad Weather

Thats good to know but if I drive mine anything like my C7 fair weather driver it won't see much rain anyway.

We've seen several instances of "cold" weather driving by these C8 camos. Guess that means they are not equipped with summer only tires which aren't supposed to be driven below 40F. Is it possible the C8 may be OEM equipped with a choice of either summer only or AS tires? Also, has anybody been able to notice in any of the spy shots that different types of tires are being used?

[John]

Perhaps your eyes are bionic and can see what tires these are. This was off one of yesterday’s C8 caravan cars. The only tires we have been able to decipher so far have been Michelin 4S’s — which are only a high perf summer tires. But GM may have a surprise in store; personally, I believe not, but maybe (we do not have any little birdie’s whispering so far).

[Z_Rocks]

If (Dual break caliber == Yes), then I think it's a great idea to keep the rotor smaller for weight saving and yet still have a better breaking system and also it balances the pressure between the two calibers and thirdly, you have a backup caliber if one goes bad in hard breaking.

[John]

When this was first noticed months ago, most felt the dual calipers would have that beneficial effect of net lesser weight, thought the majority at that time felt that the second caliper was strictly a parking brake.

[Boomer]

This was off one of yesterday’s C8 caravan cars. The only tires we have been able to decipher so far have been Michelin 4S’s — which are only a high perf summer tires.

Considering the "cold" conditions we've seen now, I wonder if there is a different tire being used. Maybe the 40F guideline for this "summer only" tire has changed. Or maybe thats what their testing.

[meyerweb]

When this was first noticed months ago, most felt the dual calipers would have that beneficial effect of net lesser weight, thought the majority at that time felt that the second caliper was strictly a parking brake.

One of the calipers is much smaller than the other. Looks like a single piston design. If both calipers were being used for braking, I'd be surprised to see them vary in size like this. OTOH, if you're using the disk brake as a parking brake, why not use the main caliper? The only thing that comes to mind is that the parking brake caliper could have a very soft compound that works better for the purpose, and when cold, while the main caliper is a harder compound for better performance and wear at high speeds and temps.

[John]

Thanks to Corvette_Nut, this add’l picture.

[John]

Few more C8 pics; these are more screen prints provided by, and with thanks to, Corvette_Nut coming from one of his earlier provided videos.

[Racer86]

One of the calipers is much smaller than the other. Looks like a single piston design. If both calipers were being used for braking, I'd be surprised to see them vary in size like this. OTOH, if you're using the disk brake as a parking brake, why not use the main caliper? The only thing that comes to mind is that the parking brake caliper could have a very soft compound that works better for the purpose, and when cold, while the main caliper is a harder compound for better performance and wear at high speeds and temps.

Back in the 1970s or so, GM was using the main caliper for both braking and a parking brake. It has a screw mechanism built into the inside caliper piston that was connected to the parking park cable.the brake cable had an arm that would “screw “ the piston into rotor contact.. It was extra work to setup when changing brake pads, and was not the best system to use. Also, on high performance braking systems, the pad was not allowed to release from the rotor completely, or with poor adjustment, the pad would back off the rotor to far, and produce a low brake petal.Bad deal for the pad, as it could drag and stay hot, or not apply any pressure at all.. Not the best description of this, Best I can do. But, later they went to the small brake drum/ rotor hat like you see today. The separate parking brake caliper is in my opinion the correct and best way to do this. My bet is the small caliper shown is just a parking brake caliper with the piston screw mechanism and brake cable arm setup . Best of both worlds.
Ferrari, Lamborghini, and many others are currently using a separate parking brake caliper.