2016-2019 Cadillac ATS-V Brake Upgrade Options

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

The 2016-2019 Cadillac ATS-V already leaves the factory with a serious Brembo system: six-piston monobloc calipers on 370 mm two-piece front rotors and four-piston calipers in the rear. For most owners the best upgrade is not a bigger kit but the right pads and fluid for how the car is driven. If you track the car, a sintered race pad like EBC's SR-11 plus fresh high-boiling fluid is where the real gains are.

What the ATS-V Brakes Already Are

The ATS-V is not a base ATS with a badge. Cadillac fitted it with a Brembo package built for track days, and it is worth knowing exactly what you have before spending money on it. Brembo's published figures for the car:

Road testers often round the front rotor up to 14.6 inches; it is the same 370 mm part. The calipers also use a pad pull-back design that reduces drag when you are off the pedal. The rear caliper family is shared with the sixth-generation Camaro SS and 1LE, which helps with parts availability.

That hardware is stopping a car rated at 464 hp and 455 lb-ft with a coupe curb weight near 3,700 lb, on 255/35R18 front and 275/35R18 rear tires. The system has plenty of clamping force and rotor mass for the street. What limits it on a road course is heat: pad compound, fluid boiling point and rotor condition.

Where the Stock System Runs Out

On the street the factory setup is hard to fault. The trouble shows up during repeated hard stops from high speed, which is exactly what the car's Race mode and Magnetic Ride Control invite. Watch for these signs:

• Long or soft pedal after a hot session. Usually fluid that has absorbed moisture and boiled. It often firms back up once the brakes cool, which is the tell.
• Pedal stays firm but the car will not slow like it did. That is pad fade: the compound has gone past its working temperature.
• Vibration under braking after a track day. Uneven pad deposits on the rotor face, or a ring that has been overheated. Measure thickness and runout before blaming the rotor.
• Heavy dust and fast wear. Normal for a low-metallic street pad used hard; it tells you the pad is working outside its comfort zone.

None of these mean the calipers are too small. They mean the consumables were chosen for street driving.

Upgrade 1: Brake Fluid (Do This First)

Fluid is the cheapest and most important change for anyone taking an ATS-V on track. Federal standard FMVSS 116 sets minimum boiling points for each fluid grade, and the gap between new (dry) and moisture-contaminated (wet) fluid is large:

Those are legal minimums; dedicated racing glycol fluids are rated above them. Use a glycol-based fluid that meets the grade shown on your master cylinder cap or in the owner's manual, and never silicone DOT 5, which is not meant to be mixed with the glycol fluid in an ABS system. For track use, bleed before each event weekend. Fluid picks up moisture over time, and the wet number is what you are really driving on after a season.

Upgrade 2: Pad Compound

This is where the ATS-V gains the most on track. We carry two EBC sintered race compounds made for the ATS-V front caliper:

• EBC SR-11 sintered race front brake pads for the ATS-V - medium friction. EBC targets SR-11 at the front of street-based cars with strong ABS intervention, as well as race cars with bias control. Working range runs from cold up to 900 C.
• EBC SR-21 sintered race front brake pads for the ATS-V - ultra-high friction with a slightly higher ceiling, cold up to 925 C. EBC states SR-21 is intended for race cars with brake bias controls only.

For a street-registered ATS-V that does track days on the factory ABS and stability systems, SR-11 is the compound that matches EBC's own guidance. SR-21 belongs on a car set up for racing with adjustable bias, because a much grippier pad on one axle changes the front-to-rear balance the ABS was calibrated around.

EBC says SR compounds need no chemical bedding because there are no volatiles to burn off; you still mate the pads to the rotor face with a series of moderate stops before hard use. They also use a transfer-film design intended to keep rotor wear low. Expect more noise and dust than the factory pad. A race pad is a race pad, and many owners keep a street set and swap for events.

If you only drive on the street, a quality OE-style replacement from our brake pad collection or our ceramic brake pads is the better match for cold bite and quiet stops.

Upgrade 3: Rotors, Lines and What to Skip

Rotors. The front rotors are two-piece, so the iron ring is the wear item. Replace when it reaches the minimum thickness marked on the rotor or when cracks run to the edge. Fit new pads to new or properly resurfaced rotors, and clean off street-pad deposits before bedding a race compound. Browse replacements in our brake rotor collection.

Braided lines. Stainless braided hoses reduce hose expansion and give a slightly firmer pedal. They are a nice-to-have, not a cure for fade. See brake lines and brake hoses.

Big brake kit. For most ATS-V owners it is hard to justify. The factory package is already a six-piston, 370 mm Brembo system. Larger rotors need larger wheels and change the bias. Fluid, pads and healthy rotors solve the problems most owners actually have.

How Hard Is the Job

Pad replacement on the ATS-V Brembo calipers is a straightforward driveway job for anyone who has done brakes before. Fixed calipers mean the pads come out once the retaining hardware is removed, without unbolting the caliper. Push the pistons back evenly and watch the reservoir level. Rotor replacement means removing the caliper; torque caliper and wheel fasteners to the values in the factory service manual. A full fluid flush with a pressure bleeder is a modest job. If you are not confident bleeding an ABS-equipped car, have a shop do the fluid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I drive on EBC SR-11 pads on the street?

EBC positions SR-11 for the front of street-based cars with strong ABS as well as race cars. It works on the street but brings more noise and dust than a street pad, so many owners swap them in for events only.

Should I run SR-21 on my ATS-V?

Only if the car has adjustable brake bias. EBC specifies SR-21 for race cars with bias controls only.

Do these pads fit both the sedan and coupe?

Both products are listed for the 2016-2019 ATS-V 3.6L twin-turbo front caliper, which the sedan and coupe share.

What size are the ATS-V front rotors?

Brembo lists them as 370 x 34 mm (about 14.5 x 1.33 in), two-piece with an aluminum hat.

Do I need a big brake kit to track an ATS-V?

Usually not. Fresh high-boiling fluid, a proper track pad and healthy rotors address fade and soft pedal on the factory Brembo system.

Sources

1. Brembo braking technology on the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V - front six-piston monobloc caliper, 370 x 34 mm two-piece rotor, 115 cm2 pad; rear four-piston caliper, 339 x 26 mm rotor, 44 cm2 pad; pad pull-back feature
2. The Car Magazine 2016 ATS-V Coupe road test - 464 hp, 455 lb-ft, 3,699 lb curb weight, 255/35R18 and 275/35R18 tires, Magnetic Ride Control, Race mode
3. GM Brembo caliper identification - ATS-V six-piston front on 14.6 in rotors; rear caliper shared with sixth-gen Camaro SS and 1LE
4. EBC Sintered SR Series product page - SR11 medium friction for high-ABS street cars, SR21 ultra-high friction for race cars with bias control only, heat ranges, no chemical bedding, transfer film
5. 49 CFR 571.116 (FMVSS 116 brake fluids) - minimum dry and wet boiling points for DOT 3, DOT 4 and DOT 5 fluid