How does an Essex/AP Racing CP5060 BBK compare to the OEM C6 Z06 brakes when put to the test at the Glen?

One of our C6 Z06 customers recently posted a nice review on the corvette forum about his new Essex Desinged AP Racing Endurance Brake Kit after putting them to the test for the first time at Watkins Glen. He was pleasantly surprised by not only the performance and feel of the system, but how easy it was to install pads, how long those pads lasted, and the thorough installation manual. His comments are below:

I worked with Jeff Ritter on upgrading the brakes for my C6 Z06. I knew the new Radi-Cal calipers were coming out soon, and while they sounded incredible, I knew I was going to have a few events prior to their release. Having already researched the CP5060 calipers, and reading several posts here and a post from Bill Dearborn that he should have listened to all the advice and jumped into a racing setup sooner than later, I talked with Jeff and made the plunge, including the Ferodo DS1.11 pads. Everyone at Essex was great to work with and delivery was prompt. The instructions that come with the kit are very straight forward and easy to understand. Follow them to the letter and your life will be easier.
A quick aside on this: I, for one, hate working with flared fittings and have a fear of installing brake lines, other posts here have documented the difficulties of this over the years as well. (I had also upgraded to stainless lines previously and had thoughts of keeping them. I’m glad I didn’t, as the fittings wouldn’t have mated to the AP setup as well and the caps supplied with the kit make it easy and clean to do). To strip these fine threads is my biggest fear and having to replace the hard piped portion, or fix the flared (if possible) always scares me. So I deviated from the well thought out, step by step instructions and installed the brake lines ahead of time while the rotor and calipers were still off so I had more room to work. This of course, allows fluid to start dripping during the rest of the process. The cap supplied by Essex/Spiegler, does just fit inside the banjo bolt and one side it plugged completely, but I needed to keep a can under it and keep an eye on the other side and my fluid reservoir. My recommendation is cap and install just as Essex suggests and your life will be easier.
Do read the instructions through (and follow them) so that you have all the tools and items laid out and the install will go very quick and easy. The ease of the pad installation, one of the reasons I upgraded, seemed just too easy, especially compared to that annoying spring clip of the stock Z06 brakes!
My first event came at Watkins Glen and the stopping power of these brakes and pads is just amazing! All my old braking points are gone and I constantly found myself having to let off the brakes into corners just to get into the turn in point. I spent the rest of the event going deeper into corners and working with my instructor to get the most out of the set up. I haven’t measured exactly, but after the two day event, the pads haven’t worn more than 30% and I’m looking to get several events out of one set, instead of 1 set per event prior. I do street the car after, and as promised they are a bit noisy on the street, but overall I’m thrilled with the setup! I’m actually looking forward to needing to change the pads since it will be so easy to do! Thanks to Jeff Ritter and all the staff at Essex and AP for providing a product that lives up to the billing, ease of installation and great design. They fit so well with the rest of my stock setup and the engineering and tolerances just amaze me. Another side benefit is that you can clearly see the outside pads without removing the wheel, so it’s very easy to do a quick check. And I have to say, they look pretty cool behind the wheels too! I’m looking forward to many track days with these babies! If you can wait a few more weeks, the new Radi-Cal calipers look to be even more amazing and look to be incredible and I’m sure worth the wait! Thanks Jeff and Essex!