Wilwood brake upgrade—desirable for street use? - Page 3

Eljaro · #1 (**permalink**) 12-18-2011, 12:44 AM

The tie rods are very close. So close that I had to grind down the ball joint casing.
But they don not touch.

Rick Parker · #2 (**permalink**) 12-18-2011, 08:26 AM

Close only counts in Horse Shoes and Hand Grenades!

Flygirl · #3 (**permalink**) 12-21-2011, 02:57 PM

Apology accepted.

Now, if we could do something about those two roll bars...
:-)

Bobcat · #4 (**permalink**) 12-21-2011, 03:59 PM

I know what to do with those two roll bars !! Anybody got a sawzall ?

eek:

D-CEL · #5 (**permalink**) 12-18-2012, 05:44 AM

Did she fly, or is she just lurking....

DanEC · #6 (**permalink**) 12-18-2012, 08:15 AM

Bob would probably know if she has an order in line for fabrication. He may not be able to say however.

Dangerous Doug · #7 (**permalink**) 12-21-2011, 09:20 PM

Lots of answers here, but here's my $0.02...

I tried the Camaro brakes to start with. They are a single large piston and you push a lot of fluid to fill them up. That means a lot of pedal travel. I simply did not like that. Also, the pads have a funky fit to them: you have to bang the edge of the pad with a punch or chisel to deform them enough so that they don't rock between the pins. (No joke: this is out of the GM Manual for that year Chevrolet!).

I went with the SSBC calipers with steel braided lines. I love them. They have two, small pistons and you have much less pedal travel (instilling confidence you can actually slow down enough for the upcoming curve, stop sign, small child...). The other thing is that the pads fit correctly on the SSBC caliper, so no annoying "click...click...click..." that I got from the GM calipers.

I don't know about the Wilwood upgrade, but the SSBC's with the standard rotor (I assume the Wilwood upgrade requires a larger rotor?) worked well for me. May be a good compromise? I think I paid about $450 for the calipers. Do not recall what I paid for the stainless brake lines.

Okay, that's all I've got to say on this matter.
DD

D-CEL · #8 (**permalink**) 12-22-2011, 09:25 AM

(snicker, snort, straight face, keep a straight face!!...)
I do love her more and more each post LOL
That was an artfully delivered slap! Bravo! My dear, Bravo !!
Patrick says:
“since your back and put a deposit down you certainly deserve the benefit of the doubt” WTF? That was an apology? It’s a shallow and pathetic attempt to save face in public. (If I know Patrick, he probably sent her a PM with an actual apology.) But I digress..

Flygirl, Try not to take the words of Patrick too seriously (the rest of us sure don’t!)
Imagine a grumpy, mumbling, old man, shuffling along, snapping at all that walk past, having had far too much coffee…

Anyway, pedal travel is a function of M/C vs. Caliper piston volume. Lowering the caliper volume would yield less pedal travel among other things.

Interestingly, SSBC’s (Stainless Steel Brake Corp) first caliper of their own design was a better, two piston version of the GM sliding caliper, using the same mounts and spacing for use with factory rotors.

And No, Wilwood’s by design do not “require” a larger diameter rotor. They could be used with a stock size rotor if one desired it. The question would be why? If you’re going to the trouble of upgrading the calipers, why not change the rotor and hubs to much lighter and more serviceable units. Typically you can get an improvement in braking and save a considerable amount of rotating mass in the process by changing to Aluminum hubs and hats.

Jason

patrickt · #9 (**permalink**) 12-22-2011, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-CEL

Imagine a grumpy, mumbling, old man, shuffling along, snapping at all that walk past, having had far too much coffee...

I agree on the coffee. In fact, I'm going to try and cut back on it after the new year.

RodKnock · #10 (**permalink**) 12-22-2011, 09:53 AM

Patrick after having his coffee:

Dwzamberlan · #11 (**permalink**) 12-17-2012, 07:17 PM

Having an issuse with one of the front rotor/hub of my ERA 427 (#106). Am using G.M. #334348 rotors with pin (6) drive knock-offs attached. They only have 6,000 miles on them and are original from 1985. Just replaced both master brake cylinders (Leaking), new calipers, new brake pads and repacked the bearings and put in new seals. The passenger side wheel/tire spin smoothly. The DRIVER SIDE wheel/tire spun half way around and then STOPPED. Looking at the outside brake pad, there where scratch marks on the metal concave section of the pad. There were also scratch marks on the HUB of the rotor. The old brake pad also had scratch marks in the same spot. THE HUB OF THE ROTOR IS OUT OF ROUND. NOT THE ROTOR, BUT THE HUB. Just about the time I got the car legal and on the road, I always had a shaking in the steering wheel at 60-75 MPH. Had tires/wheels high speed balanced, and wheel alignment. Still had the shaking of the steering wheel. If the HUB is 1/16 out of round, would that creat the shimmy? I have ground down the high spot, but do not think it will solve the problem. Would like to replace the rotor with something a grade higher than what I have on it now. Any suggestions?
Dennis Z.

Eljaro · #12 (**permalink**) 12-18-2012, 01:32 AM

if the hub is 1/16 out of round you have to remove it from the bearings and have it put on a lathe and turn it true. The hub may have the bearings wrongly mounted also, because I can not imagine it being manufactured so badly. Maybe bearings are not seated right or the hub got hit and bent.
I had once an issue with the front axle stub, which had the wrong bearings and was actually moving inside.