Superformance Brakes (or not)

[wanab5150]

I had a question which was answered by a Wilwood tech. Some of it I liked and some I didn’t. The fact is that some braking power was compromised by adding an emergency brake that actually works well as opposed to the older cars which did not work at all (some say). At the time of the change, Wilwood had only the 34mm rear caliper with an incorporated E-brake. They developed the new 41mm with the E-brake which is worlds better than the 34mm, but not as aggressive as the original 4 pot. The change back to the 4 pots had several negative aspects. 1. The mounting brackets for the 4 pots do not fit the newer rear hubs 2. The brackets for the old E-brake are not on the newer cars and would have to be welded on from what I understand. Too much replacement and modification would be required to go back to the 4 pot and there is not a replacement 4 pot with an incorporated E-brake.

When the brake caliper changes started, the rear brakes (34mm) were not aggressive enough to even safely stop the car in several owners’ opinion. Superformance corrected the issue by changing out the 34mm caliper with the 41mm on the rear which made a huge difference, but the rear, still does not have the stopping power to match the front. This is demonstrated easily on concrete such as a gas station island where you should easily be able to lock up everything. Don't mistake what I'm saying here, my car stops very well now but could clearly use some more stopping power in the rear. I have tried to get the rear to break loose, but it just won’t happen. Now, I have Goodyear 315’s on the back, and the stock 275’s or even 295’s may in fact lock up as they may be a better match for the 255/265 fronts, which ever you may have. Essentially, I may have too much rubber on the ground in the rear which overpowers the caliper somewhat. I would like to hear from someone with the 41’s and 275 or 295’s, and hear how their car feels as far as all 4 locking at about the same time. I know locking the binders is not beneficial to stopping but it would provide the answer to the question of whether the added tire size is the reason mine won’t lock up.

Barry is sending me new front pads which are one step more aggressive than the “Q” pads on the front now. The rear 41’s came with BP-10 pads. By replacing the fronts with BP-10 pads I would have the same compound all around.

The question I posed to the Wilwood tech is……….If I add more stopping power to the front by adding more aggressive BP-10 pads, wouldn’t that put me right back in the same boat as before when the fronts way over powered the rear 34’s? The answer was “probably” but, the difference between the two pads is “minimal”. He said there were a number of pads from street to extreme racing, and about, I think he said 6 or 7 different levels of pads, so how much could one step up make. That’s straight from the horse’s mouth.
IF…the new BP-10’s are more “progressive” in their feel, then they may add a slight better edge in overall stopping without over powering the rears. If they are just stronger, then I think the car will go back to the “no rear brake feel”. I’m hoping that by matching the front and rear compounds, this may render a better overall stronger and better feel. If not, I will put the “Q” pads back on and be fine living with the results. I feel comfortable with the way it is now, but I’m a “too much is better than not enough” kinda guy.

I have not received the pads yet but Barry said they were shipped. I will follow up with the results in a few weeks or so, and this should end this thread. tom