My experience with Wilwood Big Brake kit
#1
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I wanted to share my opinion after giving this kit a good workout: Its all good.
The rotor size is up only a bit but the 13lbs per wheel weight savings can definately be felt through the steering wheel. It is absolutely telepathic now and noticably sharper. Bumps at speed are a non event now as well. The braking has better initial grab and is very linear and strong. Fade of course is not an issue. I must say the "race/steet" pads I used intially are not my favorite. Very noisy and they never seemed to settle into a smooth application. The "street" pads I changed to are perfectly smooth and quiet, and they held up fine. BTW, It only takes a minute or so to change the pads once the wheels are off. One allen head bolt and you can slip them out easily. Lastly This kit allowed me to use my stock wheels. A big deal maker for me as none of the other kits does this without some big spacers. All in all I highly recommend this kit if your looking for a brake kit. :D
The rotor size is up only a bit but the 13lbs per wheel weight savings can definately be felt through the steering wheel. It is absolutely telepathic now and noticably sharper. Bumps at speed are a non event now as well. The braking has better initial grab and is very linear and strong. Fade of course is not an issue. I must say the "race/steet" pads I used intially are not my favorite. Very noisy and they never seemed to settle into a smooth application. The "street" pads I changed to are perfectly smooth and quiet, and they held up fine. BTW, It only takes a minute or so to change the pads once the wheels are off. One allen head bolt and you can slip them out easily. Lastly This kit allowed me to use my stock wheels. A big deal maker for me as none of the other kits does this without some big spacers. All in all I highly recommend this kit if your looking for a brake kit. :D
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Pics of my car are here:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...hlight=wilwood
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...hlight=wilwood
#7
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Originally Posted by shelleys_man_06
Good review rlfletech. ![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Are the pads you're using from the kit?
![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Are the pads you're using from the kit?
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Originally Posted by rlfletch
...The rotor size is up only a bit but the 13lbs per wheel weight savings can definately be felt through the steering wheel. It is absolutely telepathic now and noticably sharper...
...I must say the "race/steet" pads I used intially are not my favorite. Very noisy and they never seemed to settle into a smooth application. The "street" pads I changed to are perfectly smooth and quiet, and they held up fine...
---jps
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Yeah.. impressions on feel would be great.. Do you feel they grab significanly harder, meaning that when you stomp hard on the pedal it feels like your going to go through the windshield?
Or is fade just a non issue now and the brakes feel a bit better than stock.....
If I buy a BBK I would want to know that these things are stopping at least 10 to 15 feet shorter than stock... Vivid proved this with their Stop Tech kit..
![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
If I buy a BBK I would want to know that these things are stopping at least 10 to 15 feet shorter than stock... Vivid proved this with their Stop Tech kit..
Last edited by davefzr; 10-04-2004 at 01:59 AM.
#11
rlfletech, have you considered ceramic brake pads? My boss persuaded me they were optimal everywhere, because ceramics have a high heat capacity, low wear resistance, and my boss was a brake mechanic for many years.
![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
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Originally Posted by epitrochoid
i believe ceramic and carbon pads only operate well at high temps, not good for the street
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Last edited by PUR NRG; 05-01-2011 at 04:50 AM.
#15
Originally Posted by epitrochoid
i believe ceramic and carbon pads only operate well at high temps, not good for the street
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Care to offer up any more info? Has Wilwood ever made this information available to you as far as the braking distances?
Last edited by davefzr; 10-04-2004 at 07:27 PM.
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Lets face it, the stock brakes are pretty damn good. Because the rotor size is so similar I doubt this kit offers a vastly shorter stopping distance. I don't have, and don't plan on taking the time to get exact stopping distance data. Stickier tires will probably have more of an effect per dollar.
What this kit does do:
Fade at track conditions is even less of an issue than before.
The brakes bite harder with less pedal pressure than before.
Pads are incredibly easy to change now.
A LARGE savings in unsprung weight per wheel.
What this kit does do:
Fade at track conditions is even less of an issue than before.
The brakes bite harder with less pedal pressure than before.
Pads are incredibly easy to change now.
A LARGE savings in unsprung weight per wheel.
#18
The Q pads that are supplied with the kit are indeed a ceramic based pad good up to 800 degress. They also dont need to be heated up to work properly. Best part is, they dont dust or squeek.
You guys have to keep one thing in mind. The point of a big brake kit is not to reduce 80-0 or 60-0 distances. You can do that with just a pad change. The point of a larger and more effecient system is to be able to withstand constant punishment and abuse and actually work better when hot.
You can get better braking just by swapping pads. But what happens when you upgrade one component without upgrading related components? Premature failure. With larger more effecient systems you dont see the degradation from heat that you see in a stock set up. Which actually means that these components under the same circumstances will actually last much much longer.
On top of that, I cant stress enough what a difference of 25 pounds of unsprung weight feels like off the front end. That alone is worth the price of admission.
You guys have to keep one thing in mind. The point of a big brake kit is not to reduce 80-0 or 60-0 distances. You can do that with just a pad change. The point of a larger and more effecient system is to be able to withstand constant punishment and abuse and actually work better when hot.
You can get better braking just by swapping pads. But what happens when you upgrade one component without upgrading related components? Premature failure. With larger more effecient systems you dont see the degradation from heat that you see in a stock set up. Which actually means that these components under the same circumstances will actually last much much longer.
On top of that, I cant stress enough what a difference of 25 pounds of unsprung weight feels like off the front end. That alone is worth the price of admission.
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Originally Posted by epitrochoid
25 lbs...damn. wonder how much you could lose on the rears
---jps
#21
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Originally Posted by Docofmind
On top of that, I cant stress enough what a difference of 25 pounds of unsprung weight feels like off the front end. That alone is worth the price of admission.
Do you guys have a turntable or something else useful for measuring rotational intertia handy? (even most pro-grade CAD packages should be able to calculate that if you have a 3-D model)
The 25lb unsprung weight reduction is definitely a big plus, and losing 3 lb off the rotors is good, but it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to (with the right equipment) measure the rotational inertias of the two different rotors, which is a data point that I'd be really interested in seeing.
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Originally Posted by Sputnik
That's why several of us are interested in a rear kit.
---jps
---jps
#23
Originally Posted by bgreene
Hey Doc,
Do you guys have a turntable or something else useful for measuring rotational intertia handy? (even most pro-grade CAD packages should be able to calculate that if you have a 3-D model)
The 25lb unsprung weight reduction is definitely a big plus, and losing 3 lb off the rotors is good, but it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to (with the right equipment) measure the rotational inertias of the two different rotors, which is a data point that I'd be really interested in seeing.
Do you guys have a turntable or something else useful for measuring rotational intertia handy? (even most pro-grade CAD packages should be able to calculate that if you have a 3-D model)
The 25lb unsprung weight reduction is definitely a big plus, and losing 3 lb off the rotors is good, but it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to (with the right equipment) measure the rotational inertias of the two different rotors, which is a data point that I'd be really interested in seeing.
I dont have access to one but I can ask my engineer. I know that with SEMA around the corner, we have been extremely busy trying to prepare. If you got access to one I ll gladly get you a rotor for testing.
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unfortunately, I don't have a turntable available (instrumented or otherwise), and the only CAD access I have is at work, where bringing in other peoples proprietary models would require much more legal hassle than it's worth.
#25
Originally Posted by BlueEyes
Porsche uses ceramic composite brakes on most of the 911 model line w/o problems. Brembo is coming out with a ceramic brake system soon
As far as Porsche PCCB "w/o problems", you should check out the writeups Porsche forums.