TBM F4 vs Wilwood Aero6

[hotrod56]

Been looking at TBM F4 calipers and wavy rotor setup. Was going to go with Wilwoods but TBM's caught my eye. TBM's stuff makes a lot of sense. Both TBM and Wilwood both have great customer service. I know TBM is made in the USA and am not sure about Wilwood (headquarters in Cal - but not sure about manufacturing).

TBM's calipers are smaller and they claim they do not flex as much as other calipers (Wilwood), hence putting more power to the disc, and not needing a 6 piston caliper. The wavy disc is suppose to be a lot lighter and last longer as well. The calipers and discs are really made beautiful. On the other hand, Wilwood's stuff is made nice and has a good reputation.

Has anyone tried both and felt a difference in stopping power? If you have, please share your experiences and some info about your set-up would be great as well.

[AMC Racer]

Brakes are about converting the car's energy into heat and managing that heat so you can maintain consistent braking. The faster and more consistently you can convert that energy into heat and remove it from the system, while staying within your traction limits and the temperature range of the pad compound/brake fluid/etc ... the quicker it can stop.

Scalloped rotors are usually used to reduce mass and inertia for light braking applications to help dynamic response (Wilwood offers them too ... for light cars racing on dirt). If planning on hard braking on asphalt, need to pay attention to the rotor. A heavier or faster car will need more rotor mass and good cooling to maintain consistent braking (larger diameter or wider with lots of vanes and likely cooling ducts).

6 piston calipers work better with wider pads where more pad area and pad volume is needed for the application, e.g. if you were wearing out pads before the end of the race or having issues with pad taper (most 6 piston have differential bores to reduce taper ... as do some 4 piston). If you don't need a big pad area, a 4-piston caliper may be fine and the TBM F4 may do the job (or a Wilwood Superlite 4 piston caliper or similar). More pad volume and a larger caliper can do a better job of managing heat.

Going with more rotor or caliper than you need for the application will hurt dynamic response and typically costs more ... but will at least stop safely. Not enough caliper or rotor will overheat, fade and lose braking ... not a good plan. Need to find the balance that suits your application.

[Ron Sutton]

Brakes are about converting the car's energy into heat and managing that heat so you can maintain consistent braking. The faster and more consistently you can convert that energy into heat and remove it from the system, while staying within your traction limits and the temperature range of the pad compound/brake fluid/etc ... the quicker it can stop.

Scalloped rotors are usually used to reduce mass and inertia for light braking applications to help dynamic response (Wilwood offers them too ... for light cars racing on dirt). If planning on hard braking on asphalt, need to pay attention to the rotor. A heavier or faster car will need more rotor mass and good cooling to maintain consistent braking (larger diameter or wider with lots of vanes and likely cooling ducts).

6 piston calipers work better with wider pads where more pad area and pad volume is needed for the application, e.g. if you were wearing out pads before the end of the race or having issues with pad taper (most 6 piston have differential bores to reduce taper ... as do some 4 piston). If you don't need a big pad area, a 4-piston caliper may be fine and the TBM F4 may do the job (or a Wilwood Superlite 4 piston caliper or similar). More pad volume and a larger caliper can do a better job of managing heat.

Going with more rotor or caliper than you need for the application will hurt dynamic response and typically costs more ... but will at least stop safely. Not enough caliper or rotor will overheat, fade and lose braking ... not a good plan. Need to find the balance that suits your application.

Yup!