Baer vs Wilwood?

[Fuelie Nova]

I notice that Baer setups tend to be more expensive than Wilwood. I am curious if one is really better than the other?
Tg

[Vegas69]

Ford VS Chevy Good luck

[rocketman]

comparing a apple to a apple. there both the same, I have used both companies and I can't tell any noticable difference in either companies.

[ProdigyCustoms]

WAY more brake for the buck in Wilwood. Baer sells re packaged // re engraved factory C4 Corvette stuff for more money then you can buy 6 piston Wilwood stuff if you buy at the right place, Hint, Hint!

[SDMAN]

I just went thru the Wilwood vs Baer for my 70 GTO project. Went with Baer for 2 reasons. First, their new 6 piston monoblock calipers are VERY nice (front AND rears) and, they are local to me (based in downtown Phoenix). Wasnt really anything wrong with the Wilwoods....I just liked the looks of the Baer parts way better. And they will definitely fill up the 18" wheels.
And yes, the Wilwoods would have been cheaper.

[chicane67]

Baer doesn't sell re packaged / re engraved GM product. Hal has had a contract with PBR since their very beginning. He gets his product from the very same place as General Motors, Ford and Chrysler... as they have all used the very same product.

Between the 2 pot GT caliper (C5/C6 standard caliper) and the Wilwood six... there isn't much of a difference in performance. That difference is about 4 feet (as tested) in stopping distance. Which is worth the money spent.

All you are getting differently is a product that has a different shape and different finish. No real performance gain what so ever... not to discount 4 feet, as that can be the difference between purchasing new sheet metal and not.

I wouldnt (and dont) have a problem running either... but you just cant drive over to the local GM, Ford or Chrylser dealship (or local parts store for that matter) to pick up replacement parts and pads for Wilwood's stuff. If your on a trip or not close to home and you need something... the PBR stuff makes sense. If waiting for parts is ok... then I guess that is ok too.

It basically comes down to looks and parts availability. You'll get one without the other... both ways.

And who says you need to spend more to get the same thing that Baer sells ?? Take a look at Touring Classics (http://www.touring-classics.com/Testvehicles.htm)... a sponser here.

[rocketrod]

Call http://www.tbyrnemotorsports.com/ for a quote on Baer's. When I bought mine from them about 2 years ago they were about $400 cheaper then everyone.

[chicane67]

Yeah... I forgot about them too. For Baer product, they have smokin deals...

[4MuscleMachines]

I prefer the Wilwoods because they are lighter than the two pot PBR Baers. You get lighter calipers and lighter 2pc rotors for almost the same price.

[ponchopwr70]

I like the wilwoods. There are pics on them on my car in my pt garage. I got mine from Frank, best bang for the buck, lighter and more appealing.

[Fuelie Nova]

Thanks for the responses, a few thoughts...

Frank, I have emailed a couple of times over the last month but haven't gotten a response. I am traveling a lot for work right now in Canada and don't want to pay the international calls :)

My Nova is going in for paint on Feb 1 and should be done by early may... I don't want to install the brakes before then.

My application is LONG trips... I drive everywhere with the car, first trip is scheduled in July, Minneapolis to Gettysburg PA... what a way to break in a new paint job!

Thanks
Tom

[O'Neall]

Frank... on the 12" Wilwood kits, how much (if any) affect will they have on wheel backspacing--front and rear?

[ProdigyCustoms]

Frank, I have emailed a couple of times over the last month but haven't gotten a response. :)


Thanks
Tom

What e mail address is it going to? What email address are you sending to? What email address is it coming from?? Use [email protected] and CC [email protected] (my personal email) to be sure I get it one way or another

[ProdigyCustoms]

Frank... on the 12" Wilwood kits, how much (if any) affect will they have on wheel backspacing--front and rear?

No effect on the rear, less then a 1/2" up front

[Fuelie Nova]

Frank
I was sending it to the sales address. I will resend later tonight.
Tom

[O'Neall]

No effect on the rear, less then a 1/2" up front

Thanks!!!

[Fuelie Nova]

Email sent Frank. Let me know if you do not get it.
Tom

[shmoov69]

Well, I have Baer's now, have not had any trouble. But.....I will prolly buy Wilwood's next time. Cheaper. (seem to be) Just as good. And I did not have a good expeirience with their 1: back order time (for a first gen no less!), 2: did not send the correct hardware, 3: master cyl was bad, 4: no instructions, 5: customer service SUCKED and they were rude.
But that was several years ago and maybe I just got a lucky (or unlucky!) deal! On the Power Tour, they are always super nice though!

[thedugan]

The only think I do not like about my WilWoods is the rear brake caliper is tiny compared to the front.

[Skip Fix]

Most of the Wilwood kit's I've seen use the same 4 piston Dynalite on the rear as the fronts. Don't know why they don't switch the street front kits to a caliper that uses a bigger pad like the Superlites. To me the pad size has to affect the performance some as it's smaller than even the single piston GM calipers use.

[ProdigyCustoms]

The size difference in the calipers is the difference between 6 piston Superlite front and 4 piston Dynalite rear. Actually, in reality, this is a good correct stagger, much like factory brakes where the rear calipers are almost always smaller then the fronts except for the last couple years with high end sports cars where bling has become very important!

A 12.2" rear 4 piston Dynalight will provide all the rear brake anyone needs. Now for bling, we can do superlite rear calipers too on 12.2, 13" and even the ultimate overkill (Insert Project EmptyNest, Project Prodigy, and many others here) we even have 14" Superlite rears.

And as of this weekend, we now do have a Dynalite to Superlite conversion for the 12.2" set ups also. So you can now run Superlite Calipers on the previous only Dynalite 12.2 rotors, without spending the 13" money.

Do you need biiger rear calipers and rotor, NO! Do you want bigger rotors or calipers.....................................

[chicane67]

Hear hear Frank... well said.

[Bruning Auto Design]

Great quality and outstanding customer service from Baer....

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[SDMAN]

Agreed. When I went down to Baer's facility, I was given the complete nickel tour. Lots of cars in their bay having developement work done for brake kits. They took the time to answer every question, and even sent clearance templates directly to Budnik. And this is my second Baer brake kit purchase.

[MonzaRacer]

Asfor me I think when Ido the brakes on my Monza Ill just pull all the parts together from Corvettes. I will probably get a set of spindles froma 98 Blazer 2wd with the ZQ8 option, will fit my Gbody/S10 adapters kit fine and let me use stock S10 stuff till I can afford the 'Vette stuff.
Most peopel would be surprized what they can do on thier own instead of spending big dollars for a "kit" but thats up to the persons wallet and tastes.

[mixon]

I like the quality of the Baer, but the backs look horrible. Go monocolored wilwood!