Wilwood 14" Brakes

[KMD]

I am building a 55 Chevy with an AME chassis. I will be running a 19" front wheel and 20" rears. Wilwood recommended 14" brakes on the front and rear. Before I called I was thinking of running 13" fronts and 12.19" rear. So when he recommended 14", it just seemed way to big. Now that I have had some time to think about it maybe the 14s" will be fine for the front but should the rear be 13" instead of having them the same for both front and rear. The front is a 6 piston and the rear are 4 piston with the internal ebrake. Any thoughts would be appreciated...

http://www.wilwood.com/Search/PartNoSearch.aspx?itemno=140-10641&itempdf=140-10641

http://www.wilwood.com/Search/PartNoSearch.aspx?itemno=140-10948&itempdf=140-10948

[Ron Sutton]

What are your goals? Are you going to Autocross? Track days? Street driven only? Look cool at car shows? The more clear you are on your goals, the more clear this answer will be.

I'm a big fan of designing the whole car ... brake system included ... to best achieve your goals. Let us know what that is.

[KMD]

What are your goals? Are you going to Autocross? Track days? Street driven only? Look cool at car shows? The more clear you are on your goals, the more clear this answer will be.

I'm a big fan of designing the whole car ... brake system included ... to best achieve your goals. Let us know what that is.

Thanks Ron,
This car will hopefully see some time on the open road and auto crossing as well as car shows. As it stands now the drive train will be a LS 3 525hp, T-56, 3.70 rear gear.

[Kevin403]

I just picked up the 13" myself, Six piston.

http://www.wilwood.com/Promo/Promo1.aspx

[Ron Sutton]

Sounds like a fun combo. Your goals of "open road and auto crossing as well as car shows" have some conflicting needs. Many people like the look of the rotor filling up the wheel (car shows, cruising, looks in general). But bigger rotor add rotating weight that actually hinder autocross goals.

Paraphrasing Newton's law of motion, things at rest tend to stay at rest, while things in motion tend to stay in that motion as long as there are no outside forces ... and then there is racing :-) We are trying to accelerate, decelerate & turn heavy objects ... faster than the other guys trying to do the same thing. Lighter cars accelerate, decelerate & turn better. Lighter rotating assemblies on these cars play an even larger role. So if you're serious about being competitive on the autocross part of your goals, you would want lighter tire/wheel combos, lighter brake rotors, etc.

You can achieve all the braking needed for optimum autocross performance with smaller rotors (12" or 13") with different, more aggressive brake pads. I personally like your idea of 13" & 12.19" rotors for performance, but the 12.19" rotor in the 20" rear wheels might not give you the look you want.

But I don't know what your highest priority is. Only you can decide & sort your priorities. Best wishes !

[KMD]

Sounds like a fun combo. Your goals of "open road and auto crossing as well as car shows" have some conflicting needs. Many people like the look of the rotor filling up the wheel (car shows, cruising, looks in general). But bigger rotor add rotating weight that actually hinder autocross goals.

Paraphrasing Newton's law of motion, things at rest tend to stay at rest, while things in motion tend to stay in that motion as long as there are no outside forces ... and then there is racing :-) We are trying to accelerate, decelerate & turn heavy objects ... faster than the other guys trying to do the same thing. Lighter cars accelerate, decelerate & turn better. Lighter rotating assemblies on these cars play an even larger role. So if you're serious about being competitive on the autocross part of your goals, you would want lighter tire/wheel combos, lighter brake rotors, etc.

You can achieve all the braking needed for optimum autocross performance with smaller rotors (12" or 13") with different, more aggressive brake pads. I personally like your idea of 13" & 12.19" rotors for performance, but the 12.19" rotor in the 20" rear wheels might not give you the look you want.

But I don't know what your highest priority is. Only you can decide & sort your priorities. Best wishes !

Thanks for the comments,
I am very green when it comes to auto cross, so that is probably not my main objective. However with that said I do what to enjoy the car and making some laps around the track from time to time.
There is so many different elements to consider before purchasing a part and that is why I thought I would ask on the forum. You have given me a lot to think about and I appreciate the feedback, I just didn't want to overlook something before committing to the purchasing.

Tks, -Kenneth

[Ron Sutton]

Kenneth, another thought ...

If you decide to go with the bigger rotors to fill the wheel better (for looks) ... you may want to pay a little extra for light versions from Wilwood. They cost more, due to better materials & work involved, but that would help your occasional autocross adventures.

[Apogee]

Pro-touring is a tough niche for brakes since most are trying to come up with good street brakes that can and will perform in a track environment, hence the oversized rotors. The more thermal mass you have, the more capable the brakes will be with street compound pads. While not ideal necessarily from a rotating or unsprung mass perspective, your options are somewhat limited, at least until you decide that you're going to start swapping out components for street versus track use. While I believe that a lot of us could and maybe even should get away with smaller brakes, I can't say I know too many people that ever wish they had less brake. Larger rotor kits tend to run cooler and last longer than smaller kits put into similar service...and then their's always the aesthetic aspect.

The Wilwood W6A/W4A kits that you linked to are very nice and capable kits, definitely on par with the rest of your build which is probably why Wilwood suggested them. That said, their 14" FNSL6R (140-8922 (http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/BrakeKitsProdFront.aspx?itemno=140-8922)) front kit and 14.00" FNSL4R (140-10012 (http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/BrakeKitsProdRear.aspx?itemno=140-10012)) rear kit would be a less expensive option, and while maybe not quite as capable in a road course environment, would still be considered very capable brakes. Ultimately I think it comes down to your expectations, priorities and budget.

Tobin
KORE3