Do any of you hot-rodders on this forum have experience with Wilwood Dynalite brakes? I'm considering upgrading the front brakes on a coil-over front end kit with the 4-piston, 12.19" rotor kit. This means I would also purchase the same kit w/parking brake for the rear end. Seems to me that with light weight, large diameter rotors, I could run a 7/8" bore m.c. and get away without a power brake booster. These kits are pricey, so I want to know before I order the front end susp. kit. I would like to go without power brakes if I can, having decided that would be easier with the under-floor bracket I already have. Also, I've already fabricated mid-section boxing plates to work with the original frame brake pedal mount. I already plan on using 17" wheels. Thanks,
ThEY ARE GREAT BRAKES. fULL SET ON THE 41 fO*D I am building ( with full roadster shop chassis), I have considered upgrading mine also. I would just go with the manual brakes. I upgraded to the power brakes and can't really tell a difference, I would rather had put my $ in power steering.
glad to hear you like them... As I have that very set (12.19 inch, 4-piston) of Wilwoods sitting in my dining room waiting for Penny to be ready for them! I went with the Wilwood tandem remote master, and their combo proportioning valve also. Stock (Colorado) drums out back.
Willwood Brakes Steve ; I have been using Willwood master cylinders for some time now on various oldies , they always fit perfectly and work very well , usually out lasting the OEM master cylinders . I'd replace the master first and see how you like it, before going to the big up grade . You're planning to use a dual master right ? .
Thanks for the input, guys. Russ, I figured you would have some experience with these. Another question for you, whats up at Fatman? The prices on kits are the same, but, no more stainless control arms, Power rack upgrade is higher, They are still using the 2014 catalog, but, all the prices have been changed since at least the fall. It seems you just have to call and inquire. Tim did not really promote wilwood too much when I asked. Is Brent slowing down or is this just the way they roll? I'm not trying to be critical of 'em, just wondering considering the amount of $$$ I'm getting ready to spend. Mike, I'm curious, where did you buy the kits you have? Nate, yes, I'll use a dual master cylinder, and the one I have is a larger bore and years old, from the '79 Camaro that gave-up it's rear end for my truck back in the "80s. When I said "up-grade", I mean the whole kit from whoever I end up buying from. These bigger, lighter brakes would be a higher cost option from their standard front disc brakes. Then I will put the same disc kit on the rear for hopefully sports-car like stopping power.
Used Wilwoods on our race cars for years, good brakes. Before Wilwood existed we used Girling brakes as the U.S. was way behind Europe on the disc brake issue. Now for extreme conditions we use Baer but they are $$$.
Master Cylinder Bore Steve ; Before you order new parts , let's ask the Experts here to chime in on the preferred M/C bore . In the mostly Foreign cars I work on , using a smaller than stock bore master when equipped with manual brakes , increases stopping power whilst reducing pedal effort sharply . In fact one has to be careful or you'll wind up with overly grabby brakes . Two MM smaller seems to do the trick in my experience , DO NOT take my words for this improvement ! wait 'till others comment please . Just something to consider , brakes are *VERY* important to do ' Just So ' .
Thanks, Evan. Nate, what you said is exactly what I've read elsewhere. Smaller (7/8") bore better for manual brakes. I'm guessing I WILL need a prop. valve for these super big brakes on the rear of a light weight pickup.
With a smaller bore your pedal will go down closer to the floor but as long as it stops and inch or more before bottom and is solid your fine. You can calculate as to whether the 7/8" bore will move enough fluid. Measure the stroke of the actuator rod and take this times .4375 X .4375 X 3.14 and you have how much fluid one stroke moves. New bearings and rotors should have nearly zero run out but to be on the safe side figure 0.020 movement for each piston and calculate how much volume that is. As long as the total is smaller than the piston in the MC displaces your home free.
As Usual , Evan explains things better than I can/do . The main thing here is : measure the current M/C's bore and go down _one_ step only ~ no more than that . When I drop my VW Beetles from 19MM to 15MM , the brakes are *so* powerful , they're a bit grabby and the few folks I allowed to drive my old Air Cooled Beetles , though I had over boosted brakes , they locked them up more than once ~ this is a bad thing so BE CAREFUL ! . Once the job is done and you've run a few miles , enough to need a dead cold brake adjustment , adjust the M/C push rod so you have no more than 1/4" movement before it begins to depress the M/C's piston . measure this by hand , make sure the pedal pivot is loose and easy to move , dis assemble it clean and grease or install new non metallic bushings , make sure the rake pedal has it's own long and gentle spring that returns the brake pedal up with a " THUMP " when you slide your foot off it side ways , this is *VERY* important .
my Wilwoods... Steve, I have a friend who has a wholesale account for his automotive repair business. I helped him out awhile back, and he has offered me his-cost pricing on a number of parts recently. As Nate and Evan have mentioned, there are considerations when upgrading brakes. In my case, I will need to revise the pedal ratio on the stock AD brake pedal lever arm to reflect what a hydroboosted lever arm ratio is. There is a relationship between pedal ratio and force applied which may need adjusting to get a good pedal feel. I will be adding material to the lever-end of the arm to add a clevis-mounting hole further away to decrease the mechanical advantage. An adjustable prop-valve is something to consider adding as well. The "whoa" is much more important than the "go".
Thanks, Evan, this is something I should be able to do easy enough with a calculator. Art Morrison seems to be using 7/8" m.c. in his super hot rod chassis with big calipers. Mike, Your sure right about stopping power. I don't want to re-live past experiences with the old, original type brakes.
