which brakes
 

Good point, I appreciate all feed back thus far, and I'm still looking for best bang for my buck as far as a system goes. Any Technical Data can really help expidite my decision... :unibrow:

Bang for the buck, re read my first answer.

Thanks
 

Prodigy you made yourself clear and I thank you for that, I'll be in touch in the weeks to come...

No problems here with my Wilwood six pistons or four pistons systems..I was concerned with the weight difference since one of my cars has Baer and they do weigh more. But that initial concern has fully evaporated since driving the cars hard for over six months now. I tend to favor Wilwoods for price, looks, and performance.

Having done a lot of racing, and been though many different brake components and have tested 2, 4 and 6 piston calipers, I would go with Baer all day long and twice on Sundays. The willwoods are ok brakes, but for serious competition you need to stay away from them. They also tend to have problems in wet weather as their seals don't seem to keep out moisture very well. The willwoods for our cars seemed light, but also didn't give me the kind of braking power that I wanted diving into the corners at the last second. Nothing really compares to Alcon and Brembos, but Baer is not far below them but well above willwoods in quality, and usability but baer has problems with backlogs and can't seem to get the product to you in a timely fashion. Willwoods also have a problem with being bled. They don't bleed very well unless you bench bleed them, and the nipples on the willwoods are tiny and can break off. If it's just for street use either one is fine, but for all out racing, forget about it. Just my 2 1/2 cents :-)

Mike

A couple things to think about here that hasn't been specifically mentioned. The Baer PBR floating type calipers are probably going to work a little better, IN GENERAL, on a stock type spindle, when you have a lot of grip in turns, than a fixed type caliper (such as Wilwood). The problem is the spindle-hub, not the brakes, and basically what happens is that the stock parts flex, and force the pistons on the fixed calipers back into the body a small amount. The result is a soft-long pedal that is cured by pumping once or twice (or three times). This deal is a LOT more prevalant on fixed caliper than it is on the floating type calipers, I can specifically tell you this from direct, current experience. I switched from the early type PBR calipers to a very nice set of Alcon mono-block six pots on my 69 test mule earlier this year, and the knockback is now pretty bad on the track, to the point where I pump the brake pedal very lightly with my left foot after every hard turn, prior to getting on the brakes in hard braking zones. It is really pronounced with manual brake, which I have, but would still be an issue with a boosted setup.

People rag on Wilwood, but it is a bit unfair. The reason, most likely, is that the kits that most of them have experience with, such as any that are listed in Summit Racing or Jeg's catalogs, are garbage. I bought a set years ago for a Chevelle, and they were less than awe-inspiring. The calipers have significant flex in hard braking, and in general the rotors are WAY too thin for anything but drag race use, which is exactly what those kits were modelled after. Those are not the only brakes they offer though, they make some pretty serious race stuff that I am certain is as good as some of the competition's upper end stuff.

On a budget, it is nearly impossible to beat the C5 type stuff, the front calipers are greatly improved from the first generation (i.e. C4) PBR twin pot floaters (which by the way, have a nasty reputation for failing dramatically on track cars), front rotors are thick at 1.25", overall a really good setup. Pad selection is really good, basically all of the good pad suppliers offer several different compounds, right off the shelf. Besides that, if you decide down the road that you need more capability, you can buy a kit from many of the upper end suppliers that will bolt right on (Stoptech, AP Racing, and many others), but bring your checkbook. The good stuff is expensive, for good reason. Expect to pay $5k for a four corner set of brakes, or more. Overkill for the street, but right at home, and necessary, for consistent track usage. If that's not compelling enough, the new C6-Z06 stuff will also bolt right on to the C5 brackets, and should be a really affordable upgrade when readily available (PBR is making this stuff, interestingly, but currently have no plans to release to the aftermarket due to capacity reasons, I asked: boo hoo).

Mark

The thing that I find attractive about the GM based kits is that I have this fear (rational or not) that I will break something at Buttonwillow or Thunderhill on a Sunday afternoon. I'd like to be able to pick up emergency parts even if it isn't an exact perfect replacement at NAPA or Kragen so I can get home rather than parking the car 150 miles from home till next weekend.

Is this something I ought to worry about? I don't, and probably wont, have an F-250 and a trailer to bring my car to/from the track.

here ya go...light weight and cheap Brembo's :rolleyes:

I can't believe anyone in their right mind would buy those. A rice racers dream. heheh

I was just going to point out that you see Wilwood brakes on FAR FAR more race cars than you see Baer stuff. Most of thier kits I see are just upgraded PBR vette brakes. I do not believe they even make any of thier own calipers. Wilwood has been very big into racing brakes for decades and they make just about everything they sell (here in the US).

Again, Wilwood brakes can be found on sprint cars, NASCAR stuff.. winston cup cars and a host of professional race cars. I would say that speaks volumes for how they are engineered and made.

I think Baer brakes are nice for street use and occasional track use since the floating caliper is a bit easier to live with and pads are very easy to get since they are just C5 vette brakes with fancier rotors. I have beat the crap out of Wilwood brakes for years and they have never let me down. Then again most people I know that have Baer brakes are very happy with them as well.

I would also say that a heavier rotor does not necessarily make a better rotor since you also need to factor in other aspects like vane design materials used.

Some of this also depends on your budget. For the money it is hard to beat adapting C5 vette brakes to your car. I would also get a quote from Precision brakes in regards to the Wilwoods.