Wilwood Aero 6 users opinions plz
 

Hi everyone!
I'm in build process on a 69 Cougar track car, and have been looking at running Wilwood's Aero 6 calipers and their Spec 37 rotor on the front. I did a brief search on the forum and found people who say they like them but not a whole lot of detail. Seems like most I found are running in them in AutoX not road course, too.

Car is tube framed, 335's all around, should be around 600whp and 3000lbs (fingers crossed:lol:). Its going to be track only so aggressive pad compounds don't scare me.

I have a friend who I thought was very happy with his Aero 6's on his 69 Camaro track/street car which is a little heavier but similar power, until speaking with him again the other day. Said he was having problems cooking rotors.

Thought I'd ask y'all for some feedback! Thanks in advance!!

Make sure to get the 5.40’s, assuming you’re building a manual set up

Yes, manual setup using a Tilton 600 series overhung pedal set. Master cylinder sizes TBD as I don’t have a final weight yet. The 5.40 piston area is indeed what I had been planning on.

My other option as far as calipers go, is a radial Brembo 4-piston from a 3rd gen viper...basically an F40 caliper from what I’ve been told. I was planning on having caliper brackets made, but since there is a caliper bracket set already available for my spindles I really wanted to explore the option of the Aero6 calipers.

Have you run these calipers?

Mike Maier runs these on Old Blue and they work well. New blue also has a set. Lots of guys run them for Optima events and they take a beating on the road course and speed stop. I’ll be running them soon when I upgrade my brakes.

Thanks for the feedback! Maier’s cars are pretty serious. Should be pretty close to capability of his Old Blue...I won’t be but the car should be haha! If they hold up to that thing then they should be good to go.

I've installed a couple sets of the Aero6’s now on friend's cars and have a set waiting to go on my own car. One set I installed is on a track car with 315/335 Hoosiers with the thermlock pistons and they're holding up well. The Aero6 is much stiffer than the old W6A and has more even pad wear and much better pedal feel as a result. The only real drawback compared to the old W6A is that the integral bridge on the aero caliper means you have to pull the caliper to swap pads; with the old W6A you could pull the pins and swap pads from the top.

I'm still hoping Wilwood will make some Aero4 calipers for the rear with 4x 1.38" pistons to be a good bias match for the 5.40" front Aero6's without having to resort to staggered diameter master cylinders as not everyone has that option. Until they do I'll stick with the 4x 1.38" piston FNSL4R's in the rear which are a great bias match for the 5.40" Aero 6's and allow use with a “normal” tandem-style master cylinder.

Not exactly a deal breaker, but yeah I did notice the bridge is not removable. I guess that would be one of the advantages of going with the F40 style Brembos, that and pad compound selection. Everyone and their mom makes a pad for an F40 caliper. Aero6 must use wilwood pads. That being said, they have a pretty good range of compounds for the Aero6.

I'd much rather have the stiffer Aero6 caliper and take it off for pad changes than run the older and more flexible W6A. It’s only 2 nuts to remove the caliper anyways.

Also, Wilwood isn't the only one that makes pads for the Aero4/6. I can’t get to Wilwood’s site right now to verify but I believe the W6A/Aero4/Aero6 all use a #6617 pad plate; other manufactures like Hawk, Porterfield, Raybestos, Carbotech, offer #6617 pads.

Agree 100%. And also, an explanation! I have been looking at the 120-13295/6 calipers instead of the 120-13293/4, which use a 6620 shape brake pad. Not as commonly made by other companies, but carbotech does make that shape, which is nice as I have run carbotech pads on a few other cars and really liked them. Have enjoyed Hawk and Cobalt also, but I don't see a shape on those companies' websites....I didn't check porterfield.
Between wilwood and carbotech there should be plenty of options to suit just about anyone's desires.

Since we're on that topic, anyone who doesn't mind the grey anodizing on the 120-13295/6 calipers (I actually really like it), the 6620 brake pad is .130" thicker, and after speaking with Wilwood, that caliper bolts in place of the 120-13293/4 Aero6 calipers. The only thing that changes to accommodate the thicker brake pad, is the inside of the caliper is machined a little deeper. The 13295 is also a little bit cheaper...again, if you like the grey anodizing, and the larger piston size is what you're after. The price difference I'm guessing is just the anodizing vs. powdercoat?

Thanks again Blown353, for your input!