Basic Baer/PBR setup here. What really makes it work though is the hydroboost from Paul. Brakes were OK before, but are now stupid-good with the hydroboost.
Howard-- at the risk of stating the obvious (and please don't be offended if I do) Wilwood is correct. A hydroboost becomes less important as you move to a caliper with more piston area (i.e. a 6 piston caliper) as the greater piston area requires less line pressure to generate adequate clamping power. However, for setups with lesser piston area (i.e. PBR calipers) the only option to make them bite harder is to increase the line pressure, which is where the hydroboost comes in-- you can get mega line pressure out of a larger bore MC so you still maintain reasonable pedal travel. Otherwise to generate those line pressures you are looking at a small bore MC with a large pedal ratio, which means uber-long pedal travel.
You can most definately run a hydroboost with large piston area brakes, but it really won't be needed if piston area, MC bore size, and pedal ratio are properly matched. Running a hydroboost with large piston area brakes will makes TONS of braking power available, however at the expense of reduced pedal "feel." It also means you can run a larger bore MC and cut down on pedal travel if that interests you. There is nothing like the feedback offered by a PROPERLY designed manual brake system, but the hydroboost gives good feedback too, especially if it's a tweaked and bluprinted unit; far better feedback than a vacuum booster IMO.
Personally, I'm waiting for Jody to post pics of his seatbelt-bruised chest after he tries his Hydroboost/Alcon combo for the first time.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
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