Which Wilwood brake kit should I buy?

[Bonebuster29]

I am currently building a 68 firebird, LS3 with 540hp with a T56 Mag. I am planning on doing 2-4 track days a years, but mostly weekend outings on the country road twisties.

My question is, how much do I really need to spend on brakes since it wont ever be a race a car? The two options Im looking at are the Aero6 or the Superlite 6R? About an $900 difference in the just the fronts (im buying comparable rears to match)

Are the Aero 6/4's over kill for what how I plan on driving it? Should I save the money and just buy the Superlites?

http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/Bra...o=140-10920-DR

OR

http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/Bra...o=140-12271-DR

[Ron Sutton]

As you probably know, there are more differences in those kits than just the calipers.

The rotors in the Aerolite kit are 2-piece with a iron rotor & aluminum hat. Whereas the rotor in the Superlite kit is 1-piece iron. The rotor size difference of 12.88" versus 14" is somewhat significant, equating to a 10% difference in braking torque. The 14" rotor is 1.25" wide, so the vanes are wider, which provides more airflow for rotor cooling. The 14" rotor has 72 vanes compared to only 34 for the 12.88" rotor. Again, more airflow ... just like a fan having more blades.

The 14" rotor has more mass for cooling, so it will handle the higher braking temps seen on road course track days better. Where the 12.88" rotor has an advantage is less rotating weight, of which I'm a fan of ... as long as you have adequate cooling for your use. Of course if you were buying brakes to handle the heat from heavy road course use on track days as a priority, you wouldn't want the drilled rotors. You would want the slotted Spec-37 rotors that are available in these same kits (for less money).

Another difference are the pads. Not the compound, but the size. The surface area for the Aerolite pads are 11 sq in versus 8.2 sq in for the Superlite pads. Pad volume differs too. Aerolite pads have 5.2 cubic inches of pad material whereas Superlite pads only have 3.8 cubic inches. That means the Aerolite pads last 37% longer & will handle the heat 37% better.
The pad prices are different ... a little. BP-10 pads for Aerolites are $79.95 & are $65.94 for Superlites.

The issue with both of these calipers is ... they have too small of piston area for optimum braking. Both of these calipers only have 4.04" of piston area ... which in my experience is too small ... and provides less than optimum braking. Unless you step the brake pads up to high CoF racing pads ... which have their own issues ... tons of dust, fast pad wear, much faster rotor wear & the pads cost double.

With the Aerolite 6 brake package, I always upgrade the caliper to the 5.40" piston area version ... which costs no more. You can't do that with the Superlite brake packages, because there are no Superlite 6P calipers with more piston area. 4.04" is max in that caliper family (for a design reason).

My reason for sharing all of this was so you could truly compare these packages and see the differences that matter. You may be happy with the Superlites & save some money ... after you test a few pads & find ones that will really stop the car. But the Aerolite package has a lot of benefits you get for the $700 difference (actual selling prices, not retail).

[Bonebuster29]

Thanks for that info Ron, quite helpful comparison wise. However, you kind of skipped my actual question. Do I NEED the Aero brakes for as little as I will be really using them. I am not some semi pro race car driver who will be pushing the car to the max on track days. The quote I received for both front and rear kits the difference was almost 2 grand in cost between the brake kits, is this going to be worth the extra money or would I be better off spending the 2k else where on the car?

[Sieg]

If you have 540hp you should ensure you have more than enough brake to stop the car. That much hp generates a lot of speed. 4 track days is a quite a few for the average guy/car. If you're running 5 sessions with that much hp you're going to punish your brakes. In reality the Aerolites are somewhat conservative.

I have 400ish hp with T56 close ratio and Kore3 C5/6 calipers, DBA rotors, Wilwood 7/8" master with Hawk HP+ pads and they are adequate but I certainly wouldn't call them powerful compared to good track systems, nor will they handle heat like the bigger systems.

Don't under insure yourself on brakes!

The other factor is grip, how big and what type of tires are you running?

[jlwdvm]

After talking to Ron and having him evaluate my system, car, and what I wanted to do with it, I went with the Aero's. I had the sell my FNSL 6-pistons before I even used them...they would have been significantly inadequate. I have a 570 horse Texas Speed LS3 that will be seeing track and road time in my 69 firebird. Listen to Ron!

[Ron Sutton]

I sent you a message

[spode]

Originally Posted by Bonebuster29

Thanks for that info Ron, quite helpful comparison wise. However, you kind of skipped my actual question. Do I NEED the Aero brakes for as little as I will be really using them. I am not some semi pro race car driver who will be pushing the car to the max on track days. The quote I received for both front and rear kits the difference was almost 2 grand in cost between the brake kits, is this going to be worth the extra money or would I be better off spending the 2k else where on the car?

You could put the Aero brakes on the front and Superlites on the rear. Roughly 70% of your braking is on the front. I got my system from Ron Sutton and that is the direction I went.

[Bonebuster29]

That's what I was wanting to know! Thanks for the input, especially the explanation Ron

[Ron Sutton]

Originally Posted by spode

You could put the Aero brakes on the front and Superlites on the rear. Roughly 70% of your braking is on the front. I got my system from Ron Sutton and that is the direction I went.

Yup yup! That's a good package. Aerolite 6's with the 5.40" piston area up front & Superlites 4's in the rear with either 2.46" or 3.00" piston area in the rear.

I think that is what Ryan (Bonebuster29) is going with too.


Thanks for your input.

[Gambit]

Wow!! That's some great info Ron. I'm not looking at brakes (I've got mine sorted) but just found your first post really interesting.

Thanks