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Wilwood Brake Kit
- Thread starter frismanis
- Start date
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Great job Fris
Here is a how to I drew up. These are a great upgrade for the street and track. Plus its a nice weight savings! Over 10lbs PER SIDE!
As far as OEM brakes go (for a sub compact) the FiST brakes are pretty damn good. I havent had a chance to track the ford pads so I can comment on how well they hold up to abuse but most of the articles dont mention any issues with fade.
The main reason we went with the Wilwood was the weight savings vs OEM. The Wilwood kit offers 12.2 rotors (2 piece) with super light hats and 6 piston forged aluminum calipers. I chose the drilled and slotted rotors for even more weight savings (black e coating as well). The weight savings over stock is pretty substantial, esp considering most of it is unsprung.
OEM, per side: 26.8lbs
Wilwood, per side: 15.8lbs
Total Weight Savings: 22lbs
INSTALL:
Set aside about 1.5hrs to do the swap, probably less as its so very straight forward. Remove the wheel and disconnect the brake hose at the chassis. Install the wilwood fitting and supplied clip on the OEM hard line at the chassis. Using one of the plastic caps that covers the wilwood fitting during shipping, leave it on the bottom so the fluid doesnt drip. Unbolt the brake hose bracket from the Strut. Next remove the caliper from the upright/spindle. Finally, remove the 3 bolts that hold the backing plate to the upright.
Using the Wilwood instructions as a guide, install the wilwood bracket using the supplied bolt/washer and sleeve - note the orientation of the bracket. Install the wilwood hubcentric ring, rotor (after attaching the hats to the rotor) and lock in place using a single lug nut. This will keep the rotor flush against the upright. Locate the smaller supplied bolts and washers and grab two shims per bolt. Hold the caliper in position over the rotor and install the two shims between the caliper and bracket to center the caliper on the rotor. Tighten all the bolts. Next, install the wilwood pads, locking pin and install the brake hose fitting to the back of the caliper. Slide the rubber o-ring over the brake hose and attach to the supplied brake hose bracket. Attach the brake hose to the wilwood fitting you installed earlier against the hard line, attach the wilwood bracket/oring to the strut and attach the end to the caliper. Finally follow the wilwood directions for bleeding the calipers and bedding in the brakes.
Performance:
After bedding them in, the increase in braking force is huge. Way more feel and initial bite while still being easy to modulate on the street. The ABS system appears to work just as well as before. I'll update that more when I have a chance to put her on the track. What is way more apparent is the how the weight savings improved how fast the car accelerates. It flat out pulls now. Like the car picked up at least 15whp. I cant explain how 22lbs of unsprung weight has helped the little 1.6L. This, by itself has made this a worth while mod.
BTW, the entire OEM kit will be up for sale if anyone wants it.
Thanks
2JR
Here is a how to I drew up. These are a great upgrade for the street and track. Plus its a nice weight savings! Over 10lbs PER SIDE!
As far as OEM brakes go (for a sub compact) the FiST brakes are pretty damn good. I havent had a chance to track the ford pads so I can comment on how well they hold up to abuse but most of the articles dont mention any issues with fade.
The main reason we went with the Wilwood was the weight savings vs OEM. The Wilwood kit offers 12.2 rotors (2 piece) with super light hats and 6 piston forged aluminum calipers. I chose the drilled and slotted rotors for even more weight savings (black e coating as well). The weight savings over stock is pretty substantial, esp considering most of it is unsprung.
OEM, per side: 26.8lbs
Wilwood, per side: 15.8lbs
Total Weight Savings: 22lbs
INSTALL:
Set aside about 1.5hrs to do the swap, probably less as its so very straight forward. Remove the wheel and disconnect the brake hose at the chassis. Install the wilwood fitting and supplied clip on the OEM hard line at the chassis. Using one of the plastic caps that covers the wilwood fitting during shipping, leave it on the bottom so the fluid doesnt drip. Unbolt the brake hose bracket from the Strut. Next remove the caliper from the upright/spindle. Finally, remove the 3 bolts that hold the backing plate to the upright.
Using the Wilwood instructions as a guide, install the wilwood bracket using the supplied bolt/washer and sleeve - note the orientation of the bracket. Install the wilwood hubcentric ring, rotor (after attaching the hats to the rotor) and lock in place using a single lug nut. This will keep the rotor flush against the upright. Locate the smaller supplied bolts and washers and grab two shims per bolt. Hold the caliper in position over the rotor and install the two shims between the caliper and bracket to center the caliper on the rotor. Tighten all the bolts. Next, install the wilwood pads, locking pin and install the brake hose fitting to the back of the caliper. Slide the rubber o-ring over the brake hose and attach to the supplied brake hose bracket. Attach the brake hose to the wilwood fitting you installed earlier against the hard line, attach the wilwood bracket/oring to the strut and attach the end to the caliper. Finally follow the wilwood directions for bleeding the calipers and bedding in the brakes.
Performance:
After bedding them in, the increase in braking force is huge. Way more feel and initial bite while still being easy to modulate on the street. The ABS system appears to work just as well as before. I'll update that more when I have a chance to put her on the track. What is way more apparent is the how the weight savings improved how fast the car accelerates. It flat out pulls now. Like the car picked up at least 15whp. I cant explain how 22lbs of unsprung weight has helped the little 1.6L. This, by itself has made this a worth while mod.
BTW, the entire OEM kit will be up for sale if anyone wants it.
Thanks
2JR
Thread Starter
#19
Thanks, Joe.
I need to order up a spare set of rotors and pads. Should I just call the shop today? I don't think I want drilled rotors for the spares. When I talked with the Brembo engineers a while back they told me that they actually had to make the cross drilled rotors thicker, so any weight savings was negligible, but people wanted the cross-drilled, so they made them. lol.
I need to order up a spare set of rotors and pads. Should I just call the shop today? I don't think I want drilled rotors for the spares. When I talked with the Brembo engineers a while back they told me that they actually had to make the cross drilled rotors thicker, so any weight savings was negligible, but people wanted the cross-drilled, so they made them. lol.
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