Wilwood Brakes - any owners with an opinion?

[\dave]

Looking for owners impressions of Wilwood brakes, particularly 6 piston big brake kits.

Thanks,
Dave

Disclaimer - I recently posted looking for opinions about two specific Wilwood kits but haven't gotten much activity, so I'm now trying a generalized approach.

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[Chris Barnes]

No experience with the Wilwood parts, but very happy with my Baer 6 piston system. Good luck!

 

[db252]

I have and like my Wilwood rear 4 piston brakes but I still run my stock Brembo 6 pistons up front. In regards to the rear Wilwoods, they are much better for the track but probably wouldn’t notice any difference on the street.

 

[galaxy]

I had a complete Wilwood setup on my '16 Focus ST. All four corners. Absolutely loved them. Amazing performance. Just my $0.02, but they are every bit the brakes as Brembo, sans maybe some of Brembo's most extreme, out-of-reach race calipers. Would go that route again in a heartbeat.

 

[Mustangpursuit]

I almost got a set of shelby wilwoods, but I was warned that they lack dust seals and not a daily driver / street brake system. ok for track yes, but not good for regular roads and all the exposure due to lack of dust boots on the Mustang application?

 

[luc]

I had a front set on a race car for many years. No issues at all
Frankly a brake caliper is not rocket science. Price has more to do with marketing than anything else
And I had Alcons, Brembo, etc on various cars
Yes, on a street car you want dust boots

 

[DPGT]

Dave,
I have the full set on my Raptor which probably is the same size as on the 500 and or the GT 350R l have. Fantastic set of brakes and talk about stopping. Holy crap theyll stop with ease. Very well made and half of what Brembos are. IMHO you cannot go wrong.
the Raptor went from an oh shit is it gonna stop to oh shit are my eyeballs gonna stay in.

Good luck.
Frank

 

[80FoxCoupe]

Not s550, but have a 12.88 6piston wilwood kit on my fox body along with wilwood master. Works great.

 

[DonnieO]

You can get 6 piston brembos for about 500 bucks with pads, lines and rotors

https://www.ebay.com/str/shelbyauctions


They might not have any at the moment but they have them from time to time. I paid 550 for mine.

 

[GT 550]

OP just asking, what are you chasing bigger brakes for? The limiting factors in stopping on the street are generally tyres and pads. Then add fluid and discs if you're tracking it. There's a saying that if you need to slow down so much for corners you need to work on your suspension or driving skills more.

 

[\dave]

OP just asking, what are you chasing bigger brakes for? The limiting factors in stopping on the street are generally tyres and pads. Then add fluid and discs if you're tracking it. There's a saying that if you need to slow down so much for corners you need to work on your suspension or driving skills more.

Hey GT 550,

Yep, I've upgraded to stickier all seasons for winter and plan on summer tires in the spring*. I've thought about pads and slotted rotors vs a full kit.

However, I have the Eco floating 2 piston, and have driven the Mustang GT OEM 4 and 6 piston versions too. I found the difference in brake modulation/control to be stark as I progress from 2 to 4 to 6. I put a lot of stock in that aspect with the type driving I do.

*But since my original post, my wife and I have put down a deposit on a C8, which likely will arrive in about August. So, my Mustang upgrades plans are kind of squishey.

 

[\dave]

I almost got a set of shelby wilwoods, but I was warned that they lack dust seals and not a daily driver / street brake system. ok for track yes, but not good for regular roads and all the exposure due to lack of dust boots on the Mustang application?

Hey Mustangpursuit,

The S550 Wilwood kits can be had with dust seals. About $100 to $150 more. Apparently they are required in Australia, so Wilwood does produce them for that market. However, several Wilwood guys told me they run calipers without seals on the street with no problems, but cautioned that the pistons will corrode if your roads are treated in winter.

\Dave

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