Wilwood Superlites pulling right and sometimes left

[Mark Maras]

 Be very careful when you blow the pistons out of the cylinders. An aluminum hockey puck shot out of a cannon. They can do serious bodily harm. Voice of experience.

 Helped a friend adjust his bias on a wet paved street. I was observing from a dry garage with a beer.  Time wise, it took two beers.

[z boy mn]

I like the idea of testing out the bias in a safe spot, once I get everything back together. It seems unlikely the rears will lock, but it's worth testing. I also decided I may call Wilwood and find out for sure which position has the most bias toward the rear of the car.

 

As for removing the pistons I'll have to be careful with the compressed air for sure. I was thinking I could maybe inspect them with the caliper off the car but still connected. Maybe step on the brake pedal and get them to poke out a little first before I disconnect them. Summit had the seals for about $10 per corner, so an inexpensive exploration.

[z boy mn]

P.S. Just called Wilwood and got the answer on the proportioning valve. The tech guy said think of it as a backwards garden hose. SO, cranked all the way DOWN is the most flow...all the way UP is the least. Wahoooo!

[Patcon]

The easiest way to force the pistons out is with the pedal or air pressure. You can use a board between the pistons to stop them from hitting each other. You can also use little C clamps to hold any particular piston to force a stuck piston out. I prefer air because it's easier and not as messy..

[chris b]

Does anyone know the Wilwood part numbers for the rotors that come the Arizona Z kit?

 Mine are 13 inch (6 pot calipers) and after 4 years of hard use show some signs of heat stress cracking.

Thanks Chris

[z boy mn]

Hi Chris, I don't know if this is helpful or not, but Don at  Design Pro said that there should be a number on the back of the pad that you (or Wilwood) can cross reference and get the information you need. I also found this handy chart on the Wilwood website about their pad compounds you might be able to use as you pick out your next set.

 

You can find it here: http://www.wilwood.com/Pdf/Flyers/fl384.pdf

 

Also, a run-down of all the compounds: http://www.wilwood.com/PDF/Flyers/fl227.pdf

 

Hope it helps!

[chris b]

Thanks Adam

 

Certainly does if confirms my decision to continue to use the PolyMatrix pads. I had not seen the characteristics chart before and will examine my compound choice in more detail. They are very dusty but it just makes the car look like it has been seriously working after an event.

I am very happy with the brake set up that I have as I can brake as late (sometimes later) as most moderns such as Suburu STI and even Lotus.  

 

I will check the back of the pads number and see if I can get the cross reference for the rotors.

[Chickenman]

Chris.  I noticed that you live in Australia. You may have some brands of pads that are not readily available in North America. If you can access Mintex for the Superlites and Dynalites I would go with those over any of the WilWood pads. Ferodo also makes very good pads. Many people in the UK use DS2500 as a dual purpose pad.

 

Mintex and Ferodo are very hard to get in North America though. Australia may be different.

 

I've run WilWood calipers ( front and rear )  for many years on my DD Camaro, which I also ran in Autocross/ Hillclimbs and Track Days. Most of the WilWood pads just aren't that great.... and I've tried a lot of different pads The BP10's  are OK for a street/Autocross combo pads, but Hawk HPS are better. Especially in the wet. I should note that I'm not a huge fan of Hawk race pads, but their street pad ( HPS ) seems to work very well with  dual purpose cars. Note: HPS are not adequate for Track days on most cars.

 

EBC just seem to have too many quality issues. Very hit and miss from what I've researched and heard from fellow racers/enthusiasts.

 

Track days usually require a set of very good full race pads. I always ran a dedicated set of bedded brake rotors, matched to the Race pads I was running. Many full race pad compounds are incompatible with street compounds, and it takes a lot of bedding to get a proper " transfer layer " if you are swapping back and forth all the time. 

[z boy mn]

Glad I could help provide some information, Chris, I'm pretty new to all this, so folks like Chickenman have a lot more experience. I'm looking forward to figuring out what I have on the car now, for example, and looking for other pads as options in the future. I also notice a lot of brake dust, especially if I use them hard. It does add a certain magic to the car as otherwise it's clean. Adds a little street cred to what is mostly a daily driver. :-D

 

Interestingly, Chickenman, when I called Wilwood and asked for pad compound recommendations, they did point to the BP10 or BP20.

 

Finally, cranked the proportioning valve all the way down so there's max pressure to the rears now...if we weren't getting snow and freezing rain at the moment, I'd be tempted to take it for a run and see how it feels!

[Chickenman]

One thing with using an aftermarket Proportioning valve that needs to be mentioned. You have to remove the factory metering/proportioning valve. You should not run both together. Doing so can result in a long, soft  pedal and inadequate pressure to the rear brakes.  

 

So remove the factory valve completely, then  connect the front brake lines together with a Brass  tee.  Plumb the WilWood Prop valve on the rear brake line in a convenient location.

Edited December 13, 2015 by Chickenman

[z boy mn]

Thanks, Chickenman, I was thinking about this, too. I didn't put these brakes in, so I assumed the previous owner took the stock valve out when he did the brake swap and removed the emergency brake, etc....but I better check to make sure. It's in the rear on a 1971 yes? Would it be under the car? Also, do you know what it looks like? I'm assuming it's bigger than just a "T"?

 

Also, spoke to Don again at Design Pro and we have some new seals, etc. picked out. Looks like Santa's going to bring some refreshed brakes this year!

[Chickenman]

Edit: Yes, the proportioning valve is in the rear on a 1971.

 

Edit: ( Original info incorrect ) The stock " Metering  " valve is located under the Master Cylinder.  It's often called a " Combo " valve as it is both a brake pressure metering and a brake failure warning valve.

 

Here is a picture of the stock valve in the stock position. Note: Depending on year of car, front and rear reservoirs on Master Cylinder may be reversed. On this model, the reservoir closest to the Brake Booster is the front brakes and the reservoir farthest from the Brake Booster is for the rear brakes.

 

Edited December 18, 2015 by Chickenman