MGB: Wilwood calipers

Currently I am running drilled and grooved rotors ,EBC greenstuff pads and a brake booster.
The calipers are stock MGB.
I was wondering if anyone has had experience with the Wilwood 4 pot calipers. The conversion is not cheap, but if there is a significant improvement in brake responce, I may go for it.
Driving in GTA (Greater Toronto Area) is a challenge and good brakes are essential.
Cheers

Take a look on the V6 V8 forum. Some there have tried the Wilwoods.

There is less brake fade with serious use, but there's no change in stopping distance. Essentially since htey'r ealuminum, they prevent the brake fluid from overheating as quickly, but don't make the car stop any faster - unless your old calipers are problematic.

IMHO that's too much money for little return. Most of us racers, especially vintage racers, run stock calipers and rotors with more aggressive pads. I also run a Tilton pedal assembly that may give more mechanical advantage and possibly moves a bit more fluid. The question is, are your brakes fading and can you lock them up? If they'll lock up, you're getting all the brakes you need. If they're fading during high speed stops or repeated use, you might see some advantage to 4 piston calipers and upgraded pads. If you're going to the expense, look for increased diameter and possibly ventilated disks.

Perhaps some of the other racers will chime in, there is a lot of experience out there.

Good luck!

As others have said, the Wildwoods are great if you've got money to burn, but they are really unnecessary for normal driving. If your stock brakes don't stop your car effectively then there's something wrong or maladjusted and you've simply got to get them back to spec to be in good shape.

No sense spending big bucks on the Wildwoods if you can simply get your current brake working correctly. Brakes are cheap. The stock setup is fine when its adjusted properly.

I would agree with above, wilwoods, brembros ,4 pots and more are for fade and heat resistance, not response as a primary function. You probably cant over drive (heat) your current set up on the street without a high speed police chase as motivation. The set up you have sounds great for street use and probably would hold up for NASA HPDE driving events quite well.

Thanks for your input.
I was having problems in the wet with stock rotors and stock pads. Since converting to drilled and grooved rotors and EBC greenstuff pads, that problem is history.
I can lock up all 4 wheels with much pressure and with a little less the fronts.
I guess with stronger calipers, the front will lock-up that much faster and that could be dangerous.

early Toyota 4x4 4 pots from the junk yard.........cheap magic

How early??

early 80s

Stay with your set up John it will do all that you need on the road and if you go for the occasional track day!
Keith

[quote="MG Cruiser"]
Stay with your set up John it will do all that you need on the road and if you go for the occasional track day!
Keith[/quote]

I agree....V8 pads in stock calipers are all you need...........

I have a pal named Jay Lutz that used to race a Bugeye. He's a great guy and a brake engineer. He knows more about brakes that I could ever imagine. He was the chief engineer for Kelsey Hayes and for Bendix at different times in his career and now he's CEO of some manufacturering company in Missouri. Anyway, He says that if you can lock up your brakes, you can't make them work any better. You might make them feel better or fade less or dissipate heat better but they're not going to stop faster.

[quote=jon11]
.
I was having problems in the wet with stock rotors and stock pads. Since converting to drilled and grooved rotors and EBC greenstuff pads, that problem is history.
I can lock up all 4 wheels with much pressure and with a little less the fronts.
I guess with stronger calipers, the front will lock-up that much faster and that could be dangerous.[/quote]

I am having trouble deciphering the meaning of the above paragraph.

1-What was your problem in the wet? Brakes locking or NOT locking?
2-I translate the second sentence to mean "With (the uprated parts), if I apply a lot of pressure, I can lock all four wheels. With a bit less, only the fronts lock up.
3-You use the word "stronger calipers". You are assuming that for a given pedal effort, thee new calipers are going to grip the rotor harder. Chances are the "strength" of these is going to be in the ability to do 20 emergency stops and not have heat generated brake fade.

Regardless, what you need are better tires. The tires are what determine the limit of braking on most cars with a properly working brake system.

Pete

I believe his theory was that new calipers may throw off his braking balance, causing the fronts to lock prematurely.