Another one of my thought exercises that will most likely not happen...
Aftermarket big brake kits almost always require larger wheels to clear the calipers. I was wondering if there were any good aftermarket or OEM brake calipers that fit behind 15" alloys. I can only think of the FC-chassis RX-7's 4-piston calipers off the top of my head. Anyone here know of any others out there?
How many do you want?
http://flyinmiata.com/index.php?dept=128
We use either Wilwood Powerlite (Little Big Brake Kit) or Wilwood Dynapro calipers.
depends on your ability to fabricate stuff. or are you looking for a bolt on deal?
i don't know anything about the layout of an RX7 braking system, but i've got 12" rotors and matching calipers from a 98-02 Camaro or Firebird on my 86 Camaro and they fit behind aluminum 15X7 wheels from an 80's Monte Carlo SS.. had 12" C4 Vette front brakes on my 71 Nova and ran 70's Camaro Z/28 15X7 steel wheels on that for a while..
The car in question is my Alfa 164 fitted with the stock 15x6" alloys. The 164 is not exactly renowned for its braking prowess. I have installed stainless steel brake lines and Wilwood 600 brake fluid, which help, but it's still not good.
I've been toying with the idea of a front caliper upgrade that won't annihilate my wallet. IF I were to do this I would probably need a mounting adapter and maybe new front brake lines fabricated. I would most likely stick with the stock rotors. They are a little over 11" in diameter. Of course the 164 has the oh-so-Italian 5x98 bolt pattern which means if I were to get new rotors I would have to drill them.
Look for a set of used Wilwood Dynalites - or new, they're not that expensive. They've been around forever, everybody makes pads for them and it's not that hard to make a bracket. There's an NPT port on the back so you can adapt lines pretty easily with the included -AN adaptor or something else.
What pads are you running currently?
I want say the Lexus version of the 90s Camry had 2 pot brakes and 15" wheels, not sure on rotor diameter.
C4 vette calipers would do you well. With pfc z compound pads.
DSM dual piston calipers?
they were paired w/276mm rotors and the GVR4 came stock with 15" wheels. plentiful and fairly cheap, lots of pad choices.
First gen Subaru Foresters had a 15" wheel & dual piston front calipers. They are sort of plentiful in the junk yards too.
I think the RX7 calipers would be best if you could find some cheap enough.
If you want to on the spendy end, subaru group N brakes fit 15 inch wheels. Subaru 4 pot brakes also fit some 15 inch rims.
What about NASCAR cast offs? They run 15s.
bmwbav
Reader
8/30/14 11:02 p.m.
BMW bavaria's and E12 5 series used ATE four piston calipers on the front, came stock with 14" wheels. They are pretty cheap for remanufactured ones.
bmwbav
Reader
8/30/14 11:15 p.m.
Just checked rock auto, only around $60 dollars each for remanufactured BMW bavaria/e12 calipers. They aren't huge by any means, but good stopping power and fade resistance. Now, they are dual circuit calipers, requiring two lines run to each.
Appleseed wrote:
What about NASCAR cast offs? They run 15s.
just buying a set of pads for them would probably ruin the "budget" aspect..
I've done a couple of brake upgrades for Lemons racers. I just cut off the old caliper mounts and welded on new ones. Other then having to replace/remove the wheel bearings it's not hard. These brake upgrades have survived a number of races without issues.
The rx7 brakes are about $75.00 each with pads and hardware.