Wilwood BBK install and initial impressions
 

Decided to go ahead and grab the Wilwood BBK for a few reasons, which are valid to me, but may not be valid to others. For example, since the Vortech kit, hks header, motiv op, motiv fp, and fa20club tune after coming from viscontis tune, I have been slightly uncomfortable with the stopping power of the OE brakes. I did get upgraded lines by goodridge and did a complete flush of the OE fluid and put in rbf600. I will say that doing both things did improve braking and bite, but I was still worried. I know I could have gone with brake pads, which would have helped a good amount, but I decided to do a major upgrade which in this case,the Wilwood BBK. Oh and I do have the cusco master cylinder brace which complimented the better braking. Oh let's not forget that the BBK looks awesome, which contributed to my purchase lol, but more over the performance increase. ahem.

Before I forget, I got the slotted rotors with 6 piston up front and 4 piston in the rear and in red.


Onto bigger and better things!

The Package

Def would like to give Wilwood a big thumbs up for their packaging. Talk about being organized and having everything that goes with whatever parts they belong to being there. Very detailed instructions were included along with some awesome stickers.

Install

As stated, the instructions were very clear! If you have done a brake job which includes changing out rotors and pads, you should be good. If you have done more such as replacing calipers, which requires you to bleed the brakes and even have gone as far as changing brake lines before, you're set! Definitely was a breeze to do the install. There were no fitment issues and everything went spot on the first time. I did however have to take the bracket off that holds the caliper once because I decided to test fit the rotors along with the calipers on my wheels. There is also one major modification that is required to use the kit. The rear dust shields MUST BE cut down to where they will not interfere with the caliper. I basically got as close as I could to the hub and I was fine. Perhaps it was a little much, but I didn't want any chance of anything hitting later. I was able to do this since I have access to air tools and we have a grinder at the shop. The front shields though CAN BE used and left on. Another modification that is required is the brake line holder brackets that are on the chasis. The fronts can be taken off and hammered on a flat surface to allow the Wilwood brake lines to fit through the hole and be held down by the clip. The rears DO NOT come off since they are welded. Hammer what you can and grind some down with a file and you will be fine. I do understand that the BBK will fit with the OE 17 in wheels, but I just wanted to be sure they fit with my works. Test fitted and they fit and even had an EFF LOAD of space left. Just FYI, I have work emotions 18x9.5 +38 all around with 245 40 18 nitto nt05. No issues what so ever.

There are a crap load of washers, so be sure to follow directions and make sure to put the washers where they are needed ( you will not be using all of them). really not hard at all. I was pretty amazed to see how much lighter the calipers were in comparison to the OE calipers. Even the rotors were much lighter since the Wilwood kit comes with an aluminum hat (from my understanding) and the rotor which bolts onto the aluminum hat. Oh don't forget to use loctite. It's your friend with this install.

Bed in

Well the process was quite simple. Nothing out of the ordinary. Actually, before the bed in, there were a couple checks made to make sure everything was good. Rolling slowly and stompin the bakes, turning the wheel and braking, etc. Those were also in the instructions. So the bed in! 8-10 times of going from 55-60 down to 20mph with a damn good amount of force. Not to locking up but a good amount. Allowed 20 seconds in between each time of applying brakes for cool down and there you go!

Impressions

So with the vortech, I opted to get the BBK due to stopping power and because it looks awesome haha, but more over due to stopping power. I'm not saying that you NEED the kit, I'm just more comfortable with having stopping power so please don't take this as a must for a vortech kit.

So how does it feel? Have you driven a go kart that's got some balls and stops really effin quick? That's what the BBK feels like. Very effective braking power and I must say, over stock, it's a HUGE difference. I was thrown forward a bit when really stomping on the brakes. I'm very pleased with the stopping power and definitely had a grin on my face. I also installed my Cusco/Bride collaboration zeta III xl carbon back bucket seat so it was a great feeling to feel the stopping power kicking me forward some. I must say though that there is a slight learning curve again in terms of applying brakes since the Wilwood kit bites really well and will stop you really quick.

On my way home from my sunday project at work, I decided to put my new bride seat along with the wilwood bbk to a little fun run test in the canyon since it's on the way. Again, stopping power is amazing and I am VERY pleased with the results. Very impressed and a little thrown off on how well I can stop now.

Overall

Pros:
great packaging
very detailed instructions
easy to install
amazing bite
superior stopping power
slim caliper design
very light weight

midpoint:
little bit of a pain to cut the rear shields with the grinder, but perfectly understandable since the Wilwood rotor is huge and the caliper is fairly large too. worth it? YES!

hammering of the brake line holders. 4 in total. Pain? slightly. worth it? YES. Hard? no. lol

Cons:
none at this moment

going under the knife
http://i1171.photobucket.com/albums/...ilwood3jpg.jpg

in the air
http://i1171.photobucket.com/albums/...83/wilwood.jpg

another in the air
http://distilleryimage2.s3.amazonaws...0aaa1012_7.jpg

yes i need to clean the inside of the lug. lots and lots of room!
http://i1171.photobucket.com/albums/...3/wilwood4.jpg

Thanks for reading and I hope this helps! Any questions, I will try and answer them as best as I can.

I also asked for forum pricing through my source and was told for forum members he would knock a good amount off. I have pricing and if you are interested please send me a PM.

Further updates and videos of the kit and my car on instagram! follow me: whoaitsallen

looks good! nice write up.

Whats the size of the rotors? How come they look so small?

12. Overall is 15 with calipers according to my source. I also am running 18s so they appear smaller. The kit is made to fit oe wheels. None the less , the stopping power is a huge difference. 6piston in front and 4 in rear is night and day!

Nice setup.

:bow:

Pics and review of this PLEASE!!

Pics are on my instagram, but I'll be sure to do a review soon! Thanks for the idea

Thanks I'll go have a stalk.

I don't quite have enough leg room with the stock seat, hope the bride bucket gives a bit more, as I would imagine the back of it is much less bulky as the stock seat is.

I'm taking pics right now and will have a review up for you soon!

You sir are a champion.

Gotta edit the pics and they will be up w review. Will keep you posted. I'm aiming for tonight. Excuse the crap pics

Updated review / comments ?

I installed mine slotted front and back with ss brake lines and it stops in a dime. Very impressed especially for the price. I went through ft86speedfactory was the best deal anywhere at the time.

Hey Guys,


We really like the Wilwood calipers, which is why we use them in our BBK's. Please keep us in mind with your BBK purchase.


Differences between Wilwood Street Kit and our Competition Kits:


(1) We designed our own fully floating 13"x1.25" Competition Rotors. They are not fixed bolted like the Wilwoods. Floating rotors better accommodate the thermal expansion and contraction cycles and reduce stress/cracking of the rotors.


(2) We also use genuine Coleman Racing NASCAR Winston Cup rotors... they are race proven and taken straight off the Winston Cup cars. They are thicker than Wilwood rotors, and feature a unique slot pattern and direction curved cooling vanes.


(3) If you have the wheel clearance, our Stage IV kit offers much thicker pads (0.8" thick).


(4) Our Stage IV kit calipers are anodized black rather then powder coated for better heat durability (for those of you who routinely track your cars)


(5) We can now do custom colors at a very reasonable cost (silver, red, blue...)


http://www.rr-racing.com/category-s/133.htm


thanks!