Wilwood vs Stoptech BBK
03-13-2012, 01:41 PM
#1
Wilwood vs Stoptech BBK
I know this is a familiar topic, but this is more specific to a later Model (06+).
I'm looking for a 13" FRONT set up only. I noticed that Wilwwood has a 13" 6POT kit that applies to ALL Zs 03-08, while the Stoptech has a SEPARATE kit ( 13" 4POT) for later model 06+ cars. That kit has made changes that account for the bigger brakes in these cars. Here is a response to me from Eric at Stoptech:
Nissan made a significant change to the caliper piston sizes in the changeover to the 06+ models making the early kits not compatible with late non-Brembo cars. Installing an early kit on a late non-Brembo car would cause a significant reduction in front and rear brake torque output compared to stock which can lead to issues with not being able to lock up the tires without applying extreme pedal pressure and lack of ABS and stability control functionality.
I also asked Eric about using FRONTS only:
That would be the correct kit for the 08 non-brembo and there would be no bias issue as all of our kits are designed to work with the stock master cylinder and rear brakes.
Also found this for FRONT ONLY applications:
StopTech has to date received three patents in brake technology and has one patent currently pending. StopTech is the first aftermarket brake company to offer balanced front brake upgrades, engineered to dramatically improve overall braking performance while remaining compatible with the stock OE rear brakes. This has significantly advanced the state of art in aftermarket brake upgrades.
That now begs the question...
Does the *one fits all* Wilwood Kit work as well as Stoptech for a FRONTS only set up?
I have been eyeballing both these kits..Wilwood is a little cheaper but the above observation leads to believe Stoptech has done their homework here.
All opinions welcome....please stay on TOPIC..this isn't an all out *Wilwood vs Stoptech* shoot out thread.
I'm looking for a 13" FRONT set up only. I noticed that Wilwwood has a 13" 6POT kit that applies to ALL Zs 03-08, while the Stoptech has a SEPARATE kit ( 13" 4POT) for later model 06+ cars. That kit has made changes that account for the bigger brakes in these cars. Here is a response to me from Eric at Stoptech:
Nissan made a significant change to the caliper piston sizes in the changeover to the 06+ models making the early kits not compatible with late non-Brembo cars. Installing an early kit on a late non-Brembo car would cause a significant reduction in front and rear brake torque output compared to stock which can lead to issues with not being able to lock up the tires without applying extreme pedal pressure and lack of ABS and stability control functionality.
I also asked Eric about using FRONTS only:
That would be the correct kit for the 08 non-brembo and there would be no bias issue as all of our kits are designed to work with the stock master cylinder and rear brakes.
Also found this for FRONT ONLY applications:
StopTech has to date received three patents in brake technology and has one patent currently pending. StopTech is the first aftermarket brake company to offer balanced front brake upgrades, engineered to dramatically improve overall braking performance while remaining compatible with the stock OE rear brakes. This has significantly advanced the state of art in aftermarket brake upgrades.
That now begs the question...
Does the *one fits all* Wilwood Kit work as well as Stoptech for a FRONTS only set up?
I have been eyeballing both these kits..Wilwood is a little cheaper but the above observation leads to believe Stoptech has done their homework here.
All opinions welcome....please stay on TOPIC..this isn't an all out *Wilwood vs Stoptech* shoot out thread.
Last edited by ronn1; 03-13-2012 at 10:19 PM.
03-13-2012, 04:30 PM
#3
Again, I'm asking if Wilwood just good for 06+ with it's *blanket* approach?
Stoptech seems to imply that ya can't have it both ways here.
03-13-2012, 09:28 PM
#4
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For most stuff there is fact and theory, i believe that Wilwood and Stoptech just have a different theory. What one is better, i would have to research a lot for my answer. Of course my answer would also be on what i believe of the 2 theorys
03-13-2012, 09:56 PM
#5
http://www.zeckhausen.com/Testing_Brakes.htm
If the brakes are too front biased, the front tires tend to saturate prematurely and the stopping distances become longer, both with and without ABS. ABS does not fix improper bias. StopTech controls the bias of their kits by retaining the stock master cylinder and juggling caliper piston and rotor sizes to come up with optimum brake torque balance.
An Audi S4 kit was used to generate the numbers for the chart above. StopTech makes 3 different kits for the S4, all of which are better balanced than even the factory brakes. According to the chart, an Audi S4 kit using F50 calipers and 355mm diameter rotors would be front biased, due to the larger piston sizes used in that caliper. The same calipers with smaller 332mm rotors produces the counterintuitive result of shorter stopping distances than the kit with bigger rotors! A Porsche "Big Red" conversion that uses adapter brackets to attach Porsche 993TT front and rear calipers and rotors to the Audi S4 is rear biased and, not only has a longer stopping distance, but might even be unstable if ABS is disabled.
By careful selection of caliper piston sizes and exhaustive track testing (as you'll see below)
White papers:
http://stoptech.com/technical-suppor...alance-matters
http://www.centricparts.com/files/Ce...20Upgrades.pdf
When upgrading your front brakes, it is possible to size the caliper pistons and rotor effective radius to maintain the original brake system's pressure-torque relationship. Yea, it takes more engineering know-how and you can't sell the same part to everyone anymore, but you are not altering the base brake balance from what the OEM intended. This design philosophy stands behind every brake upgrade kit StopTech manufactures. Now, if you sized the front brakes correctly, why would you need to change the rear brakes? Good question. If there are no thermal concerns with the rear brakes (and on a front-engine street car there rarely are) then by installing a rear big-brake kit all you are doing is (a) spending money and (b) adding unsprung weight. This is not usually viewed as favorable, unless you like driving a heavy, expensive car
Last edited by ronn1; 03-13-2012 at 10:37 PM.
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03-14-2012, 02:29 PM
#9
Just wanted to know if anyone could provide info that would support the Wilwood set up... either Front and/or Front and Rear....compared to 06+ Stoptech. Guess not. What I liked about Stoptech was that they designed the Front kits to work with STOCK rears and still give optimal performance.
Took me forever to find it though.
03-15-2012, 03:55 PM
#13
Stoptech response regarding same kit for ALL 350Z:
If Wilwood is using the same kit for all models, the only possible conclusion is that they are favoring one vehicle over another making one platform optimized in which case the other platform is far from optimized, or they are compromising both platforms equally. As we do not know the specifics of their piston sizes, we would not be able to make a direct interpretation
If Wilwood is using the same kit for all models, the only possible conclusion is that they are favoring one vehicle over another making one platform optimized in which case the other platform is far from optimized, or they are compromising both platforms equally. As we do not know the specifics of their piston sizes, we would not be able to make a direct interpretation
03-15-2012, 05:37 PM
#15
Nissan seems to think that Brembo's can be fitted to all Z's.... Nothing wrong with Wilwood thinking the same.
P.S. in the long run OEM Brembo's or Wilwoods are probably cheaper to maintain than the Stoptechs.
P.S. in the long run OEM Brembo's or Wilwoods are probably cheaper to maintain than the Stoptechs.
Last edited by Voboy; 03-15-2012 at 05:38 PM.
03-15-2012, 08:16 PM
#18
P.S. in the long run OEM Brembo's or Wilwoods are probably cheaper to maintain than the Stoptechs