Wilwood vs. rotora vs. stoptech
 

trying to figure out which way to go.

1. Wilowood 6 pistons calipers
14 x 1.25 inch rotors ~$1750-1850

2. Rotora Brake Kit 4-piston calipers
13” Cross-Drilled and/or Slotted Rotors~$1800

3. Stoptech 13" (332MM) Big Brake Kit
ST40 four piston high performance calipers ~$2000

thoughts?

There was a special on the Speed Channel the other day here in Va about brakes so from what I heard on there I am going to say the 6 piston calipers b/c of less defection and more stopping power as well as less weight with the drilled and slotted rotars...

Our kits are the best value for the price. Obviously, I'm a little bit biased, but that's the reality of the situation. :) Our 350Z kits have the same exact components as the race car in my sig has (Bill Auberlen's championship winning 3 Series in the Speed World Challenge). The piston sizes are different in his calipers, but our race kits use the identical components as our street kits. You can kick the **** out of them on the track on Sunday, swap the pads, and drive them to work on Monday...every weekend. Our calipers are hands down the stiffest of anything out there, and our patented AeroRotors flow the most air of anything out there. There are about 20 friction options for our calipers, and our replacement parts are the most reasonably priced. We have superior customer service, and we go out of our way to keep our customers happy. We also supply brakes to leading OEMs...for example, every Toyota Racing Development (TRD) kit is a rebadged StopTech kit.

Can you tell that I'm proud of the product I sell? :icon17: :D

Yeh I can tell :)

Ok so what are the downfalls of the wilwood and rotora? Why is the stop tech 13" better than the wilwood 14" with 2 additional pistons.

By the way, this is a real question. no bad intentions here. just ready to learn.

Thanks

That's what I was about to say....

By just looking at the data, it appears that the wilwood are a much better deal. You get larger rotors and 6 piston calipers for less money!

(However, as everyone knows... there is a lot more to a product than just the data)

Yea im trying to decide between the front and rear wildwood (14") and the 14" stoptech. Which one would be the better deal, i dont know much about brakes but i see that the wildwoods are cheaper and have 6 piston as compared to stoptechs 4. I know a lot of M3 people run either the wildwoods or brembo's and i know both are a quality system but i didnt hear much about stoptechs. If someone could help me out i would appreciate it. Also does anyone know if brembo plans to make a rear kit for the Z anytime soon?

Well it's no secret that I was one of the 1st peeps to install StopTech's Big Brake kit (14.1) on the 350Z. I'm not gonna sit here and say who's better. Cause' I have not personally ran Willwood, Baer, or Rotora.
BUT... I will say this:
Having had the S/T on my car for almost 2 years (Oct 2003) I could not be happier! They grab like a MOFO! Cool down like a MOFO! And look good as a MOFO! :D And oh yeah... Their service is consistently great, as I have changed/ordered pads from them and reffered folks to them who have said the same.

Here is a independent review of their product specifically for our cars: http://www.zeckhausen.com/testing_brakes.htm

rotora--13" cross-drilled & slotted or just slotted, 1600$

14" ---same------------------------------------, 2150$

SEE them at skid day NAT'LS at old sears july 11th

SEE "rotora" at Infereon Race way (the old Sears Point) in NOR. CAL.

are these prices just for the fronts?i belive so right? i hear that most of the breaking is done in the front, that's why the big break kits only come with the front, but wouldnt it look odd?i hope i am not making a fool out of myself, i am a newbi by the way hehe

STOPTECH brakes are track proven over and over again. That matters a lot to me.

15 cars in Speed World Challenge, a few cars in Grand Am, etc..

How many cars are running a custom Wilwood kit, or Rotoras on the professional road racing scene?

Notice that Rotora sponsors a lot of drift cars.

Compare the amount of braking in drifitng to road racing.

Victor :icon17:

Larger rotors = better heat capacity, more pistons = more evenly distributed brake clamping force

but, more pistons does not necessarily mean better braking performance. The size of the piston is the factor here.

Also Wilwood calipers have a reputation of "flexing". I don't know if I would want my calipers to "flex".

Are you serious? Have you ever been to the track? Do you have any idea how many different motorsport events Wilwood is used in?

In regards to the calipers flexing, well, I have seen the data and I know that the calipers used in those tests are NOT the same ones used today. The newest generation calipers and rotors from Wilwood are some of the most effecient designs ever made. Before making assumptions I suggest you atleast look at some of these pieces first hand.

Doc,
I'm not trying to be a jerk here...just telling you what I have seen first hand. I was at the Grand Am Cup race at Phoenix the other month...in the pits of one of the GS teams. The team owner put in my hand a used Wilwood rear caliper off of his race car. He put on a set of new calipers, and they were useless after only TWO races because they had flexed and deformed so much under race conditions. They were a mess. He showed me another brand new set in a box of the same caliper, and told me that this was their latest design. He was reluctant to even put them on his cars anymore.

Unfortunately, because Wilwood does not make many of their own kits, many of the "kits" being pieced together are just that, pieced together. As you know, Wilwood offers an abundant amount of calipers for various applications. Often times when something is not available, someone will just randomly put together a kit using what they think are proper components hoping that the configuration works. Kinda like what I do ;)

Just because something fits doesnt mean it works. You and I both know that. That is why I stress the guys at Wilwood so much to continue to produce more and more effeciently designed and structurally sound pieces. All of the kits that I put out are application specific designed for that exact vehicle.

J, i know you are not a jerk and you know that I am not either. It just bothers me when people pass along information that was passed to them from someone else without even seeing what is on the table. I have never said anything negative about Stoptech or their products. I dont need to discredit anyone else in order to show my works quality. In fact, i refer many customers over to you guys because I dont have what they need.

I don't own a 350Z and I don't have experience with StopTech and Rotora (other than things I hear or read) so I cannot comment on those products. But I can tell you that I'm extremely satisfied with the Wilwood kit that Sherwin designed for my VW. I do road race, albeit not professionally, and the brakes have held up wonderfully session after session. I really beat on the brakes and not once have I experienced a decrease in performance.

It's just not fair to bash products without actual research that proves your point. One person may have had a bad experience with Wilwood, but that does not necessarily mean the next person will. Unless you have personal experience comparing the products side by side, it would be best to just stick to outlining the benefits of the particular StopTech kit that you're promoting. In the end, it's up to the consumer to decide where they'd like to spend their money.

I say all this with the utmost respect. I am in no way trying to start an argument with anyone. Thanks for listening.

Here is another option for you.

Forged 4 piston Wilwood with a 13.06" x 1.25" two piece directionally vaned rotor.
http://img72.photobucket.com/albums/...dheadlight.jpg http://img72.photobucket.com/albums/...ind/brake1.jpg

Drops nearly 16 pounds of unsprung weight off the front wheels.

Look for a GB on this set up VERY soon. Price will be well south of $1400 for the complete kit.

BTW, thats a 19" Volk TE37

Doc,
Glad to see you back!
Is there a properly biased rear set that goes with those 13" fronts ... in a FULL kit?

well so much for Rotora having anything to say!!!!!

You know, I was going to just leave this post alone...but then I got a lecture from someone on their very first post on the board.:rolleyes: I hope you have your nomex on. I am one of the founding members of this board, and I donated money in it's infancy to keep it alive. I spend hours and hours here each week helping people and giving technical explanations, etc. I go out of my way to help this community with regards to brakes in any way that I can. I give people info and sneak peaks before products hit the market, and I take their requests into account as we develop new products for the Z...to as great of an extent as any other major manufacturer out there. We have more products for the Z than we do for any other platform...partially because I push for them. I'm also fairly certain that I had my Z on order before you ever knew what a 350Z was, so please don't come here and lecture me. THAT is bad netiquette if I've ever seen it. Saying that you have the utmost respect is not the same as acting like you do. Lecturing a long standing member of the community on your first post is poor form.

I do have personal experience with both products. We've tested Wilwood products in-house for deflection, and I've seen the results at the track as stated above. Please do not tell me what it would be "best for me to do." Doc and I have gone round and round a few times, and he's a big boy who can handle himself. I have complete respect for him. You are not helping the situation though. Do a search for StopTech on these boards, and you'll see a host of the benefits of our products.

As for actual research...are these Wilwood kits tested in this manner (or similarly) on the 350Z? Or were they pieced together, and it was found that they 'seem like they stop the car better.'
http://www.zeckhausen.com/Testing_Brakes.htm

Were they built from scratch with the proper piston sizes, brackets, and hats for the Z?

That's my point.

Sorry for the rant Doc. If it came from you, my response would not have been the same. I apologize for the ugliness. :(