Do it myself big brake kit build, WITH PICS!
04-20-2015, 11:45 PM
#1
Pro
Thread Starter
Do it (mostly)myself big brake kit build, WITH PICS!
I have been looking for a brake kit as I started having some serious taper issues at Road america last year. I want something that will run on stock wheels and have minimal consumable costs with maximum flexability and minimal start up cost. My goal here is to save money in the long run, which I think is reasonable.
The wilwood fsl6r caliper makes a ton of sense at about $250 each with 20mm 4.9 cubic inch pads that are very reasonably priced. They allow for use of stock 17" wheels with 12.8(c5) or 13.4"(c6z51) centric rotors, and the 18's fit with with 12.8 13.4 or 14"(c6z) centric rotors. All of which can be had in the $50-80 range so are very reasonable.
I also wanted something with a bridge bolt, cause I'm not crazy fast on track and run street tires, so the conveinice of 5 minute pad swaps outweighs the small amount of added strength. With the retirement of the w6a, the fsl6r is the last good option that is inexpensive with some legit track functionality and significant pad volume.
All the fitments above clear speedlines (17 or 18) without a spacer, but some likely require a spacer for track use because they have less then .08" of clearance that most places site as a minimum. As they clear fine without a spacer and the only close area is the spoke to caliper clearance, a 1/8" spacer will allow plenty of room, so I will likely invest in a pair as you can pretty safely use them with the stock studs from all I have read.
I spoke to a number of forum vendors who sell kits on the phone and they were all friendly and helpful, but mostly didn't have what I was looking for. The one place that did, wanted what I considered too much money for a bracket, so I decided I would make my own. I didn't take this on to save money necessarily, though it ended up working out that way. At the end of the day it's me putting my foot down, refusing to be corvette taxed!
Went to summit and bought all the necessary parts outside the brackets for $624. That's the calipers, lines, arp studs, arp nuts, wilwood spacers, EVERYTHING! Luckily I have a friend who is a machinist, he is on these forums but I will let him speak up if he decides he wants to. He made some brackets for me Thursday out of 6061-t6 aluminium bar stock using some measurements I took off my car, and a knuckle i got at a junk yard, for initial mockup.
All went pretty well for being a prototype. It all fit, needed a hundredth or 2 of tweaking here or there. I will update once I have the final brackets and do some testing on the street. If you have mill skills or a friend with them, in my case, you can get this setup for a remarkable value which will likely pay for itself in 2 track seasons.
As promised some pics.
First 2 are on a junkyard hub I bought to help the mockup and measurement process.
3rd is the bracket on my car!
4th is a 17" wheel with a 12.8" rotor on the car
5th is a 18" wheel with the caliper spaced for 13.4" rotor on the car
6th is the 18" wheel with the caliper spaced for the 14" rotor on the car
So much versitility and room to grow into for so little cost. I hope it works as well as I imagine it will!
Any feedback, or threats of certain doom
are welcome. Let me know what you think. I will update this as i get it on the road and to the track this season. My buddy has the final brackets, assuming the measurements were good I should have them on my car this weekend!
The wilwood fsl6r caliper makes a ton of sense at about $250 each with 20mm 4.9 cubic inch pads that are very reasonably priced. They allow for use of stock 17" wheels with 12.8(c5) or 13.4"(c6z51) centric rotors, and the 18's fit with with 12.8 13.4 or 14"(c6z) centric rotors. All of which can be had in the $50-80 range so are very reasonable.
I also wanted something with a bridge bolt, cause I'm not crazy fast on track and run street tires, so the conveinice of 5 minute pad swaps outweighs the small amount of added strength. With the retirement of the w6a, the fsl6r is the last good option that is inexpensive with some legit track functionality and significant pad volume.
All the fitments above clear speedlines (17 or 18) without a spacer, but some likely require a spacer for track use because they have less then .08" of clearance that most places site as a minimum. As they clear fine without a spacer and the only close area is the spoke to caliper clearance, a 1/8" spacer will allow plenty of room, so I will likely invest in a pair as you can pretty safely use them with the stock studs from all I have read.
I spoke to a number of forum vendors who sell kits on the phone and they were all friendly and helpful, but mostly didn't have what I was looking for. The one place that did, wanted what I considered too much money for a bracket, so I decided I would make my own. I didn't take this on to save money necessarily, though it ended up working out that way. At the end of the day it's me putting my foot down, refusing to be corvette taxed!
Went to summit and bought all the necessary parts outside the brackets for $624. That's the calipers, lines, arp studs, arp nuts, wilwood spacers, EVERYTHING! Luckily I have a friend who is a machinist, he is on these forums but I will let him speak up if he decides he wants to. He made some brackets for me Thursday out of 6061-t6 aluminium bar stock using some measurements I took off my car, and a knuckle i got at a junk yard, for initial mockup.
All went pretty well for being a prototype. It all fit, needed a hundredth or 2 of tweaking here or there. I will update once I have the final brackets and do some testing on the street. If you have mill skills or a friend with them, in my case, you can get this setup for a remarkable value which will likely pay for itself in 2 track seasons.
As promised some pics.
First 2 are on a junkyard hub I bought to help the mockup and measurement process.
3rd is the bracket on my car!
4th is a 17" wheel with a 12.8" rotor on the car
5th is a 18" wheel with the caliper spaced for 13.4" rotor on the car
6th is the 18" wheel with the caliper spaced for the 14" rotor on the car
So much versitility and room to grow into for so little cost. I hope it works as well as I imagine it will!
Any feedback, or threats of certain doom
are welcome. Let me know what you think. I will update this as i get it on the road and to the track this season. My buddy has the final brackets, assuming the measurements were good I should have them on my car this weekend!
Last edited by Socko; 04-21-2015 at 12:03 AM.
04-21-2015, 04:18 AM
#2
Racer
This is really cool. I love it when people decide "lemme figure it out and fabricate something awesome myself for less". It's my favorite part of the automotive hobby and automotive community.
Congrats, let us know how this setup works out for you. Thanks for posting it up!
Congrats, let us know how this setup works out for you. Thanks for posting it up!
04-21-2015, 09:54 AM
#4
Team Owner
Member Since: Apr 2001
Location: Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position.... DFW, TX
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St. Jude Donor '05
Find a vendor who will sell them for you and start production! The stock C5 brakes are just barely sufficient for DE's on street tires, so there's a market out there for a low-cost upgrade. Big brakes for under $800? Where do I sign?
04-26-2015, 04:40 PM
#5
Pro
Thread Starter
Got the brakes on my car today. Brackets worked perfectly.
The biggest pita was the npt fittings for the lines that screw to the caliper. What a *****how. I bought the real wilwood brake line kit for sl6 to c5, which is awesome that they sell it as a stand alone item, but the damn things kept leaking, had to get them REALLY tight. I think they need to point up which made the whole thing a big pita, really felt like they were going to break.
Everything else went as imagined, brakes fit, clear, and work perfectly on the street. Next to test them on track!
The pics below are on the stock 12.8" c5 rotor it is from advanced auto, i think its a wagner, under stock 17" speedline front wheels.
The biggest pita was the npt fittings for the lines that screw to the caliper. What a *****how. I bought the real wilwood brake line kit for sl6 to c5, which is awesome that they sell it as a stand alone item, but the damn things kept leaking, had to get them REALLY tight. I think they need to point up which made the whole thing a big pita, really felt like they were going to break.
Everything else went as imagined, brakes fit, clear, and work perfectly on the street. Next to test them on track!
The pics below are on the stock 12.8" c5 rotor it is from advanced auto, i think its a wagner, under stock 17" speedline front wheels.