Don’t know much about brakes. Question is Do you have to buy the wilwood rotors too or can you just buy the calipers and pads? And is there any specific kind to buy? I already have rotors with slots and they are 3 years old with under 2000 miles if that makes any difference. Thanks for advice. I have a 73

 

I bought the wilwood caliper/pad package and in stalled on my original 69 rotors.

 

They are direct replacements, you can use your same rotors with the stock calipers.

 

They makes entire kits with different rotor/caliper/pads/hub/bracket but like mentioned they have stock aluminum lighter replacement C3 calipers. I have one of their front kits and the alum master that I'll be installing someday on my 77.

 

where did you get the kit? And do you know why do red ones cost more than the silver ones?

 

Wilwood's site list what kits fit what cars(think you enter your vehicle even) or you could ask them. I bought a smaller size rotor than most get because I wanted to reduce weight for drag race but not be a full drag kit nonvented rotor on front. No clue bout the diff color ones but ask them, maybe the silver is uncoated and the red is?

 

should i get 4 piston or 6 piston?

 

Only real benefit between these two calipers is maybe more even pad wear when tracked. Both have nearly identical surface area. The 6 piston has more but smaller pistons, vs 4 larger pistons. More marking than anything on these particular sets of calipers.

To see significant differences in stopping distance you'll need their racing line with larger rotors/pads.


With that said they are great calipers and I recommend them.
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You can use factory rotors or any brand rotors that are correct for your car with Wilwood calipers.

I don't know specifics regarding brake configurations for a 73. If you contact Wilwood they can give you specific information on what calipers you can use and any upgrades.

You should be fine continuing to use the rotors you have although if you are upgrading to Wilwood calipers it may be an opportunity to do a complete brake upgrade which often entails larger rotors.

Pads are a different story. You can use Wilwood pads but there are some companies like Hawk that make pads which fit Wilwood calipers.

 

Here are the part numbers for the Wilwood C3 Corvette master cylinder, black 4 piston calipers, and rotors. I ordered through Buybrakes.com

Wilwood Master Cylinder 260-8556P
Wilwood D8-4 Fr Calipers 140-10789-BK
Wilwood D8-4 Rr Calipers 140-10790-BK
Wilwood Fr / Rr Rotor Set 140-11727

 

Very nice!

 

Minimal requirement is the simple Caliper Kit- this includes the calipers (2 per kit or 4 in combo), pads and SS hoses.

They are available in Type III grey ano (base cote under color) and the popular Red and Black.

They are direct replacement for your iron calipers on stock rotors or any rotor of stock size- ie. eBay rotors.

Optionals include Wilwood brand one piece replacement rotors, slotted or drilled and slotted. And there is the option for the D8-6 which is the six pot version of the front for improved pad wear addressing taper wear found in four pot calipers. They do not however "make more power" or such things.

* A Master Cylinder change is not required as they replicate stock volume. But certainly a nice addition of you must.

 

I bought the Wilwood D8-6 Fronts & D8-4 backs from Van Steel (also one of our forum vendors--they had a sale here on forum) 12 years ago. I have NOT had a single brake issue since. They're fantastic. I am really glad I did it now....I had struggled for years (probably 10-15) with my pedal going soft.

Was kinda hard to decide and put down the bucks then, and I probably would not have if not for the sale, but I recommend the Wilwood kit with the SS hoses highly now.

 

Sounds good! thanks for the info.

 

So whatst he difference other than price and pistons in the 4 and 6?

 

From what I've read the stopping capability is the same. The 6-piston supposedly applies a more "even" pressure. I only got the 6-piston because of the sale that Van Steel had going then...... if the sale had only offered the 4-piston I would have probably just gotten that.
Anywhichway, looking back, it was a good place to spend some of that money I've "wasted" on this car

 

That's really the only difference....more pistons and a little more even pad wear.

 

It's like having four quarters or ten dimes.

​​​​​​Back when....differential bore calipers were not a thought yet. People just flipped the pads occasionally

 

Good comments above^

There is no difference in brake performance between Stock GM SS calipers and Wilwoods...certainly, 4 piston to 4 piston, comparison. The wilwood advantage is weight from aluminum calipers.

Again, if the stock system has no issues and is maintained, stock SS calipers are just as reliable as wilwoods. My 4 SS GM sleeved calipers have been on my 78 C3 since 1985 and I have had just about 0 issues over the last 36 years....Has anyone had wilwoods for 36 years as a comparison?
i am not knocking wilwoods but they are not the holy grail of reliability....better, at best

In "theory", the 4 and 6 piston wilwoods should have the same brake performance based on the math, total piston area using the same size brake pads, since the 2 different piston calipers have about the same total piston area, but in reality, besides more even brake wear which actually equates to more even force distribution across the entire brake pad, the brake feel and brake performance from initial brake pedal application to the braking event short of tire lockup should also be of slightly shorter distance with the 6 piston caliper versus either 4 piston caliper, . The more even force distribution across the brake pad maximizes the optimum deceleration of the rotor/tire This phenomenon is why most high end sports cars use 6 or even 8 piston calipers when 4 pistons "could" have the same effect..it will not.

 

Got the D8-6 D8-4 front and back, new proportioning valve and an import aluminum copy master cyl. Had trouble with the master/booster match until I got this one. Cheap too and my brakes are awesome, very pleasantly surprised. No more leaky calipers, iffy boost, and just great brakes that feel more like a late model car. I just wish the brake pedal and accelerator were closer together in height, very hard to heel/toe without getting thrown through the windshield.