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Wilwood Big Brake Small Package Upgrade - Disc JockeyWilwood has a way to get big-brake performance even behind small-sized wheels From the October, 2011 issue of Camaro Performers By Steven Rupp Photography by The Author
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Big brakes are all the rage these days. After all, with modern cars having high-tech items like ABS, we’ve become accustomed to our cars stopping on a dime. Splicing antilock brakes into our classic Camaros is a huge undertaking, so the typical plan of attack is to "plus-size" the binders in search of modern performance. The problem is that larger brakes necessitate bigger wheels, and many Camaro enthusiasts would just as soon stick with smaller rollers, most notably the iconic 15-inch GM Rally wheels. Wilwood has been working this “big brake performance in a small package” angle for a while now, and what they’ve come up with is a solution perfect for guys that want modern performance that doesn’t detract from the classic look of their F-body. 1. Somewhere along the way,... 1. Somewhere along the way, Mark had replaced his front rotors with some fancy drilled and slotted ones in an attempt to improve braking. They didn’t. But that’s because the real problem is the low-tech cast iron GM mono-piston calipers. For the front brakes, they just released their D52 caliper, which replaces the cast iron single piston calipers found on the front of many ’68-96 GM vehicles. The twin-piston aluminum caliper is stronger than the stock versions, and with features like stainless steel pistons, they won’t have the same rust, bore pitting, and seal failures that plague the OEM calipers. They also tackled the rear system with a new disc brake conversion kit centered around their D154 caliper. Like the D52 pieces for the front, these are also twin-piston calipers, but the pistons are much smaller to achieve the correct brake bias. This kit includes rotors with an internal parking brake system along with the brackets and parking brake cables to make it all work. And like the front, they fit comfortably inside most 15-inch wheels. Mark Olivera loves his ’69 Camaro, and when he’s not deployed to some sandpit overseas, nothing makes him happier than cruising his red SS around Southern California. He’s always had enough “go” from the big-block under the hood, but the brakes have always been on the “iffy” side. While he would love better brakes, he’s not about to give up his Rally wheels, which made him the perfect test case for Wilwood’s new widgets. So, with parts in hand, we headed over to Best of Show Coach Works in Escondido, California, to see if we could shoehorn big-brake performance into a small-wheel package.  2. The new Wilwood D52 (PN...  2. The new Wilwood D52 (PN 120-10936-RD, $165 each) calipers are made from net-forged aluminum. This makes them lighter and stiffer than stock cast iron calipers and helps give the driver a firmer pedal feel. Also adding to improved pedal feel is the fact that they are machined with much tighter tolerances than stock. The two-piston design allows for a more even clamping load on the brake pad. This helps eliminate pad taper, which can happen during aggressive driving.  3. We also picked up a full...  3. We also picked up a full set (four pads) of their Polymatrix BP-10 Smart Pads (PN 150-8939k, $52.99). These pads combine the low-noise and low-dust properties of a street performance compound with the increased friction characteristics of a semi-metallic race compound. They won’t fade with repeated hard stops and are light years better than what came on these cars stock.  4. Swapping to these new...  4. Swapping to these new aluminum calipers couldn’t be any easier since they use the existing brackets and rotor. We simply unbolted the stockers and re-installed the new calipers using the supplied bolts.  5. The new D52 calipers will...  5. The new D52 calipers will work with existing rubber or braided lines, but if your lines are worn, then it’s a good idea to step up to something like these braided stainless lines from Wilwood (PN 220-11372, $70). They last virtually forever and offer a better pedal feel over OE rubber hoses. The kit includes all the crush washers and fittings including the 7/16-20 banjo bolts.  6. And just like that, the...  6. And just like that, the new D52 calipers were installed, plumbed in, and ready to rock. For those that want a little less flash, they are offered in a black powdercoat as well.  7. As you can see here, there’s...  7. As you can see here, there’s plenty of room around the caliper, even when running a 15-inch steel Rally wheel.  8. Behold the beauty of the...  8. Behold the beauty of the iconic rusty GM brake drum. To be honest, when in good working order, drum brakes aren’t that bad, but they can’t offer the same performance of a good disc-brake setup. Plus, they are what we call  9. Inside the drum is the...  9. Inside the drum is the rather complicated brake system found on more than a few GM vehicles. To get this mess of levers and springs off the car, we needed to pull the axles.  10. GM rearends employ a...  10. GM rearends employ a C-clip system to retain the axles. Unfortunately, this meant we needed to pull the rear cover to get the job done.  11. While it’s messy, it...  11. While it’s messy, it wasn’t really hard to do. We simply pulled the pin retaining bolt (red arrow) and then slid out the large pin (blue arrow). We pushed each axle in and pulled the C-clip using a magnet. With the pin out, it’s very important not to turn the axles much or some of the internal parts will move out of position and cause a lot more work.  12. With the axles out, Dick...  12. With the axles out, Dick Kvamme was then able to remove the rest of the old disc brake system.  13. The rear backing plates...  13. The rear backing plates and brackets came preassembled and are comprised of the backing plate, spacers, and caliper brackets. Wilwood does include shims in case some of the caliper alignment needs to be tweeked. Ours, however, lined right up.  14. The new Wilwood disc...  14. The new Wilwood disc brake system uses an internal parking brake. Since it’s not used to stop the car, it’s a lot simpler than the original drum brake setup.  15. Due to the Camaro’s staggered...  15. Due to the Camaro’s staggered shock arrangement, the driver-side caliper faces forward while the passenger-side faces to the rear.  16. Dick was then able to...  16. Dick was then able to reinstall the axles and slide on the new Wilwood disc brake rotors. The register hole on the rotors are designed to fit over the registers of stock axles, but keep in mind that some aftermarket axle registers run a touch big. If it’s very close, you can open up the registers a bit, but if it’s off too much, then it’s better to contact Wilwood to see if they have a rotor with the correct-sized hole.  17. The rear kit used Wilwood’s...  17. The rear kit used Wilwood’s D154 calipers (PN 120-11874-RD, $165 each). Like the D52s up front, they are forged from billet aluminum for a lightweight, high-strength caliper; perfect for the back of our Camaro. While they are twin piston like the front pistons, they are much smaller (1.120-inch each), which provides the proper front-to-rear brake balance.  18. The rear caliper simply...  18. The rear caliper simply bolted to the Wilwood bracket. This kit is a great drum-to-disc conversion kit for C-clip–based rearends. These types of rearends have quite a bit of axle end-play, which contributes to piston knock back. By running a floating caliper, much of this is negated.  19. The passenger-side caliper...  19. The passenger-side caliper bolted on much the same way except it’s mounted rearward due to the Camaro’s staggered shock arrangement.  20. Lastly, we plumbed in...  20. Lastly, we plumbed in the rear brakes using another Wilwood braided stainless line kit. For a super clean install, we also bent up new hard lines for the rear. The existing GM parking brake cables wouldn’t interface with the new Wilwood parking brake system, so we picked up their universal cable kit (PN 330-9371, $120), which included the adjusters, Teflon-lined cable housings, and clevises. With the install complete, we just needed to bleed the brakes and then Mark would be ready to hit the streets with his stealthy new brake system.
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