Jump to content
HybridZ

4 piston caliper piston options...


Recommended Posts

I'm looking at a set of Superlites for the front end of my car and I've noticed that they come in the same size piston and a staggered version. I know the theoretical reason for doing this, pad taper, etc, but my question is whether or not pad taper is really that big an issue that it's worth another $70 per caliper.

 

Different piston sizes:

http://www.wilwood.com/CaliperProd.aspx?itemno=120-9578-RS

$231.79 http://www.jegs.com/i/Wilwood/950/120-9573-RS/10002/-1

 

Then you can get the "thermlock" pistons (too rich for my blood):

$370.99 http://www.jegs.com/i/Wilwood/950/120-9577-RS/10002/-1

 

Same size:

http://www.wilwood.com/CaliperProd.aspx?itemno=120-7430-L

$165.95 http://www.jegs.com/i/Wilwood/950/120-7430-R/10002/-1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm running 1.38" piston Outlaws and am seeing tapered pad wear. Several mm over the life of the pad. I talked with Outlaw and they said this was why you get the different sized pistons. Based on my experience and had it to do over I would go with bigger and tapered pistons. You could probably rotate pads every event and even things out but the other side effect is piston wear. I'm seeing scuffing on the pistons since they sit cocked in the bores due to the tapered pads. It's not caused a problem yet but can't be good for life of the pistons.

 

Cameron

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jon, I've been running the 1 3/4" 4 piston superlites on my car for several years, mostly using PF 01 pads. My experience is that you will see a slight amount of pad taper, but it is insignificant. When the pads are at the end of their useful life, you might see 1-2mm of taper, although I suppose this could vary with different pads. I have not had any issues with scuffing the pistons or bores. Another thing to consider is that the 6 piston calipers have less piston area than the 4 piston 1 3/4" versions.

 

jt

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another thing to consider is that the 6 piston calipers have less piston area than the 4 piston 1 3/4" versions.

The ones that I'm looking at are a 4 piston with the leading pistons at 1.88" and the trailing at 1.75. The 6 pistons are too expensive for me even if I did want them.

 

Thanks for the feedback on the taper issue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...