Beware Wilwood calipers!
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From: North Cal, CA
Beware Wilwood brake calipers!
I ran the Wilwood Narrow Dynalight calipers on my 00 Civic Si from Fastbrakes. On turn 2 of Laguna Seca, the piston seal gave out and I ended up in the sand pit area at 100mph.
I was lucky the car survived and didn't hit the tire barrier. I lost all braking. The pedal went straight to the floor and just squirted brake fluid out when I hit the brakes. I tried the handbrake and pumping the pedal but it did not help. I am probably going to go back to my stock brakes or another brake solution that is more reliable.
I ended up plugging up one brake line and drove 100+ miles with one working front brake to get home. It is something I hope I never have to do again.
These brakes are not intended for daily street use and I found out why the hard way. Luckily they did not give out on a public road and no other cars were involved in the incident.
BE WARNED!
This is what it looked like after we took the wheel off and figured out what went wrong.
[Modified by ZK, 8:53 PM 3/13/2003]
[Modified by ZK, 8:55 PM 3/13/2003]
I was lucky the car survived and didn't hit the tire barrier. I lost all braking. The pedal went straight to the floor and just squirted brake fluid out when I hit the brakes. I tried the handbrake and pumping the pedal but it did not help. I am probably going to go back to my stock brakes or another brake solution that is more reliable.
I ended up plugging up one brake line and drove 100+ miles with one working front brake to get home. It is something I hope I never have to do again.
These brakes are not intended for daily street use and I found out why the hard way. Luckily they did not give out on a public road and no other cars were involved in the incident.
BE WARNED!
This is what it looked like after we took the wheel off and figured out what went wrong.
[Modified by ZK, 8:53 PM 3/13/2003]
[Modified by ZK, 8:55 PM 3/13/2003]
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From: Get Firefox, CA, USA
Re: Beware Wilwood calipers! (ZK)
how many miles on them?
do you ever inspect them before driving your car hard?
I wonder why the piston seal went out. what type of pad are you running? you ever have a lot of brake fade?
from the pics, it does not look like you are running any brake air ducts. maybe the caliper go too hot
do you ever inspect them before driving your car hard?
I wonder why the piston seal went out. what type of pad are you running? you ever have a lot of brake fade?
from the pics, it does not look like you are running any brake air ducts. maybe the caliper go too hot
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From: Browns Summit, NC, USA
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (spoon_ek9)
i have had my wilwoods on for a year now without replacing the seals....i'm doing that tomorrow...i have been through bot 8 sets of hawk blue pads and 3 pairs of front rotors....
i had so much heat coming off of them that my valve stem caps melted!!!! that is some serious heat!!! but so far no problems for me.....
i had so much heat coming off of them that my valve stem caps melted!!!! that is some serious heat!!! but so far no problems for me.....
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From: Boca Raton, FL
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (spoon_ek9)
I run those dynalites too and gotta say that I've had no trouble, maybe you got a bad caliper....however after seeing those pics I think I'm up for a rebuild...maybe you should try one too...glad your ok though, and I'm sure had an experince you won't soon forget 
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: Palo Alto, CA, USA
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (amweiss)
Maybe I'm just blind, but I don't see anything all that unusual about that caliper in the picture. I just see some fluid on the ground and some pad dust built up near the bridge. What exactly do you see that is the problem there?
It just seems to me that his seals wore out. It happens, ya know?
-Adam
edit: spelling
[Modified by mityVR6, 10:12 PM 3/13/2003]
It just seems to me that his seals wore out. It happens, ya know?
-Adam
edit: spelling
[Modified by mityVR6, 10:12 PM 3/13/2003]
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From: Sacramento, CA, USA
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (ESCALVANTE)
He's getting them rebuilt and was talking about selling them. I was never an advocate of Wilwoods on a daily driven car. Water, corrosive brake dust, and such go to muck up the seals since there's no dust boot.
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From: Las Vegas, NV
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (ReflexGTI)
only problems i've had with my Wilwoods was the bleeder valves leak cause they blow.
I just plugged the lower bleeder valves and check the upper bleeder valves routinely.
I just plugged the lower bleeder valves and check the upper bleeder valves routinely.
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From: Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (Driven)
This is a very unfortunate occurence, indeed...thought I'm glad to hear that you were not injured/hurt in the incident.
The Wilwood Dynalite (and other Wilwood calipers) are of sound design, generally speaking. However, as with all race-type calipers which lack dust boots, it is necessary to thorough inspect the entire brake system while teching your vehicle before going out on a track.
I have Tarox 6-piston calipers on one of my track vehicles, and they also do not have dust boots/seals. Even though they have three piston seals per piston, I still inspect them before doing any serious business at the track.
Rebuild kits for the Wilwood Dynalite caliper are under $10/caliper on last check (you can get them directly from FastBrakes, where you purchased your brake kit). Additionally, the calipers themselves are around $110/ea...so it may not be a bad idea to have a couple extra calipers on the shelf to use in between rebuilds.
-Andie
The Wilwood Dynalite (and other Wilwood calipers) are of sound design, generally speaking. However, as with all race-type calipers which lack dust boots, it is necessary to thorough inspect the entire brake system while teching your vehicle before going out on a track.
I have Tarox 6-piston calipers on one of my track vehicles, and they also do not have dust boots/seals. Even though they have three piston seals per piston, I still inspect them before doing any serious business at the track.
Rebuild kits for the Wilwood Dynalite caliper are under $10/caliper on last check (you can get them directly from FastBrakes, where you purchased your brake kit). Additionally, the calipers themselves are around $110/ea...so it may not be a bad idea to have a couple extra calipers on the shelf to use in between rebuilds.
-Andie
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From: Washington, DC, US
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (cobalt)
I have the Willwood Dynalite kit (Fastbrakes) and after 4 HPDE events and thousands of street miles no problems so far but the existence of a rebuild kit is good to know.
Just for my information though, are there ANY fixed, multi piston calipers that DO have dust seals? I'm not aware of any but then again I don't know alot about the subject.
Mike
Just for my information though, are there ANY fixed, multi piston calipers that DO have dust seals? I'm not aware of any but then again I don't know alot about the subject.
Mike
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From: Durham, NC, USA
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (92sleepR)
Not that this is remotely usefull for this thread, but yes, I'm 95% certain that the 4 piston calipers on my Tundra have dust seals.
Many cars come with 2 piston calipers, and most of them likely have dust seals as well.
Scott
Many cars come with 2 piston calipers, and most of them likely have dust seals as well.
Scott
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From: Kings Mt., NC
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (celica73)
I had a seal rupture on an OE freshly remanned caliper once. **** happens sometimes. Outstanding that you were not injured or the car damaged.
Wilwood has a very good reputation. Call them, explain what happened, I'm sure they'll bend over backwards to make you happy.
Wilwood has a very good reputation. Call them, explain what happened, I'm sure they'll bend over backwards to make you happy.
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From: Manitou Springs, CO
Re: Beware Wilwood calipers! (mityVR6)
I've seen StopTechs with worn/torn/icky looking seals on a Viper with air ducting upgrades. It just happens with time/use/heat/stress.
-Adam
-Adam
I regularly inspect my brakes to prevent things like this from happening though.
edit, NSX calipers have dust seals, and they will work wonderfully for street strip cars. Factory stuff is always the most dependable.
[Modified by PhucNguyen57, 2:18 PM 3/17/2003]
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Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (cobalt)
This is a very unfortunate occurence, indeed...thought I'm glad to hear that you were not injured/hurt in the incident.
The Wilwood Dynalite (and other Wilwood calipers) are of sound design, generally speaking. However, as with all race-type calipers which lack dust boots, it is necessary to thorough inspect the entire brake system while teching your vehicle before going out on a track.
I have Tarox 6-piston calipers on one of my track vehicles, and they also do not have dust boots/seals. Even though they have three piston seals per piston, I still inspect them before doing any serious business at the track.
Rebuild kits for the Wilwood Dynalite caliper are under $10/caliper on last check (you can get them directly from FastBrakes, where you purchased your brake kit). Additionally, the calipers themselves are around $110/ea...so it may not be a bad idea to have a couple extra calipers on the shelf to use in between rebuilds.
-Andie
The Wilwood Dynalite (and other Wilwood calipers) are of sound design, generally speaking. However, as with all race-type calipers which lack dust boots, it is necessary to thorough inspect the entire brake system while teching your vehicle before going out on a track.
I have Tarox 6-piston calipers on one of my track vehicles, and they also do not have dust boots/seals. Even though they have three piston seals per piston, I still inspect them before doing any serious business at the track.
Rebuild kits for the Wilwood Dynalite caliper are under $10/caliper on last check (you can get them directly from FastBrakes, where you purchased your brake kit). Additionally, the calipers themselves are around $110/ea...so it may not be a bad idea to have a couple extra calipers on the shelf to use in between rebuilds.
-Andie
Exaclty my outlook on the situation with aftermarket systems. I have a couple sets that get swittched in and out as needed. But I have never had a failure or a LEAK because I check regularly, and I have had mine for well over two years. Replacemnet parts are so cheap, and the rebuilds are easy to accomplish and very very affordable. Another thing, Clean those rocks out of there... Did you run off the track when the failed? Did you modify the caliper? looks like it in the second picture.
Schu
[Modified by MSchu, 11:51 PM 3/17/2003]
[Modified by MSchu, 11:52 PM 3/17/2003]
[Modified by MSchu, 11:54 PM 3/17/2003]
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From: Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (bb6h22a)
Spoon 4-piston calipers do not have dust seals, AFAIK, which is why they are able to make the calipers as thin as they do. I believe the piston seals are a bit more robust than those on the Wilwood Dynalite caliper, but as with all race-type calipers, it is a good idea to inspect them regularly.
-Andie
-Andie
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From: ham, al, usa
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (bb6h22a)
While this may or may not be true because you blew only one seal, if you are doing track events and 100mph at Laguna Seca sure sounds like it, if you are not running ducting to your front brakes to cool them, you can cook the seals in your calipers. I drive a Supra on the track (yes I own a honda too) and I have heard of guys cooking the seals on the stout factory set ups. Your brake system is one big heat sink and if you don't take the heat away sufficiently you will crack, cook, or screw up any system after a while. I don't understand why so many people don't duct their brakes. It is a simple rig job. Sorry you had a scary off like that.
Barry H.
Barry H.
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From: North Cal, CA
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (MSchu)
I am going to rebuild the calipers. I contacted Brian at Fastbrakes and he is going to send the rebuild kit. I've actually changed through many sets of pads on the car already.. could me pushing the pistons back so many times have caused them to wear out faster? I am running the 12" brakes behind 15" wheels which barely clear the caliper. There is maybe 2 mm between the edge of the caliper and the wheel. Is this a problem? According to Brian, they are designed for 15" wheels which should not be a problem.
I burned up the Polymatrix D pads that came with the brakes, changed to the C compound pads that were horrible and ate my paint, then got the DS2500 which overheated and crumbled after 1 event. I was running the DS3000 before the brakes went on me. They worked a lot better than the other pads. Does this mean the brakes are running very hot?
[Modified by ZK, 7:33 PM 3/19/2003]
I burned up the Polymatrix D pads that came with the brakes, changed to the C compound pads that were horrible and ate my paint, then got the DS2500 which overheated and crumbled after 1 event. I was running the DS3000 before the brakes went on me. They worked a lot better than the other pads. Does this mean the brakes are running very hot?
This is a very unfortunate occurence, indeed...thought I'm glad to hear that you were not injured/hurt in the incident.
The Wilwood Dynalite (and other Wilwood calipers) are of sound design, generally speaking. However, as with all race-type calipers which lack dust boots, it is necessary to thorough inspect the entire brake system while teching your vehicle before going out on a track.
I have Tarox 6-piston calipers on one of my track vehicles, and they also do not have dust boots/seals. Even though they have three piston seals per piston, I still inspect them before doing any serious business at the track.
Rebuild kits for the Wilwood Dynalite caliper are under $10/caliper on last check (you can get them directly from FastBrakes, where you purchased your brake kit). Additionally, the calipers themselves are around $110/ea...so it may not be a bad idea to have a couple extra calipers on the shelf to use in between rebuilds.
-Andie
Exaclty my outlook on the situation with aftermarket systems. I have a couple sets that get swittched in and out as needed. But I have never had a failure or a LEAK because I check regularly, and I have had mine for well over two years. Replacemnet parts are so cheap, and the rebuilds are easy to accomplish and very very affordable. Another thing, Clean those rocks out of there... Did you run off the track when the failed? Did you modify the caliper? looks like it in the second picture.
Schu
[Modified by MSchu, 11:51 PM 3/17/2003]
[Modified by MSchu, 11:52 PM 3/17/2003]
[Modified by MSchu, 11:54 PM 3/17/2003]
The Wilwood Dynalite (and other Wilwood calipers) are of sound design, generally speaking. However, as with all race-type calipers which lack dust boots, it is necessary to thorough inspect the entire brake system while teching your vehicle before going out on a track.
I have Tarox 6-piston calipers on one of my track vehicles, and they also do not have dust boots/seals. Even though they have three piston seals per piston, I still inspect them before doing any serious business at the track.
Rebuild kits for the Wilwood Dynalite caliper are under $10/caliper on last check (you can get them directly from FastBrakes, where you purchased your brake kit). Additionally, the calipers themselves are around $110/ea...so it may not be a bad idea to have a couple extra calipers on the shelf to use in between rebuilds.
-Andie
Exaclty my outlook on the situation with aftermarket systems. I have a couple sets that get swittched in and out as needed. But I have never had a failure or a LEAK because I check regularly, and I have had mine for well over two years. Replacemnet parts are so cheap, and the rebuilds are easy to accomplish and very very affordable. Another thing, Clean those rocks out of there... Did you run off the track when the failed? Did you modify the caliper? looks like it in the second picture.
Schu
[Modified by MSchu, 11:51 PM 3/17/2003]
[Modified by MSchu, 11:52 PM 3/17/2003]
[Modified by MSchu, 11:54 PM 3/17/2003]
[Modified by ZK, 7:33 PM 3/19/2003]
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From: somewhere out there, CA
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (ZK)
no, DS3000 has a special layer at the back plate, it actually helps to stop heat to go to the caliper.
[Modified by spoon_ek9, 4:07 PM 3/20/2003]
[Modified by spoon_ek9, 4:07 PM 3/20/2003]
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From: Washington, DC, US
Re: Beware Wilwood brake calipers! (ZK)
I am going to rebuild the calipers. I contacted Brian at Fastbrakes and he is going to send the rebuild kit. I've actually changed through many sets of pads on the car already.. could me pushing the pistons back so many times have caused them to wear out faster? ]
Mike