engine and drivetrain Daily driving brakes - Wilwood

[Dooseone]

Hey guys,

I'm now planning an M20 swap, with potential to turbo in the future, see how the diff holds up.

I digress - is anyone familiar with the 15" Wilwood front big brake kit that is offered by ireland engineering? - link: http://www.iemotorsport.com/bmw/2002-brake-kits/02bbk300mm15.html

and/or the rear Wilwood brake kit with parking brake - link: http://www.iemotorsport.com/bmw/2002-brake-kits/02wilwoodrear.html

If so, thoughts on the kit itself? I'm looking to daily drive the car after the swap and am curious if the kit is engineered appropriately.

I called an engineer regarding my build (as here in Australia, everything must be engineered to register the vehicle), and he said the biggest issue I will face is brakes and seats, and that he had seen a Wilwood kit fitted to another car that, in his opinion, wasn't suitable to daily driving.

So! to summarise, is this kit suitable to daily driving? if not, I'd appreciate alternate suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

[Modifier]

The Wilwood kit is definitely suitable to daily driving. What it comes down to is your pad selection. I would not go with the race pads that need heat to work properly. Go with the street pads and you will be fine. I have the front Wilwood kit from Lee (Massive) and my rears are the VW setup and I can see no problems using it as my daily.

[M3M3M3]

see the last few pages of my build thread. i just installed this setup and documented it.

WAY overkill for a street car. rear caliper is extreme close fit, as is front with 15in wheels.

[creede]

Modifier,

I've got Lee's front kit as well, but I'm looking for rear brakes right now. Are you using the VW disk kit from Aardvark? I'm pretty sure Blunt is running the same setup. Are you doing anything different for your master or booster?

FYI I'm doing an M20 swap too. Ireland front and rear is more than sufficient, maybe even overkill.

[Brandon]

I have Wilwoods on the front of my 02 which I use for the track so I have race pads. The brakes work excellent and provide a large amount of stopping power, I also have rear disks on my car. The best part about the Wilwoods is they are significantly lighter than the OEM calipers so you can save some weight on the car. The Wilwoods are probably overkill for the street but they do look cool!

[AceAndrew]

As mentioned, it is pretty much overkill on the street, but they are very "streetable". However you are going to be running an M20, so that changes things a bit.

I put together these IE kits for some time, if you want to talk specifics, brake balance, booster, etc... (or would like some additional pics) just email me.

[tim385]

Ive got wilwoods (IE) on front and Ardvark on the rear on race car , yes overkill for a street car , but yes ,as has been said ...look good . I cant see an issue but if there is, the other alternative is the Volvo upgrade on the front , everything is avail locally but get the calipers from Blunt rather than getting a set and rebuilding them (its cheaper).

[M3M3M3]

The best part about the Wilwoods is they are significantly lighter than the OEM calipers so you can save some weight on the car.

i should have weighed mine in the process but i think this may be a fallacy. yes, the calipers are lighter, but the big vented rotors are heavier than the stock rotors, so the net weight change is a wash.

one other note....the engine you have in the front makes no difference at all in your brake selection. brake selection is based on how you drive the car. engines don't use brakes, bleeding off speed does. it you have a 500hp turbo monster engine but only use it to put-put between car shows or daily drive, stock brakes are fine. if you have a stock m10 but use the car for endurance racing, you may need better brake system.

improving brake systems is never a bad thing, but it is definitely not a requirement just because you put more HP in the car.

and yes, Andrew and the team at IE are great to work with. they have a range of brake solutions from mild to wild.

[Brandon]

The best part about the Wilwoods is they are significantly lighter than the OEM calipers so you can save some weight on the car.

i should have weighed mine in the process but i think this may be a fallacy. yes, the calipers are lighter, but the big vented rotors are heavier than the stock rotors, so the net weight change is a wash.

To be more specific prior to installing the Wilwoods, I was running the Tii big brake upgrade using 5-series OEM calipers and '77 320I vented rotors. I simply swapped the 5-series calipers for the Wilwoods and maintained the same '77 320 rotors which also work with the Wilwoods. The Willwoods are lighter than the 5-series calipers.