Skip to main content

There was an unexpected issue forwarding you to "Twitter" for authentication. Please try again later.
×

I went up and picked up my brake parts this morning and as I was loading them into the car, something occurred to me that previously hadn't:

Going from a ~10lb/side drum to a hub adapter/disc/5 wide adaptor/caliper has got to be adding 30lbs unsprung weight per side to my car. Geez, these calipers are as heavy as the ones on my Mercedes ML 500!

Anyone have some experience with this you'd like to share? Seems like, at a minimum, I'm going to have to rethink the front shocks. I'm glad I didn't throw the Bilsteins (that were way too stiff) I replaced with KYBs away. 

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

That's one of the reasons I went with the Airkewld aluminum hub front brakes. They are heavy, but nowhere in the same league as the all cast-iron ones. The Wilwood calipers are light.

I compensated for the extra weight by switching to the Vintage190 aluminum wheels.

I really like the plain old non-gas adjustable Konis in the front.

Which kit did you get?

@Carlos G posted:

Do show and tell about the tank when it happens. That's one of the weak points that I want to address on my car too. 

Why hasn't someone drilled the piss out of one of those rotors yet? There is a LOT of meat on it.

I was thinking the same thing. Not just the rotors, either.  I'm thinking a 1300lb car doesn't really need a 1/2" piece of plate steel to bolt the wheels to.  These things may be going in a serious diet before I put them on. image

Attachments

Images (1)
  • image

We've talked about this before- this is the issue with the low budget cast iron 5x205 front brake kits.  You'll find the extra weight will give the front tires (and brakes) more bite (and even balance the car a little more), but it's all unsprung rotating weight (which is exactly what you DON'T want)!  I picked a rotor assembly up at a friend's garage and my reaction was "holy crap these things are heavy!"  As you've guessed, anything built with weight in mind (Airkeweld, Coolstop- I don't know of anything else?) is not cheap, but you get what you pay for.  Right now I'm looking at CB's aluminum hubbed (#4182) 5x130mm rotors/hubs- $189.00 a side.  I'll post here when I hear what they weigh.

  Please weigh them before you start the weight reduction program.  And you know we're gonna need pics...   Al

PS- I have drilled a few holes in a couple of things in my time, so if you need to talk about it pm me...

Last edited by ALB

There's always talk about how a Beck Spyder weighs 1300 pounds. I've never seen one that light. Did you weigh it yourself or is it just folklore? Vintage Spyders weigh around 1500, and the couple Becks I weighed were 1400 or more. This makes sense to me given the frame differences.

I ended up with the Airkewld wide5 4 piston caliper kit, and the single piston rear with e-brake. The rotors have lots of holes in them, anyway, but the aluminum bits are all solid. The brakes are occasionally noisy, squeak a little sometimes is all. The bottom line, they stop really well, repeatedly, with no fade. Even a half-hour of lapping LRP with 500 pounds of driver and passenger didn't faze them.

The front brakes do add width, according to Airkewld it's 3/8" per side, but I measured double that. It's more like 3/4". The only way to compensate for that is to put in a 2" narrowed beam, though that isn't gonna happen to ANY existing Spyder. I was lucky enough to have a second chance and get Greg to install the very first narrowed beam in a Spyder.

Last edited by DannyP
@ALB posted:

I don't know where you came up with that, Carlos, but I'm liking it...

By just picking it up.

This was an extra one with a untrue rotor. I took it to my machinist buddy so he could use it to mount up a steel wheel and check if it'll fit on his mill or CNC machine. I might get him to cut the rotor off and trim it down to use as a balancing plate.

Of course, it's easy making holes on a computer. 

Cheesy Wide 5 rotor 2

Attachments

Images (1)
  • Cheesy Wide 5 rotor 2
Post Content
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×