Re: Wilwoods for 4KQ for $795????????????????

["Gary G. Erickson" <erickson@teleport.com>]

glen wrote:
 
> Have not received my new EC issue yet. Tell us more about the $795 Wilwood brake kit for the 4KQ! > Exactly what is included???

Glen,

I too ran straight home to my latest EC when I saw that message.

Here's what the ad listed:

* Wilwood Billet Aluminum 4 Piston Calipers
* 11" Brembo rotors (those shown in picture are cross-drilled)
* Goodridge stainless brake lines
* High Performance Street Pads
* Anodized Aluminum bracketry

It also says that each kit is shipped preassembled, and that there are
kits available for all A1, A2, A3 Golfs & Jettas, Passats and Audi
Coupes, 4000 & 5000 (including quattros) all for the bargain price of
$795.

Calling them is on my list of things to do today, but here's what I was
able to determine by spending a little bit of time with a Wilwood
catalog and magnifying glass.  (This is assuming that the picture and
description are accurate)

The calipers that they used in the illustration are Wilwoods 4-pot
Dynalite II's.  The pads that fit this particular caliper don't appear
to have as much surface area as even the stock 4k/GT brake pads, and
nowhere near the surface area of the pads used in the G60 calipers.  (I
have the pad sizes on a sticky note in front of me if anyone's really
interested)

And an 11" rotor is what the 4k/GT cars would end up with during a G60
caliper conversion, but that's not really an upgrade for the 44 body
cars that already have 11" rotors.

So, I guess the question here is, exactly _how_ good are these calipers,
and are they going to provide enough clamping force (and stopping power)
to warrant the $800 price tag?  The ad lists this kit as "Maximum
Stopping Power per dollar," but  . . . . . ?

I'd love to hear comments from those folks who have more experience with
this style of brake caliper, and any personal experience with the
Dynalite II calipers.

Any thoughts as to pros/cons of this type of upgrade versus the G60
upgrade that's already a popular option for the 4k/GT cars?

later,

Gary