[DeTomaso] Wilwood, Brembo brakes

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 3/6/15 13 16 27, patrickhals at gmail.com writes:


> I'd like to improve the brakes on my street Pantera.
> I will drive either with standard 15 " wheels, or may be 17 or more "...
> Not sure yet.
> 
>>>Well, it makes a BIG difference.

> >I'd like to have 6 pistons in the front, and 4 in the rear.
> 
>>>First of all, you simply can't fit any 6-piston calipers on the front of 
a Pantera with 15-inch wheels.   Just won't fit.   So you need to decide 
what kind of wheels you're going to run, OR be conservative and just get a 
system that will work with either.

Why do you think you want six-piston calipers?   I can assure you that 
there is NO measurable benefit over a quality four-piston caliper.   In fact, 
they use exactly the same brake pads!

I thought like you at first, and attempted to fit six-piston calipers on 
the front of my Pantera.   They simply would not fit.   Instead, I was able to 
fit extremely high-quality four-piston calipers with different-sized 
pistons, which are arguably better than the six-piston offerings.

> >Is there a direct fit for a Pantera with Wilwood brakes ? In 15 ? In 17 
> or
> more ?
> That is : disks, hats, calipers, master cylinder ( if it needs to be
> changed ??? ) ... and so on.
> 
>>>Yes.   All the Pantera vendors sell kits that will bolt straight up to 
your car.   Back in the good old days, all the available kits worked with 
15-inch wheels; now none of them do!   They all discontinued their 'old' kits 
and went for systems with larger rotors, bigger calipers etc. which force you 
to use 17-inch wheels.

Note that these systems offer no superior braking performance (at least not 
with street tires).   It's all about style and fashion.

Scott at SACC Restorations was eager to work with me to develop a system 
for use with my 8/10-inch Campagnolo wheels.  In the process, he learned a lot 
himself.   His caliper brackets spaced the calipers too far away from the 
center line of the spindle, and he had to make custom brackets just for me.   
Having said that, I think he could now replicate that for you as well.

I have 12.19 x 1.25 inch vented rotors and four-piston Wilwoods on all four 
corners now, and my brakes work great (well, my brake booster started 
leaking but that's another story).

> >If there isn't , where can I buy the parts to adapt the non DT system to 
> a
> Pantera ? What are the Wilwood references ?  .
> What about old Porsche "Brembo" brakes ( from 928 S4, 996, Turbo, .... )
> that should prove to be excellent ?
> Thank you !
> 
>>>A handful of people have adapted Porsche Brembo calipers to their 
Panteras.   They require custom brackets, and also will not work with 15-inch 
wheels.   So if you want to go that route, you have to do much of it yourself 
(Pat Mical offers a kit I think) and are committed to aftermarket wheels.

Mike

-------------- next part --------------
   In a message dated 3/6/15 13 16 27, patrickhals at gmail.com writes:

     I'd like to improve the brakes on my street Pantera.
     I will drive either with standard 15 " wheels, or may be 17 or more
     "...
     Not sure yet.

   >>>Well, it makes a BIG difference.

     >I'd like to have 6 pistons in the front, and 4 in the rear.

   >>>First of all, you simply can't fit any 6-piston calipers on the
   front of a Pantera with 15-inch wheels.  Just won't fit.  So you need
   to decide what kind of wheels you're going to run, OR be conservative
   and just get a system that will work with either.
   Why do you think you want six-piston calipers?  I can assure you that
   there is NO measurable benefit over a quality four-piston caliper.  In
   fact, they use exactly the same brake pads!
   I thought like you at first, and attempted to fit six-piston calipers
   on the front of my Pantera.  They simply would not fit.  Instead, I was
   able to fit extremely high-quality four-piston calipers with
   different-sized pistons, which are arguably better than the six-piston
   offerings.

     >Is there a direct fit for a Pantera with Wilwood brakes ? In 15 ?
     In 17 or
     more ?
     That is : disks, hats, calipers, master cylinder ( if it needs to be
     changed ??? ) ... and so on.

   >>>Yes.  All the Pantera vendors sell kits that will bolt straight up
   to your car.  Back in the good old days, all the available kits worked
   with 15-inch wheels; now none of them do!  They all discontinued their
   'old' kits and went for systems with larger rotors, bigger calipers
   etc. which force you to use 17-inch wheels.
   Note that these systems offer no superior braking performance (at least
   not with street tires).  It's all about style and fashion.
   Scott at SACC Restorations was eager to work with me to develop a
   system for use with my 8/10-inch Campagnolo wheels. In the process, he
   learned a lot himself.  His caliper brackets spaced the calipers too
   far away from the center line of the spindle, and he had to make custom
   brackets just for me.  Having said that, I think he could now replicate
   that for you as well.
   I have 12.19 x 1.25 inch vented rotors and four-piston Wilwoods on all
   four corners now, and my brakes work great (well, my brake booster
   started leaking but that's another story).

     >If there isn't , where can I buy the parts to adapt the non DT
     system to a
     Pantera ? What are the Wilwood references ?  .
     What about old Porsche "Brembo" brakes ( from 928 S4, 996, Turbo,
     .... )
     that should prove to be excellent ?
     Thank you !

   >>>A handful of people have adapted Porsche Brembo calipers to their
   Panteras.  They require custom brackets, and also will not work with
   15-inch wheels.  So if you want to go that route, you have to do much
   of it yourself (Pat Mical offers a kit I think) and are committed to
   aftermarket wheels.
   Mike