aj986s

Agree. Even another 10 mph on a straighaway will put a lot more stress the brakes. In my 140HP 944Cup, I'm hitting around 115 mph before braking at the end of my home track's main straight. With a lot more HP, I'd be hitting much more than that. Current brakes would require braking MUCH MUCH sooner, whereas an improved braking system could give me a bit more time at speed before getting on the binders. Of course an improved braking system also means I could brake later even with my current HP. But at some point lockup becomes a potential issue. Threshold braking has to be learned, whereas more modern cars allow ABS to do the work for you. I'm not a scientist/engineer, but I believe there is a physical limit relative to braking performance, and beyond that parts are $$ overkill.

Unless you're left foot braking, you're not on the throttle while under braking, so there shouldn't be a significant difference. Unless you've completely changed the motor setup so that it has alot more mass/compression such that engine braking becomes significant.

jharding

I concur that well maintained N/A brakes are just fine. I tracked my car for several years in DE with stainless lines, race pads, slotted rotors up front, stock rotors in the rear, fresh fluid, fresh brake bleeds, and front brake cooling kits <insert shameless plug: which are available for sale>.

What doesn't work so well? Driving home from LRP one night, with race pads nice and cool, towing my tire trailer, some asshat cut out in front of me, with no apparent rush to accelerate. I got on the binders hard and just kept getting closer and closer to his rear bumper. Luckily I managed to avoid a collision, but it was not by much. I kept my nice European halogen high beams on him the whole way back!

ritzblitz

I have the wilwood front calipers on my 83.

What hasn't been mentioned in this thread is the weight savings. 7lbs less unsprung mass per side is a big deal.

fred27

good point about the unsprung weight. would appreciate your impressions about the wilwood calipers.
how do you find the braking performance and the front / rear balance. Thanks

86 951 Driver

So you would use 87-up 951 rotors with those hubs?

cmitchell66md

totally agree

Tiger03447

Go with something other than the Volvo 4 pots. I have been down this route. Volvo ran double and single brake lines to their calipers. Their early cars all ran double brake lines in the front from the M/C to each front caliper. Those are the non-ABS ones. to use those you'll have to finagle the brake ports a bit. The ABS ones have a single line to the caliper. You can get the right side all day long, but the left front is of unobtanium. Most of those models of Volvo's here on the east coast have been crushed. You'll also have to use a steel brake line adapter from the caliper to the braided hose to clear the spindle. Once you get the caliper on, there is very little room for the braided line to go into the induction port. You have to make a hard right hand bend with the steel line, then you can screw the braided on into that. My AEROQUIP hydraulic guy helped me a BUNCH with this dilemma. Good luck...Wish I had known about the GTO calipers last year. I use stock pads on my '83 with this setup.

Tiger03447

The reason that you have to change out the spindle and the bearings is because the N/A early spindle uses cast in tabs to mount the caliper on. The later model cars used a radial mount system to mount the calipers to the spindle. Totally different critters. Unless Rennbay has an adapter for mounting the Wildwoods to an early caliper, you better have deep pockets for this upgrade.HTH some.