power3dfx

For those who are even remotely interested in brakes, read on. Before I begin explaining the current setup, its important to note that ive been through stock rotors and pads (warped), and then brembo blanks that warped. Also, the Hawk HPS pads couldnt prevent the fade i was getting with the stock setup.

Now onto the Wilwood 6 pot with 13" rotors. I still have some minor problems but Sherwin promises he will get me taken care of, and I will get the minor issue fixed sometime this week. Since Sherwin's shop is close by, i had them install it. Installation was very clean and everything was torqued to spec.

I havent felt much of a steering difference, but the car pulls more effortlessly. As for looks, look down below for some pics.

BRAKING POWER: Since they are relatively new, i haven't been able to completely work them as one would around a track. However, i have had enough time with them to say, well, WOW! The brakes are easily noticeablely stronger in hard braking. Fade should not present and though i havent tried for it, brake fade should be minimal since the setup is great at dissipitating heat. At 80 mph, my old brakes would hardly slow me down. With these, braking at 80 is so strong that your whole body can lurch forward and you can feel the bite between the tires and road is strong. These brakes will probably improve braking by 10-20 ft. depending on tires. I finally can say my car is able to stop better than the GS4, which has incredible braking!

So overall i am impressed with the 6 piston power, and the only thing i would recommend is that you DO NOT GET the cadmium plating. If you do, prepare to deal with vibrations for the first 1000 miles and its really annoying. Plus they only resist rusting on parts you cant see anyways, and it comes off of the rotor where the pad touches.



I have 5 mm spacers all around BTW, and the car is smooth. The spacers were well finished so i got the extra for the rear from Sherwin as well.

blader

Love the way it looks. How much did it come to? parts and install.

power3dfx

pricing is similar to the prices he posted before. i didnt get the rear set and so he subtracted the rear rotor and pad from the price. but i did get 2 extra spacers and with install it was about the same as getting the front and rear kit without install. total was about 1700, so figure 100 for install and an extra 50 bucks for the extra 2 spacers.
i dont remember the exact breakdown right off the top of my head.

car_lost

looks good!

usc

in that picture above, looks like the inner 1/3 of the rotor surface isn't being touched by the brake pads. are the pads seated properly?

Satin Slayer

Those look like TL-S rims...am I correct?

If so, how would the fitment be on CL-S rims?

I'll be in the market for brakes soon since my stock ones are almost gone. I just can't decide, but it looks like I'll be going with the wilwoods.

Would there be an issue with the 5mm spacer and s/c applications? I don't want to worry about mashing the pedal and see my wheels/brakes fly off.

BoostedM3

Nice review, but Im surprised you havent noticed any steering difference. When I had them put on, the steering was much ligher than stock. The caliper/rotor combo is like 15lbs lighter per wheel.

NSX-Tuner

Looks great!!!

No wheel fitment problems with the 13" rotors and 5mm spacer? I'm surprised, that looks like a tight fit. Any concerns about excessive wheel bearing wear with the spacers?

power3dfx

the pad is seated properly, and the pad will actually reach more of the rotor area. however, you are right, there will be some area of the rotor which is not touched at all. this is the case with all BB kits, whether its oem or aftermarket.

power3dfx

steering was only slightly lighter than stock, and since it was so subtle, im already used to it. but yes it is lighter than the stock set up.
we weighed everything and its a total of 3-4 lbs. each rotor and 5-6 lbs each caliper.

power3dfx

cls6sp03,
with 5 mm spacers, i have no worries about any damage. if you see the actual spacers, they are very thin and will hardly make a difference at all. in fact, i like them as the car seems to handle slightly more confident(this could be due to the lighter brakes though and not the spacers)
also, the wheels sit more plush with the fender, which is another plus. i tried to go smaller with the spacer, but i doubt anything else would work and i wouldnt recommend anything smaller. 5 mm is perfect!

usc

actually, mine's now wearing pretty much on all available rotor surface.

i did have a problem when i originally went w/ aem o.e. caliper setup.

NSX-Tuner

power3dfx,

Just got off the phone with Sherwin. This guy really seems to know his stuff. The installed price for the CL seems very reasonable too. I'm seriously considering making a trip down to LA to get the brake upgrade from him.

However, I'd be interested about which remaining issues you need resolved before I move forward with the brake upgrade.

thanks...

njtls2

man....i need those so bad...is it possible to get in red?...i'd be hard to strip the paint off my rear calipers being that is the paint on

power3dfx

My only problem is with the CAD plating, DONT GET IT!

All it does is protect against rust, it has no perf. effect. It causes vibrations for the first 1000 miles. Otherwise i really dont have any other problems. If you do not get plating, you will not have any problems from the beginning. CAD plating is known to give vibrations, and its mainly for looks so i wouldnt recommend it. If you think stock brakes are good, wait till you get these!

If you decide to come down, let me know so that maybe we can meet up if im around the area. I think the brakes are worth every penny.

Think of it this way:
Next time you are slamming on your brakes, and you just barely make it, you will be thankful for the extra 10-15 ft. these brakes have helped. So if they can save you from rear ending someone (which would at least cost you your deductable plus insurance would go up), i think they actually will pay for themselves.
I mean, its hard to justify engine mods as anything for safety, since they only improve speed. But with brakes and suspension mods, you are improving your chances of preventing an accident, and thats quite significant in my eyes.

Jon

njtls2

you have any pics with the wheel off so i could get a better look?...also where do i get these brakes?

NSX-Tuner

power3dfx,

Thanks for the info. When it comes time to do the brake upgrade, I'll definetly contact with you.

I've been thinking about doing a track day to get some driving instruction for road racing. But until I get the brake upgrade, I'll have to wait. Hopefully, no longer until the beginning of this summer.

power3dfx

sorry, no pics with wheel off. however, they are even more appealing without the rims. with aftermarket rims, these will look great. ill pm you contact info for the guy who got me setup.

Chemmech

power3dfx, these brakes ain't no Joke . You should consider getting the rear also, they made a noticeable difference too. My experience with the setup is that the harder you push them, the better they stop.

Chemmech

power3dfx, do you get any wheel hop at wot vsa off with the setup? I haven't noticed any on my car, but my tires are a little on the bald side.

power3dfx

i get hop at times, other times just spin. it depends on launch. i got pilot sports with decent tread left if that tells you something. i would assume the balder the tire the more spin rather than hop.

for the rear, i have hawk pads which i think is sufficient enough. i noticed a difference with those when i changed the rears first then did the fronts, all this before i switched to the wilwood.

i doubt we will get rid of wheel hop without actually modifying the susp. itself; lowering rotational mass of the front wheels will not rid wheel hop, though it should be affected.

EricL

Curious:

Have you noticed or even tried any hard driving with VSA on up in the hills?

Chaptorial

Looks awesome. Now you've got some serious stopping power.

DocofMind

Here you go. This is actually an NSX, but I use the same exact components for both vehicles.

DocofMind

That was pic was taken with 1 mile on the car. Just moved from the bay to my store front. Once the plating wears it ll all be even.

CL SLeePeR

So is there an application for a 03 TLS? How much for all for corners, and for just the fronts?


Thanks..

juice

Is that a TL-S or CL-S? I was wondering because I see the side molding. I was thinking about putting some on my CL-S. If it is a CL-S, please post another pic of the side of the car.

EricL

BTW, don't underestimate the effect of the lower unsprung weight (calipers and rotors) *and* the lower rotational inertia from the lighter disks.

I called about the VSA and other issues and was rather impressed with the responses I got from Sherwin @ Brakezone.

Setup rocks!

Additional info: will fit 17x8 +48 SSR Comps "as is"; no spacers, etc.

When you finish "bedding them in", would you post additional comments?

TIA

power3dfx

ericL, i have driven up the hills if you are referring to sepul. towards the valley. i recently noticed VSA light up especially since i did push it hard.
ive had 300 miles on them, and with a few hard brakes ive noticed these things are grippy and definately there is extra power.
the old stock brakes just couldn't cut it.

BTW, DocofMind sold me the kit and has taken care of me well so far.

Last thing is that i dont think there is that much weight loss of the front end, here is the weights we got while we did the exchange:

Wilwood 6 piston setup (4 piston will give another pound or two):
WW: Stock:
Caliper- 5 lb 10.5 lb
Rotor- 11 lb 15 lb

The hat for the WW would add less than one pound. All the hardware is also lighter, but i dont have the weight of the stock hardware to compare.

Total difference comes to about 11 lbs each side, only 4 of those lbs are rotating though which is the more important figure.

22 lbs off the front end should help a good amount, but that wasnt the reason i got the setup.

CL SLeePeR

power3dfx

my car is a tls, but this has been fitted into a cl with no problems. as for price, ask sherwin from brake zone. pm him at DocofMind

sgmotoring

I email wilwood and they say they don't have anything for a CL-S.

BoostedM3

thats b/c Sherwin makes the kit himself. The rotors are custom drilled to the specs of the CL/TL and he matches it with the Wilwood calipers and/or pads. Wilwood does not sell the kit, own Brakezone.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

It's mounted backwards. That's the front passenger side wheel, correct?

The slots are supposed to curve towards the back of the car. The current set up is facing the opposite and will trap the gas. There's a reason why the slots are curved.

Have them change it.

Looks great otherwise.

usc

the direction of the slotting is irrelevant. what is more important is the internal vanes. if the rotors have directional vanes (which most 13"+ rotors have, those need to spin in the correct direction.

DocofMind

This gentleman knows what he is saying. The direction of the slots and drills dont play a significant factor. Its the internal vanes that make a difference in cooling.

Another feature I would like to point out are the scallops in the hat. If you notice, the hat is not completely round, ther are small cut outs in it. These scallops also aid in cooling in the most critical part of the rotor, the eye.

power3dfx

Sherv, my vanes are going the wrong way! J/k bro. I still havent installed the clips, but ill keep you updated on that.

mattg

someday soon, those 6 pots will be mine.

power3dfx

damn you matt, havent you lost enough weight?!!!

mattg

my car is anorexic.