Shadowman Shares a Warning

[Shadowman]

Well after several days of considering the possibilities I feel that I need to share that which was brought to my attention; in fact I spoke with the person that was intimately invloved with this system again today because it concerns me so much.

Now once you read this if the shoe fits I suggest that you wear it and if not or you elect not to investigate it further at least I have shared that which was shared with me.

I have been aware that several folks had the Wilwood big brake kits installed by "G" and if like myself assumed that they were properly spec'd and tested before being brought to market; apparently this was not the case in fact;

I was told that they were installed and then during at least one track event there was a significant brake bias issue which caused the rear wheels of all things to lock up as such they were removed from one of "G's" cars and the OEM system was reinstalled.

Because I fear that most will not experience such a situation on a track but rather on the street the results could be devastating.

Here is what I know;

The alternate Wilwood brakes were installed and there was no compensating for pressures front to rear aka brake bias as such the likelihood of a pair of wheels locking up remains high. There was no adjustable proportioning valve or check valves installed during this conversion to compensate for the changes in bias from OEM

Now during normal boulevard cruising the issue will never show its ugly head however under an extreme braking situation it would happen so quickly that for most the ability to react would never be there.

Let me reiterate; I had no desire to make this post and mean no harm in doing so but rather hope that those that had the systems installed find the time to have the systems operation verified with heavy emphasis on the brake bias aka front to rear.

There are many personal touch tweaks that pose little or no associated risk however I am a stickler for good tires and proper operating brakes.

Takes care

Shadowman

 

[BlackICE]

Maybe a simple call to MG at G and the problem can be resolved under warrantee. That is if you can buy your old calipers back from eBay before someone else buys them.

:ack:frown:ack

 

[B O N Y]

Bill,
Pls repost in the GTX section and I will sticky it.
Thanks.

 

[MK2_GT]

Shadow I sent you a PM. thanks.

 

[cmoody32]

I have sent a PM as well. I needed some further input as I am chatting with Jason Heffner about the situation.

Thanks

 

[dbk]

I have sent a PM as well. I needed some further input as I am chatting with Jason Heffner about the situation.

Thanks

Heff knows well about the pitfalls of adversely affecting the brake bias.

 

[Shadowman]

*** UPDATE ***

I just had a long chat with Mark and he confirmed the situation.

He will be posting his recomendation however as I undertand the initial Wilwood brake system used 6 piston front and 6 piston rear calipers and it was with this setup that the brakje bias was way off and caused not only the rear brakes to lock up but also for him to experience the spinning of the car twice under extreme track conditions.

He said that the fix is to remove the 6 piston Wilwood rear calipers and install 4 piston Wilwood calipers.

Please look at youre brake system and if you have 6 piston Wilwood calipers on the rear this corrective measure should be considered as "NEEDED"

Again I share that Mark assured me that he will make a post and fill in the details better than I have

All the best

Shadowman

 

[Shadowman]

**** My Final Update ****

As with all I respectfully await Mark's direction however this situation was also presented to "The GT Guys" aka Rich and Denis a short time ago and without so much as a hesitation they recommend that the gals have the OEM Brembo brake system reinstalled.

The OEM Brembo system was thoroughly tested as such there is empirical data that confirms that they not only work; but work very well.

Now I too like and install some of the cool custom brakes that are offered for a variety of Marquees however never without empirical data that confirms that they operate as well or better than OEM and are safe in all braking conditions. Sadly there is no such data for the Wilwood brake system when associated specifically with the Ford GT Supercar; and the key word IMO is Supercar because these cars were designed and do run at extreme speeds as such "NEED" extreme brakes.

The only empirical data that we have for the Wilwood brake system is that with 6 piston calipers at the front and rear the bias is off enough to cause the rear brakes to lock up under extreme conditions and place the gal in an uncontrolled spin and then we also know that by installing 4 piston Wilwood calipers at the rear this seemed to have corrected the problem however there was no definitive testing done.

Takes care

Shadowman

 

[B O N Y]

thank you Bill,
please repost your data on the other thread.
this is a concerning issue.