Wilwood brake kit

[benpopham]

Ok, I need some help.

I have wanted to order the Flyin' Miata little big brake kit for a while. I still have the stock NA6 brakes, with some new discs and Mintex pads, but they have never been great. I want to upgrade them and the Flyin Miata kit has always looked like the best to go for.

The only thing that has been stopping me ordering them is that the exchange rate GBP-USD is pretty crap and then with £80 postage and 20% import tax, it get pretty expensive.

Today I found a UK supplier for a very similar kit, they are called Freaky Parts.

They sell 2 different kits at a good price, their equivalent 'Little big brake' kit comes with the Wilwood PowerLite callipers (same as Flyin' Miata), BP-10 pads, brackets, and 270mm grooved discs for £499

http://www.freakyparts.co.uk/epages/es120337.sf/secbd8fb7b0f6/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es120337_es124285571161/Products/MX5_Mk1_Wilwood_Powerlite_Front/SubProducts/MX5_Mk1_Wilwood_Powerlite_Front-0001

Now the thing that is putting me off is that they say the PowerLite callipers are meant for cars under 750kgs, and would recommend using the bigger DynaLite calliper kit and that works out at £580. I have emailed them and they said that the PowerLite's are fine but I might wear through the pads at a faster rate.

I assume the PowerLite callipers are fine, and just wanted to chat with some people using the Flyin' Miata kit. I am not after track spec brakes, my car is a road car and will rarely see a track but I am fitting a turbo engine some time soon. I like that the PowerLite callipers are lighter and £80 cheaper is even better?

Talk to me...

[HarryB]

There's a guy here (Kostas, the bearded guy from One Lap Heroes actually) who has been using this for years in his trackday 1.6 turbo NA, with no complaints. He's actually posted a sale ad last week for them, as he's swapping an LFX at the moment and he's gonna need the extra power. I can ask him if they're still available, although I doubt it.

[benpopham]

Thanks for that, very good to know that people are using these kits. That’s the Little Big Brake kit right?

I’ll search for him :)

[DarylSibcy]

Ive been looking at FM’s LBBK for a long time myself :D I’ll see what I can add...

The main reason to get this kit is to lower your unsprung weight and heat dissipation. Something I’ll always urge is that the brakes aren’t “better” in the sense of stopping power, they’ll just cause your brakes to lock up sooner; especially without ABS like me. They will dissipate heat better, but mostly because the calipers are made from aluminium and the rotors they sit over are likely to be bigger than what you currently have anyway. The brakes will provide more feedback and a more sturdy “bite”, mostly because they’re stiffer than stock and because they’re four pot pistons though, not single pot like the stock ones.

Keith Tanner mentioned to me that’d they’d be solid until around 200whp, after that you want the Powerlite’s big brother, the Dynapro. If you intend on big power, as in 300+, get the mama jama set with the big bold six pot calipers.

Regardless, make sure you take your wheels into account, print off the brake template’s they provide on the item’s page. If you’re running 14’s the LBBK is the only one that’ll fit. Even then they don’t fit all 14” wheels; RPF1’s for example. The Powerlites will fit underneath the 14x7 +19 model, but only with at least with a 7mm spacer and in the front wheels only. +28’s don’t have a hope in hell, I’ve tried every measurement on mine. It’s the main reason why I’ll probably switch to 14x6 BBS wheels.... But that’s a different topic :lol:

Oh, and from what I’ve heard the hand brake is crap on the powerlites, worse than stock I believe. Doesn’t bother me, but it might bother you if you live on a hill or incline greater than 3 degrees.

HTH :D

[benpopham]

Thank you for the response, lots of interesting info in there.

It looks like from more reading and what you have said the PowerLite's will be perfect for my needs. The turbo engine will only be around 180hp, so within the limits of these. Also like you have said the massive lose in unsprung weight is a massive plus for me.

I have printed out the Flyin' Miata templates and the 10's and 11's are perfect with my Work Equips, I think I will go with the 10's as that is using stock 1.8 discs and easier to get hold of. I will just be using the 'fronts only' kit, so no messing with the handbrake for me :)

[DarylSibcy]

I will just be using the 'fronts only' kit, so no messing with the handbrake for me :)

Make sure you get a proportioning valve to dial in the rear brake bias. The front brakes are already doing most of the work when stock, let alone with wilwoods too...

[atlex]

Hi Ben.

I've got the FreakyParts kit on my turbo car with the DS2500 pads. Great kit for a good price. Just limits you on wheels (that is, most will need spacing out to clear the callipers).

Discussed it recently here on mighty5s re: what wheels, and also the mk2.5 big sports brakes, which is also awesome and have some subtle clearance issues too (as in RPF1s need spacers, and so do SSR Mesh)

www.mighty5s.com/threads/recent/2382

Also I recently saw the FP kit come up for sale 2nd hand on mx5nutz but a friend I know who wanted them may have grabbed them already.

BTW will you be coming to the Skuzzle RR day next saturday ? I see you're nearby. ..

www.mighty5s.com/thread/2352/mighty5s-birthday-rolling-road-24th?page=7

[benpopham]

Hey,

Thanks for that, I just read though that post. I am really looking at the smaller kit that Freaky Parts does with the PowerLite's, instead of the one with the DynaLite callipers. As they do look chunky and would definitely need spacers, and with my wheels I can't run spacers with out adding arches.... nope.

I didn't know Skuzzle was having another one of those days, I might pop down.

[FreakyParts]

Afternoon guys! Just spotted this thread and thought I'd say hi. The reason the Powerlites are only really used on the smaller kit cars is the pads are smaller so on the heavier MX5 they'll go through them faster. They do allow smaller wheels to be fitted though.
If you have any questions about the kits we manufacture, just ask :D