viper caliper on 11.75 rotors....any advice

[TROUBLE987]

Well, I don't know if it would be practical to have a forum tagged of all the stock track width and simply  changes out the calipers is all.
They are both available with 11.75 or 13" rotors. They both use Brembo calipers. That makes them darn near identical enough that there would be no appreciable difference. However, Dr. Diff does offer a kit, whereas the ARE set up requirs you source all teh different parts.

No i agree hp2..its just alot of the guys find normal stuff that can be found in salvage yards and part stores that can work great on our cars and save us money..and it would be nice to look in a tech section and have the info..like goody had a website wth all types of stuff like that and it was very helpful thats all im trying to say!!!

[HP2]

Okay, in that spirit here are a couple of brake options to consider;

If you have drum brakes, you can change to 11.75 rotors using viper calipers with the brackets in this picture. If you have small bearing drums, the bearing sleeve and seal kit from Dr Dff overcomes this problem. This kit should fit most 15" wheels, but the Viper is a huge caliper.



If you have disc brakes and want to loose some weight and have a greater selection of pad compounds, the Wilwood set may be a good set up for you. Calipers can be picked up from Summit or Jegs for around $250.



For sake of comparison, the stock caliper is 10#, the viper is 8#, wilwood is 4#. The stock brackets are 3.5#, the vipers are 2.5# and the wilwoods are 1#. The stock calipers have three, maybe four choices in pad compound while the viper and wilwoods calipers easily have a dozen choices or more. This is good if you plan on using your car for something other than cruising or drag racing.
 

[TROUBLE987]

Okay, in that spirit here are a couple of brake options to consider;

If you have drum brakes, you can change to 11.75 rotors using viper calipers with the brackets in this picture. If you have small bearing drums, the bearing sleeve and seal kit from Dr Dff overcomes this problem. This kit should fit most 15" wheels, but the Viper is a huge caliper.



If you have disc brakes and want to loose some weight and have a greater selection of pad compounds, the Wilwood set may be a good set up for you. Calipers can be picked up from Summit or Jegs for around $250.



For sake of comparison, the stock caliper is 10#, the viper is 8#, wilwood is 4#. The stock brackets are 3.5#, the vipers are 2.5# and the wilwoods are 1#. The stock calipers have three, maybe four choices in pad compound while the viper and wilwoods calipers easily have a dozen choices or more. This is good if you plan on using your car for something other than cruising or drag racing.
 

Ok well i got both spendles..i got the factory 71 drum,and a kit i bought,and i think it has the later models spindels..so ill check that out..so whats the adapters go for,if i want to use the wilwood calipers..also how big can i go on the rotor

[HP2]

Adapters for either set go for $180, depending on source. I can likely beat that price and get you down around $160 a set.

Both of these kits are designed for the large bearing, 11.75, factory rotor.

Wilwood does make an aluminum hub/hat assembly with a modular 12.19 rotor, which is the biggest you can put in a 15" rim, for around $1200.

[TROUBLE987]

well im wanting to run the 18x9-18x10.5,the brakes i got in a kit look like this,but im wanting the bigger brakes so i guess im going to sell this but im not sure..i dont want the rotor to look lost in the big wheels

[HP2]

With an 18" wheel you can easily run a 13" brake kit. Depending on the hoop, you may be able to get a 14" rotor in there as well. 11.75" will look smaller. Best bet might be to see if you can locate any pics on pro-touring or lateral g of big wheel/small brake combos and see if you can live with the look.

[TROUBLE987]

With an 18" wheel you can easily run a 13" brake kit. Depending on the hoop, you may be able to get a 14" rotor in there as well. 11.75" will look smaller. Best bet might be to see if you can locate any pics on pro-touring or lateral g of big wheel/small brake combos and see if you can live with the look.

thx hp2,you been alot of help...quick question why is some of the adapter kits seem high..i was just surfing the web and seen where mancini wants 995.00 just for the rotors,adapter,hub,and bolts..i mean if was going to spend 1000 i mine as well just order a whole system complete..but maybe im wrong..check it out.http://chucker54.stores.yahoo.net/caadki.html

[HP2]

Don't know exactly, different vendors set different price points based on the margin they need to operate at.

Dr Diff's $800 cobra kit that is complete looks like a heckuva better deal than Mancini's $995 kit that still requires you go find $500-1000 worth of calipers.

By contrast, Mancini's $180 price for brackets is not too bad at all.

[TROUBLE987]

Don't know exactly, different vendors set different price points based on the margin they need to operate at.

Dr Diff's $800 cobra kit that is complete looks like a heckuva better deal than Mancini's $995 kit that still requires you go find $500-1000 worth of calipers.

By contrast, Mancini's $180 price for brackets is not too bad at all.

im starting to find out that dr diff has alot of things i need..does he have a matching set front and rear,or do you know?i got to order a set of offset shackles anyway..well i guess i need to sell all this i have,so what do you thinks a good price for this stuff..i have had it a while,but its brand new stuff..not used..i have everything to convert a drum to disc for the front..?

[TROUBLE987]

So what you guys think its worth?

[brads70]

HP2   my head is spinning with all this info!
Is there an adapter available to adapt a Viper and/or Wilwood caliper to a 73-74 E-body spindle?
In your opinion, what's better the Viper Caliper or the Wilwood caliper?
Will either work with 15" rims?   In my case with my rims being aftermarket fitment is a big unknown.

[HP2]

Depends on the spindle. Vipers adapt to drum spindles, Wilwoods adapt to disc spindles. Both are designed to match the 11.75 rotor, so should fit most 15" wheels. I've checked numerous wheels, to include OEM steelies, and haven't found anything they won't clear yet, but some aluminum wheels from the '60s and '70s were drum or disc specific, so I'm sure there are wheels out there they won't fit.

Viper caliper is larger and more rigid, so it deflects less, but this size can cause interference with some wheels. They are also OEM engineered for long life and minimal maintainence on the street, but rebuilds can take some time or dollars to complete.

Wilwoods are small and lighter, will fit more wheels and have a large slection of pads from multiple distributors. They can be rebuilt quick and easy, but the lack of dust seals means you need to check them more regularly if used on a semi regular driver.

I can't say either one is a better performer than the other based on all teh feedback I've seen.

[ajantics]

HP2 thanks for all the info! Do you sell a bolt on kit for a 1970 barracuda with stock drum spindles that will fit with a 17" rim?

[brads70]

So nothing exists to mount Viper calipers on a disc spindle? I ask as a buddy has a complete extra front clip from a wrecked Viper brakes included that I might be able to get the calipers from.
Maybe I'll have to warm up the bridgeport? The caliper bracket doesn't look to complicated to make?

[HP2]

HP2 thanks for all the info! Do you sell a bolt on kit for a 1970 barracuda with stock drum spindles that will fit with a 17" rim?

A kit, no, not any more. 5-6 years ago I used to try to do this, but so many new options have come out in the last few years and my supply channels have changed so many times that it become impractical for me to try and carry stock of things I'd only sell ever year or two and then I was paying close to Summit/Jegs/Rock Auto priced retail prices because I don't buy enough quantity to get decent price breaks, so I packed it in . Now days I occasionally will round up a menagerie of parts based on my own projects, pick up a few extra pieces along the way, and sell them. I can usually get you anything AR Engineering sells for less than many other retailers, but that's about it anymore.

You can mount a Viper adapter to your drum spindles, but the 11.75 rotor will look a bit small. You would also need the Dr Diff bearing spacer to put the big bearing 11.75 rotors on your small bearing spindles. However, if you really want to fill up the space created by a 17" rim and want to do it without breaking the bank, the Dr Diff 13" Cobra brake kit may be what you want.

So nothing exists to mount Viper calipers on a disc spindle? I ask as a buddy has a complete extra front clip from a wrecked Viper brakes included that I might be able to get the calipers from.
Maybe I'll have to warm up the bridgeport? The caliper bracket doesn't look to complicated to make?

I asked ARE about this and they said they are not interested in making a bracket to put the Viper caliper on the disc spindle using 11.75 rotors. They do make a kit to adapt 13" rotors, Viper calipers (old or new style) to disc spindles though. I agree, milling up an adapter to locate the calipers is not a hugely difficult thing to do if you are familiar with a mill.