Whether you’re driving a modern street car, building up a dirt oval racer, or resto-modding a classic muscle car, good brakes are more than a luxury. When you must stop safely, you need absolute faith that your brakes will work when you hit the pedal. You’ve heard about them, but are Wilwood Brakes worth it?
Let’s cut to the chase. They’re worth it. When you choose to fit your vehicle with Wilwood rotors, calipers, master cylinders, or even just brake pads, you’re getting quality. Find out what makes them unique and how they stack up to other brands and applications where these parts stand out the most.
What's So Special About Wilwood Brakes?
You might be wondering how unique or special brake parts can be. Why pay more for pads, rotors, calipers, and other components than you could with economy or OEM-style parts? It’s because those lower-priced options might perform well most of the time, but when you can’t or don’t want to take even a remote chance of brake fade or failure, low pricing doesn’t matter anymore. It’s all about quality.
The thing is that Wilwood makes brakes that outperform. Decades of engineering have gone into producing every part they manufacture, and they have surprisingly excellent coverage for most makes and models – and engineers can help match up brakes that aren’t listed, too. Here’s what else sets them apart:
- Incredibly high standard for material quality. You won’t find cheap steel here. Wilwood uses high carbon steel, so stop after stop, you get smooth braking, unlike warped rotors or pad material embedded.
- Precision engineering. Wilwood works from digitized models and manufactures parts with precision techniques. While that doesn’t say much about performance, it says a lot about fitment and longevity.
- They’re designed for excellent heat dissipation. Even in extreme braking situations, straight or curved vanes or drilled and slotted designs more effectively dissipate heat, helping your brakes last longer and work more reliably.
- They look great. Seriously, they get style points. Grey, black, red, or other finish of calipers are great, but it goes further. The hat, for many kits, is electro-coated black for corrosion resistance, too.
- There are different performance levels. Want dependable street performance? When you need to get serious, there are 1, 2, 4 or 6-piston caliper options. And, of course, there are different grades of pads and rotors, including carbon ceramic brakes for exotic and high-performance vehicles.
How Wilwood Compares to Other Brakes
Now, there’s no question that the market for brakes has several options to choose from. Are Wilwood brakes any good compared to other big players? This isn’t to discount the quality or features of any other brands but to give you a comparison that might help you decide to go one way.
Wilwood vs Brembo
A few key distinctions emerge when comparing Wilwood and Brembo brakes. Each caters to slightly different needs and preferences in the automotive world. Both brands are renowned for their high-quality performance braking systems but serve distinct segments within the market.
Affordability
Nine times out of ten, Wilwood brakes are more affordable than Brembo kits. Of course, price isn’t everything regarding brakes, as we’ve mentioned before, but it counts for something. You might not be able to pull the trigger on Brembo components but have the budget to get into Wilwood.
Weight
You’ll get excellent brakes either way, but Wilwood is lighter. Its lower unsprung weight improves handling and acceleration for a more responsive driving experience.
Stopping Power
There’s a negligible difference between these top brands in terms of performance. The name recognition for Brembo is likely the biggest differentiator in which brand shoppers choose, not how well their car will stop. Either way, you’ll be coming to a halt in an instant.
Variety
Wilwood is the winner in this category for various applications, from street to racing and even industrial and UTV. They have more coverage for models and usually several options per vehicle.
Wilwood vs. EBC Brakes
It’s a bit of an unfair comparison to pit Wilwood against EBC Brakes, like comparing a steakhouse to a fast food joint. Still, EBC is a significant player in performance braking, so the questions must be asked.
Affordability
If you’re shopping on price alone, Wilwood isn’t going to win the battle here. EBC Brakes offers a more affordable lineup of brake pads, generally speaking. But if you’re willing to pay more for specialized brakes, the trade-offs are noteworthy.
Weight
Again, Wilwood takes the trophy for lightweight options if unsprung weight matters to you. And it does so without sacrificing stopping distances or longevity one iota. EBC isn’t a bad choice, but you can tell the difference when the packages arrive at your doorstep.
Stopping Power
Here’s where it’s a little unfair of a comparison. EBC isn’t just for the high-end car market or racing segment. They make brakes for everyday use, and they do great at it. But when the going gets tough (and hot), Wilwood will outshine every time with less brake fade and shorter distances.
Variety
There probably isn’t a make, model or year combination you can enter that won’t find at least a couple of options for EBC brake pads and rotors. They even have some calipers and big brake kits. But the coverage isn’t as complete as Wilwood's.
Wilwood vs. Dynamic Friction
Another popular brand for performance brakes is Dynamic Friction, or DFC. Again, they aren’t an apples-to-apples comparison as they cater to different market segments. Still, it’s worth a look to see which you might prefer.
Affordability
You’ll likely get into a set of DFC brakes for less money than a comparable set of Wilwood brakes. But that doesn’t mean DFC doesn’t have good-quality options, especially with their Active Performance line.
Weight
Unsprung weight is consistently an aspect where Wilwood outshines the competition. Being more of an OEM-style upgrade than a niche brake brand, DFC isn’t as focused on reducing weight. So if a few hundredths of a second on the quarter mile is crucial to you, Wilwood’s lower weight is the way to go.
Stopping Power
There’s no doubt that DFC brakes will be fine for your daily driver. At least, that’s the case until you make a few weekend passes on the track. The exceptional heat dissipation from Wilwood’s engineering puts them ahead in stopping power again.
Variety
For pads and rotors, DFC has excellent coverage for most models, but brake kits and calipers just don’t hold a candle to WIlwood’s offerings. Predominantly, you’ll want to look at Wilwood for something stylish.
What Kinds of Cars Benefit Most?
You could fit a Wilwood brake kit on your run-of-the-mill EcoBoost Mustang, but that’s not necessarily where they’re most suited. These brakes will shine in specialty applications where you don’t want the look affected by a film of rust or brake dust corroding onto the caliper or when there’s no room for error as you enter a corner. They’re intended for:
- High-performance sports cars and weekend warriors
- Upgraded braking for cars with power adders
- Resto-mod brake upgrades where OE brakes fall way short
Find Wilwood Brakes at JEGS
When high-performance braking matters to you, shop Wilwood Brakes at JEGS. Not only can you find a massive selection of Wilwood products, from pads and calipers to rotors, braided hoses, and brake pedals, but you can use our expertise to ensure you get the right parts for your application.
