Alloy calipers for the 914..., Coming soon to a store near you! Options

[Rick_Eberle]

I just got off the phone with a guy here in Australia who is preparing a run of alloy calipers for the 914. Apparrently these are a direct replacement, including handbrake.

And for the xenophobes among you, yes they will be available right there in the USA.
So will these rims. (I just ordered a set of the rims today). It seems that the Formula Vee crowd here like 914 parts.

All this is still a few months away. (Except for my rims... they'll be here by Tuesday!)

[lapuwali]

Several reasons to not go four-piston. One, you can buy alloy four-piston calipers today from Wilwood, et al. They just need adapters. Two, a two-piston caliper would be cheaper to make. Three, if he's providing these to F-Vee racers, there may be rules about how many pistons are allowed.

The main reason to go four (or six or eight) pistons is that you want the same piston area spread over a "longer" arc of the rotor. The advantage here is you're gripping more of the rotor at the outer edge, which improves the leverage of the grip at the axle. With a different rotor, you can also remove the center section of the rotor (that the thinner but longer pads don't grip anymore) and replace it a lighter "hat", perhaps made out of aluminum. A glance at the front brakes on most recent sporting motorcycles is an excellent illustration of this.

However, if you're not going to change to a new style of rotor (which comes with its own costs, and may violate racing rules), then multiple pistons don't buy you much. You'll get some increase in leverage, but you can also increase braking power with slightly bigger pistons, too, for less money. You're already cutting weight significantly by using alloy instead of cast iron for the caliper body. It's also probable that these new calipers could use stock size pads, which simplifies long-term maintenance and reduces costs.

So, it's the usual cost v. improvement tradeoff. Alloy calipers with 40mm (up from 38mm stock) pistons that bolt on and use stock pads would be a very nice addition to the market, giving you better braking force with less weight and no hassles. Do the same for $100 per caliper and you'd have people lining up round the block for them. Do it for the rear with a stock handbrake setup and you're causing a riot. If they're also split and spacers can be easily made for them, and if the rears also have bigger pistons, then I can envision a kit available for under $1000 that gives vented rotors at all four corners with a working handbrake, less weight, an adjustable prop valve that's actually useful, all with four-lug wheels, alongside another bolt-on kit for under $500 that provides better brake balance and less weight (all unsprung), using stock rotors.