Todd TCE
07-29-2012, 10:48 AM
I know some of you visit the 'Vic forums and I've read the posts on cross fit of my Marauder kits and the proposed Wilwood kits. Here's some food for thought for any of you who frequent that forum.
The Marauder kits should have no issue fitting the other Panther platform vehicles, both front and rear. The issue is wheel fit. The majority of guys there are married to their 15" wheels it appears and I'll simply tell you that no front brake kit is really going to be worth the expense to fit a 15" wheel. Maximum rotor size will be roughly 11.75" at best. Even with a wider rotor for improved thermal capacity the efficiency will be compromised with such a small disc making the value of the kit questionable.
I can speculate with some confidence that Wilwood, while happy to look at it and collect the data will probably come to the same conclusion. And if they do offer a smaller kit it's going to be a "somewhat lateral move" on the value scale. People are not going to achieve the same effects with these smaller parts that they are expecting to get from full on kits such as 13 and 14" six piston set ups. There's a reason why the other brands sell for what they do; size costs money.
The market for the 'older' cars is going to be extremely limited. And when you combine that with both the final kit costs (be it smaller or larger) going to make that market even less. A properly built small kit will still run you close to a grand. And for the functional gains not be up to snuff. The properly built method of 13 and 14" kits for the needs of the heavy car will quickly push you to the $1500-2000 range. I doubt the market will bear such a cost.
The rear will need to be addressed as well and I'm certain that, at least in the case of the Panther platform, that they'll pass on this one all together due to the complexity. Anyone who's done one of my kits will attest to the work necessary. The replacing of the sliding caliper is great and there's no way to incorporate a larger rotor without changing all that too. Making it a full blown rear conversion as I have done.
All that being said if one of you or your buddies wishes to talk to me about some options I can help them with both the current kits as well as some "caliper kits" that I did for a black-ops training company who wanted improvements there for the car. But again we're looking at 17" wheels min there as well. I'd urge any one considering all these things to quickly realize that fitting small grade parts inside the stock 15 is just not going to get them where they want to be. Make a wheel change and we can evaluate the options. Assuming the budget meets the demands of course.
The Marauder kits should have no issue fitting the other Panther platform vehicles, both front and rear. The issue is wheel fit. The majority of guys there are married to their 15" wheels it appears and I'll simply tell you that no front brake kit is really going to be worth the expense to fit a 15" wheel. Maximum rotor size will be roughly 11.75" at best. Even with a wider rotor for improved thermal capacity the efficiency will be compromised with such a small disc making the value of the kit questionable.
I can speculate with some confidence that Wilwood, while happy to look at it and collect the data will probably come to the same conclusion. And if they do offer a smaller kit it's going to be a "somewhat lateral move" on the value scale. People are not going to achieve the same effects with these smaller parts that they are expecting to get from full on kits such as 13 and 14" six piston set ups. There's a reason why the other brands sell for what they do; size costs money.
The market for the 'older' cars is going to be extremely limited. And when you combine that with both the final kit costs (be it smaller or larger) going to make that market even less. A properly built small kit will still run you close to a grand. And for the functional gains not be up to snuff. The properly built method of 13 and 14" kits for the needs of the heavy car will quickly push you to the $1500-2000 range. I doubt the market will bear such a cost.
The rear will need to be addressed as well and I'm certain that, at least in the case of the Panther platform, that they'll pass on this one all together due to the complexity. Anyone who's done one of my kits will attest to the work necessary. The replacing of the sliding caliper is great and there's no way to incorporate a larger rotor without changing all that too. Making it a full blown rear conversion as I have done.
All that being said if one of you or your buddies wishes to talk to me about some options I can help them with both the current kits as well as some "caliper kits" that I did for a black-ops training company who wanted improvements there for the car. But again we're looking at 17" wheels min there as well. I'd urge any one considering all these things to quickly realize that fitting small grade parts inside the stock 15 is just not going to get them where they want to be. Make a wheel change and we can evaluate the options. Assuming the budget meets the demands of course.