When the group buy popped up on the forum for the 6 piston Wilwood which FIT the stock 17' wheels, it was take my money and send them. But now that I have 8 months on this setup: Do I have buyers remorse? Was this just another overpriced upgrade? Would I do it again? These last 2 months put the Wilwood's to the test and can give you an update on my feelings. Not that I am a brake expert but I have many many years and 1000+ laps on the racetracks with multiple cars. I have experience with Brembo, AP Radical, Audi SQ5(fixed 6 piston's), BMW ///M brakes, Standard BMW and Ford F150's so I feel i have experience different types.
Daily Driving: Yes they stop better. Some will say you can only stop as fast as the tires and antilock will allow. Yes/No but I can tell you there is a feel of confidence which exceeds the stock F150 brakes. This is my 1st raptor(2019) but i had 2 F150's (gen 12 and gen 13 lariat ) prior and did the same truck stuff as the raptor. Past F150's had 305/20's so i was used to the larger/heavier tire on stock F150 binders... Wilwood just feel better. Confidence is there no matter what so day to day it was a win in my book. Plus they look great
Towing: Now I have a Raptor and we all know that these are not tow monsters. I have a Small Jayco SLX 184BS (3350 dry with 3814 on the scale) and a 12' enclose trailer. Did some race watching at Road America and it was the first time I did long distance towing with the TT. I now have 1000's of miles on the Wilwood's and basically forget the upgrade was done. I was doing 65 on the highway through Milwaukee in medium traffic. Come around a slight bend and there it was, stupid people doing stupid things required panic braking.... those 6 piston's just dug in and there was no pucker. I have had to do some aggressive braking in the past with the TT and you had that oh shit feeling but this time, it just stopped..... When it was all over and we were on our way, the wife said "I completely understand why you spend stupid money on brakes for our cars". HAHAHAH granted we all have Big Brakes on every car we own but if we don't, I have the Green light 100% of the time
Mountain Driving: The oldest is off to college and picked Colorado to begin his collegiate journey. We are from Illinois so road trip! His hand me down SQ5 was packed up and the Raptor followed with the bigger stuff. Moved the kid in, fed him one last time and then was told "Get out of here so you don't embarrass me".... So off we went. We then spend a few days, driving the mountains and exploring different towns. We did highway mountain driving and slower speed scenic passes. I have been driving in the mountains for 30 years and have driven many types of cars from your go fast and fun your basic car. This was the first time with the Raptor and let me start off by saying, these Brakes were AWESOME in this environment. No matter what speed, no matter how long you had to be on the brakes, there was NO fade and they had what felt like unlimited stopping power. From the panic brake grab due to the Deer approaching the road to your typical 6% downgrade speed control. They performed awesome! Once again, i got the acknowledgement from the wife that she like the brakes!!! The only downside I can say about the Wilwoods, was when I got into SteamBoat Springs after the few hours of mountain driving was the screech!!!. Pulled to the first stoplight and you would have though I had a track car with cold brakes. They squealed like a pig.... and every stop after that. I immediately hit the first pressure washing place I could find. Hosed down the binders and the noise was gone.... Small price to pay for the enjoyment of these brakes.
So in summation, if you are hesitant to buy the Wilwood's you can be sure it will be a excellent purchase.
Daily Driving: Yes they stop better. Some will say you can only stop as fast as the tires and antilock will allow. Yes/No but I can tell you there is a feel of confidence which exceeds the stock F150 brakes. This is my 1st raptor(2019) but i had 2 F150's (gen 12 and gen 13 lariat ) prior and did the same truck stuff as the raptor. Past F150's had 305/20's so i was used to the larger/heavier tire on stock F150 binders... Wilwood just feel better. Confidence is there no matter what so day to day it was a win in my book. Plus they look great
Towing: Now I have a Raptor and we all know that these are not tow monsters. I have a Small Jayco SLX 184BS (3350 dry with 3814 on the scale) and a 12' enclose trailer. Did some race watching at Road America and it was the first time I did long distance towing with the TT. I now have 1000's of miles on the Wilwood's and basically forget the upgrade was done. I was doing 65 on the highway through Milwaukee in medium traffic. Come around a slight bend and there it was, stupid people doing stupid things required panic braking.... those 6 piston's just dug in and there was no pucker. I have had to do some aggressive braking in the past with the TT and you had that oh shit feeling but this time, it just stopped..... When it was all over and we were on our way, the wife said "I completely understand why you spend stupid money on brakes for our cars". HAHAHAH granted we all have Big Brakes on every car we own but if we don't, I have the Green light 100% of the time
Mountain Driving: The oldest is off to college and picked Colorado to begin his collegiate journey. We are from Illinois so road trip! His hand me down SQ5 was packed up and the Raptor followed with the bigger stuff. Moved the kid in, fed him one last time and then was told "Get out of here so you don't embarrass me".... So off we went. We then spend a few days, driving the mountains and exploring different towns. We did highway mountain driving and slower speed scenic passes. I have been driving in the mountains for 30 years and have driven many types of cars from your go fast and fun your basic car. This was the first time with the Raptor and let me start off by saying, these Brakes were AWESOME in this environment. No matter what speed, no matter how long you had to be on the brakes, there was NO fade and they had what felt like unlimited stopping power. From the panic brake grab due to the Deer approaching the road to your typical 6% downgrade speed control. They performed awesome! Once again, i got the acknowledgement from the wife that she like the brakes!!! The only downside I can say about the Wilwoods, was when I got into SteamBoat Springs after the few hours of mountain driving was the screech!!!. Pulled to the first stoplight and you would have though I had a track car with cold brakes. They squealed like a pig.... and every stop after that. I immediately hit the first pressure washing place I could find. Hosed down the binders and the noise was gone.... Small price to pay for the enjoyment of these brakes.
So in summation, if you are hesitant to buy the Wilwood's you can be sure it will be a excellent purchase.
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