View Full Version : TCE's revised Wilwood offerings
Todd TCE 07-27-2008, 02:35 PM After much discussion with a number of 'potential' customers the common complaint about the current kits offered for your car http://www.tceperformanceproducts.co...s.pl?record=27
is that they "cost too much".
I went back to the drawing board some and have come up with a far more marketable and affordable solution I hope will meet your needs more closely. If you followed some of the previous work you know we produced a six pot narrow rotor kit for a customer. Using some of that info we've opted to take a closer look at the fit of both the DP6 and the more affordable FBDL caliper.
So what does that all mean? It means that we've now come up with one new kit to begin with in 12.2" size and another one in the thought stage at 13" size.
Good news is that the new 12.2 kit will sell for far less than the current kits above! Even the new 13" kit should be less costly.
Here is the 'new' base kit:
TCE/Wilwood 12.2" Forged Billet Dynalite kit: $819
Includes: Four pot FBDL calipers, BP10 or BP20 pads, two piece hats and rotors, front ss hose kit, caliper mount brackets, all required hardware, two bottles of Wilwood 570 fluid. Options will include; colored calipers, drilled rotors, and heavy duty GT rotors.
Now for less than $900 you can have the same proven parts and pieces found on many other applications for Hondas, to Accuras, to SRT4s to Lancers.
For all the details please see the 'soon to be' revised TCE web page. *I'm working on it Sunday.
Todd TCE 07-28-2008, 05:03 PM Plus 2 Kits:
The TCE Plus 2 kit is now listed in final form. The base price will be $1329.
http://www.tceperformanceproducts.co...s.pl?record=27
However that base price includes not only a move to full 13" rotors but only the DP6 caliper. After reviewing the fit options I simply don't feel that many customers will be happy with the smaller FBDL caliper from the Plus 1 kit on such a large rotor. And given that the DP6 is no wider it presents no concerns for wheel fit issues. If someone were to insist on the smaller caliper for this I'd be happy to oblige for a reduction in cost of about $200.
Currently Plus 1 kits are yet a few days out from being able to ship. Plus 2 kits will be about 2wks yet due to production of our TCE aluminum hat for this kit. Unlike the Plus 1 kit, here we will be using a new TCE hat to properly balance the fit and finish of larger rotor. This hat is one inch larger in diameter than that which is shown on the blue car below to more rightly balance the appearance of the hat to rotor size. An added benefit is that these hats also reduce the weight of the rotor rings slightly also.
MadBrad 07-28-2008, 05:05 PM links not working.
Cougarguy 07-28-2008, 06:24 PM alright. i have a TCE kit, i LOVE IT! 100-0 in like 4-5 seconds.
WORTH EVERY PENNY! iv daily driven this kit for 2 years as did the guy before me. i cannot get these to fade, im still on the original rotors and they come with .81 now their at .754. absolutely a great buy! plus todd is perfect to deal with. everytime i've called in the last 2 years hes been beyond helpful even when i cut my own brake line when i slipped while cuttin rivets off my ball joints.
jimbos'ss 07-28-2008, 06:36 PM ooohh very nice, definately on the to do list!
Todd TCE 08-03-2008, 06:04 PM Here's the revised link. I hope.
http://www.tceperformanceproducts.com/cgi-bin/brakes/cginews.pl?record=27
I spent time finally on the HHR SS and have some further thoughts to add to that which I'll share here as well.
Onto the brakes.....
After reviewing the FRONT kits it appears I can package the fronts in both .810 and 1.10" flavor and fit both the DP6 and the FSL calipers depending upon the use and what hats are used to complete the build.
I'll get the data reviewed in more depth soon and edit the web page to reflect the right options for the SS. And yes, the pricing will be pretty much what they are now, there are no changes there that will have any serious impact on production costs.
As for REAR kits (knowing that it's always a topic of debate) I will check on a couple of options; first step would be a larger (11.75") rotor and caliper relocation bracket thus retaining the factory parking brake. If done that would be running about $579 base on similar packages. Next would be a Wilwood parking brake caliper package fit to the same rotor above. (meaning a customer can add this to his rotor purchase later thus buying the complete kit in two stages) The full rear kit with these calipers and the two piece rotors would run about $1200. There's the rub for most folks: a rear kit is as or more costly than some front options.
Due to all these flavors, plans and thoughts currently my focus will remain on the front kits, both the smaller affordable kits for the non-SS and the revisions for the SS itself. Only after I can get a firm foot hold in this market (and on the Cobalt I hope) will I look to further development of the rear kits. Now if someone steps up and says "build me a front and rear, I want both, here's my CC info" then that process could speed up a bit. I'm a bit skeptical that we'll see that just yet.
Todd TCE 08-05-2008, 08:48 PM Confirmation yesterday shows that YES the HHR SS shares the same front steering spindle assemblies as the SS Cobalt. And I believe the Ion, model?
Seeing that the CSS is fit with larger wheels standard it seems only logical that we move to fit only the 13" kits to this car. With a stock rotor being about 11.6 that makes 12.2 somewhat of a lateral move.
Thus the Plus 2 and Plus 3 forms of the TCE kits seem the most best value in kits for your vehicles. The Plus 2 being the more streetable and sexy version with it's DP6 caliper and the Plus 3 catering to the more hard core open track users who's demands for greater rotor capacity over sex appeal is more valued.
With all this in mind I'll do some tweaks to the web page and when the final version of the new bracket is in hand we'll announce some specials to get a couple of these into service!
Super_SS 08-05-2008, 08:50 PM todd's the man on the srt forums...he knows everything and hooks you up with crazy deals,as well a EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE
Dunkinuts 08-05-2008, 09:11 PM *drool* very nice deal you have there. when are the rears coming out?
Todd TCE 08-06-2008, 11:15 AM Rears will come only in due time. I have data points for some of that but unless we see some reasonable sales volume on the fronts I have no plans to move ahead on the rear. If someones wishes to commit to a rear kit...in that case I'll make it happen sooner.
alleycat58 08-06-2008, 11:26 AM Seeing that the CSS is fit with larger wheels standard it seems only logical that we move to fit only the 13" kits to this car. With a stock rotor being about 11.6 that makes 12.2 somewhat of a lateral move.
Is this still going to allow us to fit a 17" wheel on?????
EDIT: NM I see the site says 17" or larger. I'd still like some verification though.
SKCobalt 08-06-2008, 11:56 AM I am thinking about a brake kit for the car, but would like to do fronts and rears... I will probably be looking next spring or later this fall... would love to have the willwood calipers you have in your kits as well as your rotors sound really good! If I have the cash in the fall, I would probably commit to a front and rear kit.
alleycat58 08-06-2008, 12:01 PM I am thinking about a brake kit for the car, but would like to do fronts and rears... I will probably be looking next spring or later this fall... would love to have the willwood calipers you have in your kits as well as your rotors sound really good! If I have the cash in the fall, I would probably commit to a front and rear kit.
Yeah, rears are a must for me as well. The only other cause for hesitation looks like the 13" rotors are only available slotted and I'd refer vented blanks.
SKCobalt 08-06-2008, 12:02 PM x2 on the blanks... i think you might get better pad wear with blanks...
alleycat58 08-06-2008, 12:04 PM x2 on the blanks... i think you might get better pad wear with blanks...
Usually you do, and slots aren't really necessary with good vented rotors. I've put my 100% stock SS/SC rotors through hell and back with 0 problems (once I ditched the POS stock pads, of course). No warping, fading, or grooving.
Dunkinuts 08-06-2008, 01:18 PM I was reading on the Wilwood site that the calipers can have an optional thermo piston on the caliper. do you guys offer that?
spike 08-06-2008, 01:45 PM subscribed
Cougarguy 08-06-2008, 02:56 PM my rotors are not drilled or slotted. i also only have the front kit. braking is amazing but visually i would like to do a rear kit eventually.
todd offers the best brake product for us contour/cougar folks
do not overlook this guy!
Todd TCE 08-06-2008, 05:24 PM Rotors: you can have plain rotors on 13" kits if you wish. Slotted finish is standard and "blanks" will be by special order only as they are not stocked. On the smaller 12.2" kits a plain rotor finish is included to keep the final cost to a minimum. Yes the 13" kits will fit a 17" wheel with ease however checking checking spoke clearance is always recommended as wheel design (not dia) is critical to fit.
Thermlock pistons are available on some calipers. At this time the only caliper I can see this being an option on is the Plus 3: 13" HD kit with FSL four pots. The cost would run you an additional $200. ($100 per caliper) They are not available on the smaller calipers for the 12.2 rotors, nor on the DP6 caliper. Do you need them? I sell about two sets of calipers a year with them so I guess someone does. Does this car need them; very unlikely. But...I'm happy to do what I can for you.
Rear kits- you bet we can do it. I sell a few of them now for the MINI. In fact I have three sets in process as you read this. Two with custom colors. The rear caliper/rotor kit will run you $1195. This will include two piece hats/rotors, Wilwood parking brake calipers, pads, brackets and hoses. However, before this kit is put into production the two piece hat/rotor only kit will be made available to everyone. That set up can later be 'upgraded' to the Wilwood parking brake calipers if so desired. The hats and rotors (with brackets and ss hoses) will run $579- just like all the similar kits. Should someone wish to purchase the complete rear kit I'd be happy to work on this for with a modest discount applied to the combo purchase- just give me a call and a deposit to build it and consider it done. But until I have a deposit to build such a complete kit it will remain on the back burner as experience has shown there is very, very little demand for this kit based on the cost. And considering design time and a run of custom radial brackets it will be idle until someone steps up.
SKCobalt 08-06-2008, 05:43 PM would the rear brake diameter change with the rear brake kit? from how you will be selling the rotors and then the calipers seperate, my guess is no. Is there a significant difference between the stock rear caliper and the Willwood caliper?
Todd TCE 08-06-2008, 06:11 PM Identical to the rear MINI design here:
http://www.tceperformanceproducts.com/cgi-bin/brakes/cginews.pl?record=13
Rotor kit for oem caliper but 11.75" diameter. $579
Complete p-brake kit including this rotor kit and Wilwood combo calipers. $1195
Caliper only kit for the above rotors added at a later date. $719
Clearly it's easier to do it in one buy, but not everyone wants to shell out $1300, so you can do it in two stages. A nice approach that I do on some front kits also.
Todd TCE 09-06-2008, 11:34 AM 9/5
Today I finalized and boxed the first Plus 1 kit. I also lowered the web page list price a bit too!
http://www.tceperformanceproducts.co...s.pl?record=27
Now...in celebration of finally getting the Plus 1 kit up and ready for action I'm going to offer this ONE kit, all inclusive to your door (cont. US) for the low price of...$675. This kit is the base kit- black calipers, plain rotors and normal street pads. It's geared toward the daily driver needs who wants to get the benefits of true Big Brake performance but from a more subtle approach. There are no substitutions on this one. If you want alternate red calipers or drilled rotors etc then you'll be subject to full price add-ons as well as delay your purchase by a week or so.
I really want to get this first kit in service so I'm slashing $125 off the price and picking up the ground UPS charges on it. It's pretty much a wash for me but a win-win for you! Don't miss out, I seldom take this much off a kit but I need your help. Let's put this on and get some feedback. Wheel fit for this kit is a modest .950" so it's compatible with many wheels from 16" and up.
http://www.tceperformanceproducts.com/wheel_fit.html
Give me a call and let's get your HHR into a BBK today! 480-967-7901
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spike 09-06-2008, 11:50 AM any more pics of the plus one kit?
Rodimus_Prime 09-06-2008, 12:03 PM I used to have the 12.2 4 piston kit on my cav and it was awesome that had the 2 piece rotors with the safety wire and cross drilled slotted zinc washed
that would be the type of setup im looking for in either 12.2 or the 13
Todd TCE 09-06-2008, 05:09 PM That's pretty much what this is as well. While it's not a factory Wilwood kit it's essentially the same as any of these kits:
http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/Pages/07/index.asp
As for pictures you could reference any of those from that link. Such as this one:
http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/Pages/07/DL_RD_BIG.jpg
Shown would be an optional drilled and slotted rotor as well as red finish calipers.
Currently I plan to keep the DP6 caliper for the 13" kit but yes it could be had on the smaller rotor package as well for a modest up charge. (I removed it from that menu however) I've done a number of those on the SRT4 but I find the caliper is a tad big for that size rotor.
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o269/ToddTCE/SRT4/SRT4W6aII.jpg
Rodimus_Prime 09-07-2008, 12:48 PM yea red or black calipers would be fine, i do want the two piece rotors in the first pic there so which kit of yours is going to have those?
prices with 12.2 and with the 13inch would be appreciated so i can make my choice, state inspection is coming up in less than 2 months and my brakes are shot so i cant justify spending for new rotors and pads for a setup i dont want long anyway
Todd TCE 09-07-2008, 06:49 PM All of the above my friend. They're all two piece as shown, they call can be had in red or black and they all can be plain finish, slotted only (GT) or drilled and slotted (SRP) depending upon your choice and budget.
http://www.tceperformanceproducts.com/cgi-bin/brakes/cginews.pl?record=27
The $675 special price is however limited to the plain finish rotor and black caliper.
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