Disc Brake Sizes?

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ckj688

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Quick question, do the disc brakes in the front always have to be bigger then the disc brakes in the back?

Wilwood sells brake kits for both the front and the back but would it be ok to run 11" in the front and 12.19" in the back?

Thanks,
Craig
 
the big ones are in the front because of wieght transfer under hard braking. i would say you could do it,but it is overkill. you would have to use an adjustable proportioning valve definetly.
 
Front braking is 80% rear is only about 20%.Thats why fronts are generally larger than rears. If your rear was bigger with say larger pistons you would run into serious proportioning issues. 12" front 11" rear would be great.
 
Larger rear rotor diameter will not of itself create an issue, aside from causing more unsprung weigh and possible clearance problems. It will generally cause the rear brakes to run cooler than a smaller rotor due to it's ability to dissipate heat faster.

Rear caliper piston diameter will. The rear caliper piston bore diameter needs to be compatible to the front, and is generally much smaller than the front, because weight transfer under braking reduces the percentage rear brake needed. A larger rear rotor would require an even smaller caliper piston bore because the farther from the center of the rotor it is, the more efficient at slowing the rotor down it is.

Screw relative caliper piston bores up and even an added proportioning valve will not save you, adjustable or not.

Example of a larger rear rotor from the factory is the Mark VII Lincoln (same setup as SVO and Fox body Saleen Mustangs). Probably done to save the cost of new pieces in front when the rear discs from another application were added to the rear of an originally drum braked car, it used 10.9" diameter front rotors with 73MM diameter front piston bores and 11.25" diameter rear rotors with 54MM rear piston bores.

That said, if you're determined to run 12 inch rear rotors, the best plan for the fronts would be one of the AR Engineering kits for using MB 13" front rotors and Viper calipers.

You can't even have too much brake, but you can damn sure have too little.
 
It can be done with good proportioning; balancing it out with caliper piston sizes would be ideal here, as twofosho mentioned. Although I'm wondering why you would want this combo - got a good deal on both?
 
Would it be "ok" probably, with an inline proportioning valve.......not sure why though?? As stated above 75-80% of braking is done in the front.
 
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