schooner, chill o'l boy, we're just trying to help you out here. Maybe you should not have started this thread if you didn't want to hear our thoughts ....?

Again, I did alll that you did with the same results, including hearing that same pad rubbing when spinning the rotors, and that's why "I" was absolutly possitive that I had bad rotors also. No-one was going to tell me different. But I was wrong. Todd also sent me a new set of front rotors and the problem still was there.
To eliminate that your Mini guys could have made a mistake is a mistake in itself.

How did you bolt the rotors to the hub when you tested them without the wheels on?

 

I am chilled, and i do appreciate the input and help. but I have done what everyone has suggested with no results! so where does that leave me!! With brakes that are not functioning right! does anyone have have any other suggestions I can try?

 

What size are these brakes and where do you live? (Just seeing if I can help)

 

I have the fsl caliper and the 13" drilled and slotted rotor. I am in salt lake city utah! I think if push comes to shove I am going to have to drive to phoenix to see todd, its a 10-11 hr drive but would be worth it to get these babies working right!!

 

Well I have ran the race pads and when I went back to the street pads looking were looking up, I though I had fixed the problem but then I did a gradual brake from 90 the other night and the wheel started to shake just a little, so I am running the race pads again for a day and it sure mades the steering wheel vibrate bad, I am going to go out and switch back to the street pad and see what happens, sure wish I could get thing 100% fixed!!!

 

Exact same things were happening to me. I put on a new set of front rotors and a more aggressive race pads and the problem was worse.

I'm telling you, you've got suspension problems. I won't say it again any more as I know you feel determined that it's not the issue.

 

Okay so in order for my wilwood brakes to work I need to put in a aftermarket suspension? onsled you can garrentee me if I spend 1000 or more in suspension that my brakes will work? and you are telling me that my brand new factory struts that I just had installed wont get the job done? I appreciated your input as I need to get this matter resolved, but how are you 100% sure that you are right? if you can give me your 100% garrentee that this will work I will spend over a grand to get a new suspesion but If it doesnt work then what do I do ? and then i will have spent around 1500, in something I didnt need!!

 

Okay so I have tried everything. new struts, new rotors, race pads for pad transfer which did help alot be from time to time I still get small amounts of steering wheel vibrations. Does anyone else have any suggestions? Or is it time to put my 1,300 brake system on the self??

 

Do you have slotted or drilled rotors? When I first put the Wilwood 4pots on the front, I noticed a small amout of vibration upon braking, and was a little concerned. Talked with Randy about it, and found out from him that this is due to having slotted rotors, and is completely normal. Maybe this is what you're experiencing as well. Just a thought.
Cheers!
MinMax

 

so you are saying that your wilwoods have some vibration in the steering wheel when braking at speeds over 60 or so? which kit do you have, I do have slotted and drilled rotor, I have the 13" kit with FSL capiler, they are very good looking but just dont seem to be working up to par like I though they would

 

Have you tried this setup without the spacers? Or do you need the spacers with the brake kit? Do you have a vibration all the time or ONLY when braking from above 60mph? If it is only when braking, it almost sounds like the calipers may be loose, the caliper bolts. I would not think that it would be suspension related if the problem started after installing the brake kit. If the suspension was suspect, then there would be some problems noticed at other times also.

I have heard of brakes causing vibrations with slightly unbalanced wheels and/or spacers. The only way to check that is bolt the spacer to the wheel and balance it as a whole....if you have a spacer with lug bolts on it also, instead of just a spacer and longer lug bolts. I had a two piece 6-lug to 5-lug adapter/spacer for corvette wheels on my GMC, and had to bolt the spacer on the wheel to get everything balanced just right.

 

Well i have run the spacers without the brakes and everything was smooth as glass, so I dont think its a balance problem, when I put the wilwoods back in, it caused the shakes only when braking. after I put the race pads in an ran them for a day, the shakes were worse, but when I went back to the street pad things became much more smooth, so now I only get very very little wheel shakes when braking at speeds over 60, sometimes I dont get any shakes.

 

Well here is a little update on my Brake problem-- it has only been a day but already I can tell there is someone diffrent and the diffrence is great! I have been trying to figure out what could be happening with this brakes for months now and I had kind of given up and was just going to live with them, but after talking to Todd at TCE we decide it could be the wheel bearing. So last night i put a new wheel bearing in. and already i can tell there is an improvement. So for those of you having big brake problem, just one more thing that could be causing your problem, in my case it was NOT my struts, but it was also NOT my rotors. In the next few days I will give another update to confirm that the brakes are 100% good to go, but they sure feel like it!! Thanks to Todd at TCE and for all the input on trying to resolve my problems, I look forward to now enjoying my new Moster brakes and putting them to work!!

 

Got your message. No time to call back as we have an SCCA dbl nat this weekend at PIR and I've got work all week at Barret-Jackson as well. Sorry to not call you back Nathan.

I was hoping the report was good on the bearing test. Sounds as if you're on the right track now. The temp change in braking feel was the tip off for me to suggest bearings. If it's pads or rotors I don't think you'd see the change in feel with temp as you mentioned.

If you need me to call you back I can try at lunch break tomorrow.Or you can email me of course.

 

Please explain more on the temp change in braking feel.

Cheers.

 

When it was really cold, or raining or snowing the brakes always felt great, but then it was a little warmer with no rain or snow, the brakes would cause the steering wheel to have vibrations when braking, been a major pain in the butt to get figure out, but still not sure i have it done, I know have another problem, and not sure if its tire, suspesion, or bearing, but i have this aweful steering wheel vibration

 

...blown damper will cause a steering wheel vibration...more so if the springs are heavy. The wheel essentiall ocsilates out of control

 

well i am not going to rule it out, even though they are only 3 months old, I had new ones installed to try and figure out the brake problem, so i dont think they are bad but i guess its possible

 

So, schooner--has your BBK problem been fixed, but now you have another steering shimmy problem? I am following this thread as I just ordered the same 13"/FSL kit from Todd and I currently have no shimmy problems (the first and last such problem was solved with metal centering rings on my Kosei K1s). Your experience with the shimmy under braking sounds horrific, especially if you, like me, have an obsessive-complusive personality. But now you have a steering shimmy when you don't brake? Related, or unrelated, ...mmmm

I'll keep following this thread, thanks.
philip