Classic Volkswagen Braking Upgrades | Disc Brakes by Airkewld
The PRO's want you to STOP when you WANT or NEED to. Will drum brakes really suffice? Simple answer. No. - by Pete Skiba - PRO since 2002 | Airkewld.com | Updated on 6/8/23 Understanding
what you need to do the job you are looking for, sounds easy, but it's
really not. But with the help from the PRO's, guidance is part of the
experience. Below, you will find what comes in the kits and what caliper
makes sense for your application.
Front Kits - LINK - All front kits will come with BAD Series rotor assemblies featuring
new assembly hardware, caliper brackets, calipers, pads, master
cylinder, seals, hardware
, bolt-on billet dust caps, German
roller bearings, reservoir bottle, brake light switches and stainless
steel braided brake lines. These are the most complete kits on the
market to ensure you can do the job correctly and safely.
Rear Kits - LINK
- All rear kits will come with BAD Series rotor assemblies, caliper
brackets, calipers, pads, e-brake cables (if selected), seals, hardware
and stainless steel brake hoses.
Two Piston Wilwood Caliper
- Zero offset on all bolt patterns, not 5x205mm (add .375" offset each side) -
Great for performance applications street or strip - 1100cc-2110cc -
90-100 mph tops - They utilize one piston on each side in aluminum
construction - Replacement pads are
available on our website, any high performance outlet, or street rod shop - To use these you will need *DRUM* Spindles, stock or dropped.
Four Piston Wilwood Caliper - Zero Offset on all bolt
patterns, not 5x205mm (add .375" offset each side) - Great for performance and
racing applications - 2331cc and up * Any Turbo Application * NOS
Application - 105 mph + - They utilize two pistons on each side in
aluminum construction - Replacement
pads are
available on our website, any high performance outlet, or street rod shop - To use these you will need *DRUM* Spindles, stock or dropped.
Rear eBrake - Single piston mechanical e-brake caliper - Zero Offset - Perfect for all street and performance applications and can be paint matched by the consumer to match the front pretty easily or the PRO's can do it for them in the options available.
RaceReady
- Two Piston Wilwood NON e-Brake Caliper - Zero Offset - Perfect for
all race applications as well as clients who want matching Wilwood
calipers front and rear.
Related: VW Axle Identification - What do I have? | Brake System install guides - All Models | 1960 Cal-look Chassis gets some BAD Series Brakes Gen 1 BAD Series Disc Brakes released in 2007 and we
sold over 23,000 kits over 48 countries. It finally gave Classic VW enthusiasts, an American option, instead of settling on Chinese
counterparts. Wilwood calipers, flexible bolt pattern switching,
upgrade-able from 1, 2 to 4 piston applications that bolted onto
factory or drum drop spindles with ease. To put it bluntly, the industry
as a whole, loved the versatility and performance.
Almost 16 years later, the PRO's introduced GEN 2. Our greatest update on a
industry leading set of disc brakes, the BAD Series Disc Brakes.
BAD (Billet Assembled Disc) is made up of a 3-piece design that
includes the hub assembly, the bolt pattern and the rotor blade. With the
pandemic hitting just about everyone hard, the raw materials industry ,
was hit even harder. Rotor material we used became non-existent so we
had to search worldwide for options. What once was a 11 different
companies touching this rotor, is now a single company, that produces
millions of rotors annually, making our products the best yet. Every
aspect of this rotor is now done in house and to the spec the PRO's
demand. The hub design went through a small change that included a
dust/grease cap update. This update included a bolt on design with the
speedometer cable connection hidden under the anodized Airkewld star
design. Super trick, super clean.
Caliper brackets were redesigned to set the calipers in the perfect
location for service, tie rod end replacement and Wilwood caliper
recommended hardware, which is now American instead of Metric.
Stainless Steel Brake lines have been updated for an even better look, fit and function as well.
Rear BAD Hubs have been updated to include the same cap as the front to keep the look uniform and hide the axle nut.
Rear eBrake cables have been updated to include OEM connections at
the hand brake handle and a barrel nut at the caliper for a quick and
easy installation.
New cotter pin replacement bolts are now included in the Gen 2 kits for serviceability and perfect function.
New options available is to have the bearings pressed in and packed,
match painted eBrake non-Wilwood calipers and more!
As it stands in 2022, Wilwood does not make a eBrake caliper that
fits a 3/8" thick rotor. Some shops, (shops, normally do NOT carry
product liability insurance, meaning if the product fails and you get
injured or worse, they can give you the finger),
modify a Wilwood caliper to fit a 3/8" rotor, which takes the liability away from Wilwood and onto them AND
you.
Also, Wilwood does NOT make disc brake conversions for the Classic
Volkswagen. So when you read Wilwood Disc Brake conversions, that
company is marketing to you in a deceptive way and giving their kit
value in a consumer market.
One company, with product liability insurance, that's Airkewld, and
one other company, EMPI, which states that these products are designed
for the use to be on a off-road application, which takes the liability
risk OFF OF THEM and onto YOU, the SHOP/GARAGE that is installing them.
Airkewld, that's us, has a 90%+ American-Made Disc Brake Conversions and
EMPI has a 90%+ Chinese-Made Disc Brake Conversions.
a PRO's Take | Product Advice & Recommendation
"Picture this. You purchased an item from Amazon and you got it in a few days. You use it as intended and it last for 6 months. Guess what? It was more than likely from China. It was cheap, it didn't last, now what? Purchased American Made from a trusted vendor and it will last a long time."
Trust is earned and reputation makes decisions easy. - Airkewld CEO Pete Skiba
