Wilwood at Performance Racing Industry Show 2021

The biggest auto racing trade show each year is the Performance Racing Industry Show in Indianapolis, IN, and Wilwood has been exhibiting there for more than 30 years. The show ran from December 9-11 and is open to industry professionals, builders, and drivers, from circle track, drag racing, and other forms of competition. You can find out more on the PRI website PerformanceRacing.com.

No matter what form of motorsports competition you're involved in, chances are it is represented at PRI. All the latest products and setups are displayed and demonstrated for three days at the Indiana Convention Center or nearby Lucas Oil Stadium. If you stopped by the Wilwood booth (#809) you were one of the first to see the next generation XRC race caliper, and other innovations that will help put you on the podium in 2022, alongside Bobby Santos Wilwood equipped Super Modified.

The Next Generation XRC Race Caliper

Since the beginning in 1977, Wilwood has been making brakes for some of the fastest classes of race cars in the world. The XRC caliper is the culmination of more than 40 years of experience in the race car brake business, combined with the latest computer finite element analysis (FEA) design and CNC machining capabilities. We have been secretly testing and perfecting the design on actual cars in competition events throughout the 2021 season to produce brakes that can clamp harder and stay cooler.

The XRC4R four piston caliper weighs in at slightly more than four pounds. Roughly the same size as the Wilwood Superlite caliper, we managed to pare 1/2 pound of aluminum away from it, while making it stronger. The unique center X-bridge along with added metal throughout the perimeter, reinforces the piston bores and radial mounting holes, makes it more resistant to deflection. The beefed up caliper studs and flanged lock nuts hold the body together with more consistent torque, making it function as if it were one solid piece of stress flow forged billet aluminum.

The goal of the XRC development program was to produce a lighter more rigid caliper, with a greater surface area to cool the brakes better. The new skeletal shape puts the brake fluid closer to the cooling air to prevent fluid overheating. The hollow spaces where metal has been machined away allows the brake pads and rotor to shed heat quicker as well.

These calipers are designed to use 0.80" (20mm) thick brake pads, to last well beyond the need of even a 500 mile stock car race. The pads are held in place with a pair of new design, no-bind pins for less drag and improved release. The new caliper and pad shape are introduced in three of the most popular Wilwood racing compounds at launch: PolyMatrix H, and SmartPad BP-30 and BP-40.

Drag Strut Spindle Mount Wheel Kits

The fastest drag cars often do without front brakes in an effort to eliminate weight and maximize weight transfer. For cars running a simple drag strut front end with spindle mount wheels, Wilwood has a new lightweight, low drag solution. At less than 6 pounds per wheel, the DynaLite caliper, 10-inch steel rotor, and forged aluminum mounting hat can contribute a significant amount of braking force without adding much weight at all.

Designed with forged aluminum offset hats and brackets, the first two kits introduced fit popular drag struts from AFCO and Santhuff's. Precision machined brackets hold the competition-proven DynaLite caliper, while a strong but light hat bolts the lightweight rotor directly to your spindle mount wheel. Wilwood moderate bite, fade-resistant, high friction racing BP-20 compound pads help stop you with authority, and other compounds are available as well depending on your needs. 

You can find more details right here.

Offset Clutch/Brake Pedal and Adjustable Foot Pads

This new version of Wilwood's popular balance bar pedal assembly features an offset clutch pedal arm, putting the pedal pads 6" on center. The offset and straight pedal arms in this set also adjust for length/pedal ratio to tune feel and effort.

Wilwood's forged aluminum pedal assemblies have been trusted and preferred by racers and car builders in all types of competition for years. The standard Wilwood clutch/brake pedal assembly places the pedal arms 4" on center, which can make left foot braking easier, if that is your driving style.  The new clutch arm adds 2" of offset, but the pads can be moved 1/2" to the left or right, allowing them to adjust from 5" to 7" on center to suit the driver's feet and driving style. 

This offset balance bar pedal set is also the first of Wilwood's new variable-ratio, adjustable length pedals. Movable foot pad mounts on the pedal heads adjust up and down, offering three positions/pedal ratios. At the lowest setting,  this set has a 6.25 to 1 pedal ratio for more leverage with less leg effort. Move the footpad to its topmost setting, 1.25" higher, and the leverage ratio is 5.50 to 1, with another position centered between them at 5.88 to 1.

Both offset and straight arms with the adjustable foot pad mounting are backward compatible with older Wilwood pedal assemblies. In the near future, a Tru-bar version will be introduced, along with floor mount versions, and individual replacement pedal arms for retrofits. In the near future, a longer 6.25-7:1 adjustable ratio arm, and a shorter 5.25-6:1 arm will be offered as well.

Lightweight Finned Billet Aluminum Reservoirs

Wilwood's new lightweight version of the billet aluminum master cylinder reservoir (when used with the black nylon cap) weighs 40% less than the original - more than 3 ounces less! By turning down the outside of the 4 fluid once reservoir, we removed weight, leaving a finned shape that fits in the same clamps, with plenty of strength and more surface area for better passive cooling. All the durable Wilwood features are still there, and it can be mounted directly to the master cylinder, or remotely to any convenient surface.

The racing version comes with a durable hard anodized finish and a standard black nylon cap. If you prefer a little bling, a polished aluminum version with billet aluminum cap is also available. Wilwood has all the clamps, lines, and fittings you need for installation.

You can find more details right here.

UTV Big Brake Kits for Polaris RZR and Can-Am Maverick

Wilwood is excited to enter the performance UTV market with big brake kits for the Polaris RZR and Can-Am Maverick sport side-by-sides, including competition-grade kits. These lightweight machines offer impressive off-road performance, thanks to their dedicated, no-nonsense designs. But with up to 200hp and 32" tires from the factory, when loaded down with passengers, gear, spare parts, and tools, the stock brakes just don't cut it anymore.

Wilwood's kits start with front and rear rotors up to 20% larger than what the factory installed on the Can-am Maverick X3 or Polaris RZR 1000. Then Wilwood engineered a mounting hat system to allows the rotors to float on the hubs, eliminating knockback and thermal distortion. The mounting hats are a lightweight, high-strength aluminum, while the 11.25" x 0.25" rotors are a high-friction, low-carbon iron alloy.

Wilwood engineered UTV specific calipers, based on the designs of our competition proven motorsports calipers, to fit the smaller rotors and wheels. These calipers are stress-flow forged aluminum with fortified end bridges for reduced deflection and maximum rigidity, just like Wilwood uses for truck and military applications. They are engineered in four or six piston versions (dependent on application), sized to work with the factory pedal and master cylinder. Race grade kits are Spec-III hard anodized with fade-free PolyMatrix E pads.

Scenes from PRI

The staff from Wilwood attended the PRI show in order to support customers, answer questions, solve problems, and promote our products, but we also took time out every day to walk around and check out the racecars. Since Wilwood is so popular in so many different types of racing, it was hard to turn your head without seeing another Wilwood-equipped racer. Here's a slideshow of some of the ones that caught our eye, including Bobby Santos outrageous Super Modified on display in the Wilwood booth.