Wilwood Electronic Parking Brake Calipers

[LSUpete]

Has anyone installed this setup on your Bronco? I was wondering if it was a viable alternative.

I would love to get rid of the parking brake pedal and all of the cables underneath.

 

[Spaggyroe]

I was discussing this very thing with some guys last week.
I don't know why the wilwood kit wouldn't be a viable option.

Another option might be to use a set of Tesla (brembo) calipers. They are available on e-bay for ~$150 ish a pair. It looks like these guys have figured out a controller for them too. https://pantera-electronics.com/epbcontroller.htm
Should be a less expensive option than the Wilwood kit. I'd imagine either would require a custom made caliper bracket.

 

[SteveL]

There was a car in my buddies shop last week with the electric solenoid for the caddy calipers. The car was up on the rack so we were checking em out. He said it worked great.

 

[Apogee]

The Wilwood MC4 parking brake calipers are relatively easy to adapt to just about anything so long as the rotor thickness aligns with the calipers you choose, as they have a narrow (.81") and wide-body (1.10") version, both in mechanical and electronic variants. I have a customer running a set of these on his G-body (78-88 GM mid-size) with pretty good results, although he said that it doesn't take much of a slope for them to slip, so I question their maximum holding torque. His are mechanical, so we're looking at his cable setup and actuator to make sure that he's setting them as hard as they should be set, but clearly the electronic units wouldn't have any such concerns, though you add in the wiring harness and servo controller. Packaging sure is relatively easy though.

 

[marjama]

Has anyone installed this setup on your Bronco? I was wondering if it was a viable alternative.

I would love to get rid of the parking brake pedal and all of the cables underneath.

Hey LSUPete,

Take a look at my build thread (here - starting at post #205) - my application is definitely not stock, but you can get an idea of what they look like and how big the electronic calipers are.

I went down the same path for options and was originally thinking about the Tesla EPB calipers. It is a cheaper option, but not by much. Obviously you need to have discs on the rear if you don't already. I believe Wilwood sells full kits now that include everything for a stock rear axle swap with the electronic parking brake.

One thing to keep in mind about these setups - the aftermarket versions are generally for parking only. It's not meant to be an emergency brake. The Wilwood EPB can be actuated at any speed, though it is small enough I am not sure it would send you out of control. Some OEM systems act like ABS and pulse on and off if you actuate it while on the move, but the aftermarket systems aren't that smart (no speed input, just basic on/off control).