Wilwood TC6R Big Brake Kit - Brake Rotor

Wilwood Tc6r Big Brake Kit Installation Chevy Silverado

We always preach the importance of upgrading a vehicle's braking system when increasing tire and wheel size. When bigger, heavier wheels and tires get spinning, they are not as easy to corral as the factory wheel/tire combo the brake system was originally designed to handle. In the case of this Silverado, the 22-inch forged wheels are relatively light, but they still weigh more than the factory intended. With plenty of room for a heavy-duty set of brakes, the truck owner called Wilwood Engineering to get a set of their high-end TC6R six-piston 16-inch rotor big brakes. Wilwood has an installation bay that was perfect for our shoot, and Tony Porto, their go-to technician, knocked out the install for us. Check out how Wilwood added stopping power and head-turning looks to this future feature truck.

Tony began the install by driving the Chevy onto Wilwood's lift and removing the wheels. Here's the factory brake assembly. Functional, but not up to the spirited driving in store for this truck. They also aren't much to look at.
Tony began the install by driving the Chevy onto Wilwood's lift and removing the wheels. H
Two bolts hold the caliper in place. With the caliper out of the way, the rotor slid right off. Tony also removed the factory rubber brake line where it met the solid brake line on the frame.
Two bolts hold the caliper in place. With the caliper out of the way, the rotor slid right
Tony used a stainless steel brush to clean the hub before he test fit the Wilwood caliper spacer. The truck already had Belltech spindles installed, which are a little beefier than the factory parts. Tony marked the areas of interference with a Sharpie and used an angle grinder to clearance the spindle just a bit.
Tony used a stainless steel brush to clean the hub before he test fit the Wilwood caliper

After the bare cast iron got a protective coat of black paint, Tony bolted the caliper spacer to the spindle. Note the two spacers on the mounting studs. Tony has installed the kit before and knew that two spacers were the best starting point.
After the bare cast iron got a protective coat of black paint, Tony bolted the caliper spa
Side-by-side with the factory parts, there's hardly any comparison. The Wilwood 16-inch rotor and six-piston caliper dwarf the two-piston GM part. The black E-coating makes them look great too.
Side-by-side with the factory parts, there's hardly any comparison. The Wilwood 16-inch ro
Using Loctite on each bolt, Tony carefully torqued the rotor to the hat.

The new rotor assembly was mounted on the studs and the caliper was torqued in place.
Two bolts hold the brake pads in place; Tony is tightening them in position here. To change brake pads, just remove the bolts, slide the old pads out, slide the new pads in, and replace the bolts.
Two bolts hold the brake pads in place; Tony is tightening them in position here. To chang
Tony removed the original brake line from this metal clip and installed it on the Wilwood braided stainless lines so that it could be mounted out of the way of any moving parts.
Tony removed the original brake line from this metal clip and installed it on the Wilwood

Like the front, the rear Wilwood rotor is giant compared to the factory rear rotor. Also like the front, Wilwood uses a six-piston caliper.
Like the front, the rear Wilwood rotor is giant compared to the factory rear rotor. Also l
The caliper bracket for the rear uses shims for centering the caliper on the rotor and for setting the radial distance as well. Tony used one set of shims on each of the mounting surfaces.
The caliper bracket for the rear uses shims for centering the caliper on the rotor and for
Both sets of bolts were torqued in place and the new brake lines were installed.

The last step was to bleed the brakes, starting with the caliper farthest from the master cylinder and finishing on the driver side front.
The last step was to bleed the brakes, starting with the caliper farthest from the master
Tony took the truck on a quick test drive to break the pads in. The E-coating wears off the friction surface, but will stay in the slots, holes, and cooling vanes, to keep them from rusting.
Tony took the truck on a quick test drive to break the pads in. The E-coating wears off th

Wilwood Tc6r Big Brake Kit Installation Shop Test

From The Driver Seat
A fter conducting our own 60-0 mph brake testing, the Wilwood kit stopped the Chevy 49.2 feet shorter than the factory brakes. That is an amazing feat and a tribute to the engineering behind the kit. As a bonus, the E-Coating only wears off where the brakes contact the pad, which helps you know whether or not your caliper is positioned properly, and while the exposed steel will rust just like any other brake, it is quickly scrubbed off after its first stop, leaving nothing on the rotor but shiny metal and black E-Coating.

Your Questions Answered

Time Spent Working: 6 hours

Parts Used:
Wilwood TC6R Big Brake Kit $5,838

Tools Used:
Inch-pound and foot-pound torque wrenches, flare-nut wrench, allen wrench, sockets

Total $5,838
(price does not include tax or installation)