WJ Steering and brakes for street only?

[seanyb505]

Any idea on what the hat height is on those crown vic rotors?

 

[Deadman 94 xj]

Any idea on what the hat height is on those crown vic rotors?

This thread reminded me about mine so I posted a thread over in modified.

Here it is:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1032731

 

[XJLI]

FWIW, I'll have my own upgrade available soon.

oh hot damn.

 

[kastein]

I'm actually a little confused as to how the double piston WJ calipers actually improve braking... they are dual 1.87" pistons, which have a total bore area of 5.6 square inches by my calculations. Stock XJ calipers have a bore area of 5.3 square inches (2.6" diameter), only a third of a square inch different (~6%) not something I'd think would be extremely noticeable. Are the pads larger on the WJ brakes, or do the calipers mount further from the center of the hub and get more leverage that way, or what?

 

[CanMan]

I'm actually a little confused as to how the double piston WJ calipers actually improve braking... they are dual 1.87" pistons, which have a total bore area of 5.6 square inches by my calculations. Stock XJ calipers have a bore area of 5.3 square inches (2.6" diameter), only a third of a square inch different (~6%) not something I'd think would be extremely noticeable. Are the pads larger on the WJ brakes, or do the calipers mount further from the center of the hub and get more leverage that way, or what?

Larger rotors, larger pads, more surface contact, along with the slight difference in piston size.

 

[Deadman 94 xj]

I'm actually a little confused as to how the double piston WJ calipers actually improve braking... they are dual 1.87" pistons, which have a total bore area of 5.6 square inches by my calculations. Stock XJ calipers have a bore area of 5.3 square inches (2.6" diameter), only a third of a square inch different (~6%) not something I'd think would be extremely noticeable. Are the pads larger on the WJ brakes, or do the calipers mount further from the center of the hub and get more leverage that way, or what?

No idea. I had the same doubts going in but the results are there. Even with crapy Napa pads. The pads really aren't much bigger than stock pads. The caliper itself is much bigger.

 

[Boostwerks.com]

A dual piston caliper of the same area as a single piston caliper will have much better performance over the single. Why? Because that area is more evenly distributed over the surface of the brake pad. simple as that.

A better way to think about it is: the effective pad surface is equal too only the area the piston contacts the pad. Anything beyond the piston deflects enough to not really contribute to clamping force.

 

[kastein]

Good point... guess it could be solved with a single piston caliper by using heavier metal plates on the backs of the pads, but that's not really relevant to this mod.

OP, what's your plan for the tie rod? I'm still split between buying the JKS OGS955+OGS957 or cutting, narrowing, and sleeving the stock WJ tie rod I got. I know I don't want to try and fab my own tie rod because LH+RH 24mm taps are going to cost way more than the JKS parts (even without the cost of the DOM added), and I'm sorta wary of cutting and narrowing as it seems a bit ghetto, but I'd rather not spend $126 if I don't have to, I'm already going to be buying two of their OGS930s to mount the unit bearings...

EDIT: nm, you already said you're probably buying the JKS stuff too.

 

[seanyb505]

Im cheap to begin with, and Im getting married in 3 months. Money cant go flying out the window right now like it may later in life, and since I dont have a welder now, I cant buy one just for this project. We're also playing the apartment game so I wouldnt have anywhere to put one. Not having a welder for myself makes things difficult. I had tried a few months ago to remove the front axle to remove the oil pan, and that dead ended due to the passenger UCA bolt bending and twisting. So I cant remove the axle to take it to a shop to have the higher track bar mount welded on. The knuckles and spacers can fit in the back seat though, so I may just go ahead with the WJ knuckles and brakes and continue to use stock steering, albeit repaired. Someone has said use the ZJ tierod, but Im not sure that offers me any benefit at all since I dont go offroad. Its beefier for sure, but Im looking for a better functioning system rather than just more damage resistant stuff with the same types of linkages.


When the day comes that I cross over to crossover steering (lol) I'll more than likely buy the JKS to take the guesswork out.

 

[JohnnyTurbo]

I just did my oil pan and rear main seal on my 91 and I did not have to take any CA bolts off. I did loosen the motor mounts and jack up the balancer a bit but not much at all. I am following this thread as I am also looking to upgrade my steering.

 

[Lightfoot]

The zj tie rod is stiffer, and will not flex around a turn as much, making the steering feel stiffer. the stock one is really pretty small.

As far as the improved braking from wj calipers, some of it comes from the fact that they are beefier, and wont flex as much. On larger tires, when panic stopping, you will notice that once you push hard enough you get to a point where pushing harder has no effect on slowing you down. This is the caliper flexing. I couldnt lock 31's with crappy xj pads, if i stood on the pedal. Now its almost effortless. I think gojeep has a really good writeup that explains it.