Airkewld Disc Brake Kits

[Steve Bryant]

[Posted on another thread, but thought it might be better to make it a separate thread]

Airkewld.com has Disc brake kits for drum brake Porsche 356 for $895 front or rear.

This looks very interesting. This company in Arizona has kits for 356 Porsches where the hub is three pieces. Two are of CNC aluminum and the outer part can be switched between 5 X 205 wheels (with studs)[our drum brake wheels] or 5 x 130 wheels (also with studs)[our disk brake wheels], subtract $110 from price. The inside piece is the steel rotor.

Calipers in front are Wilwood single piston. For an additional $225 you get Wilwood 2-piston (one on each side) and it moves the wheel out 3/8". For $425 more you can have Wilwood 4-pistons, also moves wheel out 3/8".

Rear calipers are a unit that looks to me like the same ones used by CSP. And it has parking brake cables included.

There is a youtube video (on their website) on each front and rear and how they are changed between wheel types.

Change wheel bolt patterns:

http://store.airkewld.com/e-shop-online ... otors.html

Front brakes:

http://store.airkewld.com/index.php?pro ... &Itemid=37

Rear brakes:

http://store.airkewld.com/e-shop-online ... e-kit.html

Take a look and let me know what you think of these aftermarket brakes.

If anyone has working knowledge of these kits I would really like to hear about your experiences with them, especially the rears. Because I understand that the even the CSP brakes are not just a bolt on affair.

Steve

[Mark Roth]

CSP front brake kits ARE bolt on. You just need to have a dual master. I had a dual from Klasse already. I bought the non vented front brakes for my 62 and they work as good as the brakes on my 65C. I highly recommend them.

[Bruce Baker]

CSP front brake kits ARE bolt on. You just need to have a dual master. I had a dual from Klasse already. I bought the non vented front brakes for my 62 and they work as good as the brakes on my 65C. I highly recommend them.

Mark, I agree with your comment but I am not clear as to why a dual master is technically required with any particular brake type. A master for discs needs the 'bodenventil' whereas a master for drums does not, so a mix of discs and drums on the same car makes master cylinder selection more critical and of course, most agree that a dual master cylinder's redundancy is a safety addition to any 356..... but it's not actually needed to make a system work. You may need to review your Klasse kit's master cylinder to make sure it is compatible with a disc/drum system, as it may be for a drum/drum system. I.e., you could use a 'C' single circuit master with the CSP brakes and they would work, but CSP wants to recommend a bigger diameter master to push more fluid to the bigger caliper chamber...and it just happens that the cylinders they urge you to use are dual circuit.

[Christian Guthrie]

Not to steal your thread, but anyone who is on the fence about converting to a dual master only has to experience a full loss of brakes from a single circuit system one time. For the record, I'm running the CSP discs on my 63 B with the drum brake dual master cylinder kit from Klasse. Works great with no complaints.

[Steve Bryant]

Bolt on: Sorry, I only meant that for the rears, where I have read what others have said about having to do some extra work to get the rears going. I understand there is no issues with the fronts.

Also, I see on their web site that they now have an upgraded kit. Wonder what that is like?

And, do CSP single piston front calibers really stop as well as '64-65 'C' disc brakes? Or is everyone just comparing them to the drum brakes they had before they put on the CSP discs?

Who in the USA carries CSP kits?

Thanks,

Steve

[Michael Aiello]

I am presently installing a set on a 63B driver. The fronts are not too much of a chore, but you will have to upgrade to the dual master cylinder. The rears however are not for the faint of heart. The rears kit is deficient in many respects. Basically you get a set of rear floating calipers and the hats and rotors with a bunch of after market VW stuff thrown in...and then from there you are on your own. If you are buying them for the track and don't need an E Brake they would make sense. You do not get any brake lines and will have to buy from a race parts supplier. You will need braided -3 (not a hard line as supplied by the factory) because the only way to change pads is to remove the caliper(actually not totally removed, but you will still need a flexible line) . The bottom caliper mounting bolt is too long as the lower shock mount interferes , you will need a 10 x 1.5 - 20mm.The brake line adapter provided is IPS thread and directs the line straight out, so that if you use it the line would be flapping in the breeze...best to get the proper Earl's banjo adapter fitting so that the line can hug the axle. So far not too much of a project.
However, for a driver I would think that an E brake is mandatory and the only part of the supplied E brake system that works is the length of the wire cable. You do not get a proper fitting for the front connection to the stock E brake cable block. The bourdon tube is about 6" too short, and it is also the wrong size for the large chassis connection nut, and cannot be retained without machining the large factory nut to the right size. In order to make the E brake system work, a custom tube fitting will have to be fashioned which connects the caliper to the buordon tube supplied. There is no way to connect the supplied part to the caliper (even if it was long enough) because it cannot be positioned around the lower shock mount...thus the need for a custom tube.

[Frederic Prince]

Michael, are you talking about CSP kit or Airkewld kit ?

I've put the front and rear CSP kit on my car and everything was fine, a bit more complicated on the rear but we've done this when we rebuilt the trans.
fred ©

[Bruce Baker]

Michael, are you talking about CSP kit or Airkewld kit ?

I've put the front and rear CSP kit on my car and everything was fine, a bit more complicated on the rear but we've done this when we rebuilt the trans.
fred ©

That's what I was thinking....the actual installation of the CSP rear kit was only a minor challenge, the bleeding of all the air in the calipers was the major hassle, but eventually overcome. I understand that an 'upgrade' is available, so bleeding the caliper is not such a problem due to bleeder port orientation (and yes, they were bench bled prior to installation).

The Porsche Ate C, CSP or Zim kits I have installed on drum brake 356s were done to replace BAD A or B drums....or for racing (C brakes for that, only). I like to support those who support the 356 hobby as well as know they will support me if there is trouble with a fit or component, so I have not tried the VW (cheaper, maybe) sourcing.

I also try to sell the dual master cylinder conversion regardless of brake design but want to technically disagree again with those who say you MUST use a dual master if you install CSP or any other brake kit. Should you? Yes. Do you have to? No. Those are separate hydraulic issues.

[Frederic Prince]

yes, bleeding the rear was a major hassle !!!

[Steve Bryant]

Great posts! Thanks, Guys

But where can I buy them in the U.S.?

Steve

[Brad Ripley]

Right there on the internet. Here's their location information
001.623.518.3537 International Line
19516428365 SMS or Text Message

Google Talk - airkewld2010

Twitter - Airkewld

Airkewld, a company that started in 2003 is an Internet & Mail order company only. We do not have a store front for you to come and check out our products and/or projects.

[Bruce Baker]

Funny, I think the telephone was just invented when I began speaking with Brad, now he's Twittering, Tweeting? What's next...Facebook? But, I digress.......

In case the question of "how do I find CSP products in the US" is the one not answered, call William at 626-445-0108....or ClassicAndSpeedParts.com

[Brad Ripley]

No, not me twitter or even facebook. All I did is use 'ole fashioned Google.

[Michael Aiello]

Michael, are you talking about CSP kit or Airkewld kit ?

I've put the front and rear CSP kit on my car and everything was fine, a bit more complicated on the rear but we've done this when we rebuilt the trans.
fred ©

The airkewld kit is what I am installing. I presumed,but in fact I think I was told by Klasse, that I had to up grade to the dual master cylinder. My presumption was based on the theory that the disc systems needed more volume...seemed to make sense. Regardless I had no desire to continue with the original single circuit factory unit.

[Jim Nelson]

Bruce said:" In case the question of "how do I find CSP products in the US" is the one not answered, call William at 626-445-0108....or ClassicAndSpeedParts.com"

That's in Arcadia, California. William is usually there and has been quite helpful to me when I stop by.