Drag racing is a natural extension of the human psyche, because from an early age young kids will challenge their friends to a foot race to see who is faster. From an athletic standpoint, the Olympics feature the 100-yard dash to see who is the fastest man on the planet. It is only natural to continue that speed challenge to bicycles and to automobiles to see who is faster in a short race. Automobile acceleration races probably started in the Model T days and that was a time when mechanics were discovering ways of increasing horsepower so they could have the fastest car in town. Eventually the idea of automotive racing carried over to many fellows before and after World War II and the speed parts industry started growing rapidly to feed the quest for speed. The majority of racing enthusiasts were working on the Ford Flathead V8 engine but others were interested in other makes such as the Chevy overhead valve straight 6 and the strong running Buick overhead valve straight 8 cylinder engines. Most of the early hot rods were built with high gear ratios for top speed racing, but acceleration racing became popular with some of the enthusiasts, and those who were running quick-change rear differentials had higher gears for the dry lakes and lower gears for the street. Before long the automotive hobby had two facets, one for top speed dry lakes racers and another for acceleration racers.

The top speed racers did their racing on the dry lakes where nobody really cared about what they were doing. The acceleration racers were doing it on the public streets and there it became a safety concern. Wally Parks and others saw a need to get these racers off of the streets, so sanctioned acceleration races became a sport and the National Hot Rod Association was formed. There were quite a few abandoned aircraft runways after the War so they were the perfect place to stage a safe acceleration race. The NHRA rules were established including the name “Drag Racing” and the acceleration distance was set at ¼-mile. Drag racing got its start in the late ‘40s and it has been going strong ever since. This was also the expansion of the speed parts industry with companies building parts to enhance engine horsepower. Just like the top speed racers, the drag racers figured out that the lighter the car was, the better the power to weight ratio became. The drag racers did everything they could to make the cars lighter, which translated into faster.

If you look at quarter mile speeds for the various drag race classes, it is amazing to see how fast the cars in classes are now compared to what they were at various times in the past 60 years. Many of the cars today have incredible acceleration, but that’s not the only essential in drag racing, because after tripping the lights at the finish line that vehicle has to slow down in a short period of time since many drag strips aren’t that long. It is important to have adequate brakes and that’s where Wilwood Engineering comes in. Knowing that power to weight is important in drag racing the Wilwood engineers have developed a variety of extremely lightweight brake kits for a wide variety of drag cars from dragsters to door slammers.

The Dynalite Single Floater Front Kit is a brake that is developed for use on lightweight cars using spindle mount brakes on P&S/Anglia-style spindles. The DLSF calipers and lightweight steel rotors provide excellent static holding power for use as a staging lane brake or as a supplementary brake on vehicles using parachutes and rear brakes to provide the majority of the stopping power. This caliper is available in black and the 10.00-inch rotor comes in two styles, solid or drilled for a weight savings. Another more popular application is the Dynapro Single Front Drag Kit. This brake features a Dynapro caliper and a hub mounted rotor. The hubs are designed to fit the common front spindles and aftermarket struts used on four-wheel disc brake cars that weigh less than 2,400 pounds. The fixed mount two-piston design mounts directly to the spindle with a bolt-on bracket. The forged billet five lug hub assembly with the direct bolt-on steel 10.00-inch rotor combine to provide consistent braking with an average weight savings of 35 pounds over stock drum or disc brakes. Many of the larger drag cars need the Forged Dynalite Front Drag kit. This kit features forged Dynalite calipers in a black, Platinum-E or polished finish. The brakes are available for all of the popular muscle car spindles and select aftermarket struts used on four-wheel disc cars weighing up to 2,800 pounds or rear drum brake cars weighing up to 2,400 pounds. This brake fits most ‘60s and early ‘70s Fords, General Motors and Chrysler cars. This kit can also be used in lightweight, small platform street rods. Some of the newer cars that have hub assemblies can be equipped with the Dynapro Radial Front Drag Kit that features a black Dynapro caliper. This brake is available with a solid steel rotor or a vented rotor that should be used on cars weighing 2,800 pounds or more. This brake system is designed for use on several new Ford applications.

Wilwood also offers several lightweight rear brake applications for drag racing. The application that covers the largest number of cars is the Forged Dynalite Rear Drag Kit. This kit is a direct bolt-on application for all popular muscle cars and cars built with aftermarket rear differentials. This kit is designed for sportsman category door slammers and others with full functional four-wheel disc brakes. This kit securely mounts the Dynalite caliper directly over the 3/8-inch plate steel rotors. The calipers are available in a black, Platinum-E or polished finish. This kit fits a wide variety of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler differentials. Another popular rear drag brake kit is the Forged Dynalite Dynamic Rear Drag Kit that features a black Dynalite caliper. The kit features Dynamic rotor mounting that is beneficial to cars that rely heavily on the rear brakes for stopping power, and any other high-speed heavy weight car that generates above average rear brake heat. Dynamic mounting uses floating T-nuts to isolate the different thermal expansion rates between the steel rotor plate and the aluminum rotor hat. This reduces any tendency for the rotor to distort and impose any additional stress to the hat. This kit is widely used on Mark Williams, Big Ford and Olds/Pontiac rear differentials. If safety is a big concern, the Forged Dynalite Dual Dynamic Rear Kit can be used. The dual caliper design provides the highest degree of safety and reliability and unsurpassed stopping power for Sportsman category dragsters and other cars that rely on rear brakes for stopping power. With two calipers at each wheel, the fluid circuits for each caliper pair can be isolated with dual mount or tandem outlet master cylinders. Isolating the fluid circuits prevents complete system failure in case there is a problem with any single caliper or line. This system can be used on Mark Williams, Big Ford and Olds/Pontiac rear differentials.

Look over the front and rear disc brake drag race kits and you can decide which one is the best for your particular application. All of the kits are designed to be very light and extremely effective to slow your drag car down.

if you didn’t find what you were looking for or if you have questions please contact Wilwood’s tech line for assistance at (805) 388-1188 or email Sales/Tech Support.