Brake caliper placement

[jtvang125]

Is there any difference in which side the caliper is made to mount on? It seems most have the caliper on the side which faces the front of car. Any advantage facing towards the rear?

 

[KentState]

It's typical based on the car being front wheel vs rear wheel drive. There are exceptions, but the reason you see them towards the front is FWD is common on a lot of commuter cars.

 

[master_shake_]

on the front of a car its usually due to rack and pinion placement.

some cars have racks in front of the strut some behind.

same with trucks.

the rear??

no idea really.

 

[HarryLui]

Package reasons, probably.

 

[freeskier93]

Package reasons, probably.

This. In the Jeep Wrangler world it's common, on stock width axles, to flip the rear calipers to make room for out-boarding the shocks. As far as braking it make no difference.

 

[LTC8K6]

Moving the weight closer to the middle of the car has some benefit too, iirc., but "packaging" is generally the primary factor.

I think there are performance cars with the front caliper at the back of the wheel, and the rear caliper at the front, such as a Corvette, 911, etc. That is, the weight is towards the center of the car.

In fact, some cars moved the brakes all the way inboard, up against the transmission, to get the weight in the middle of the car.

 

[KentState]

Moving the weight closer to the middle of the car has some benefit too, iirc., but "packaging" is generally the primary factor.

I think there are performance cars with the front caliper at the back of the wheel, and the rear caliper at the front, such as a Corvette, 911, etc. That is, the weight is towards the center of the car.

In fact, some cars moved the brakes all the way inboard, up against the transmission, to get the weight in the middle of the car.

Mine have them towards the center. The steering rack is at the front of the car so the calipers are at the back. Not that I have compared a lot of cars, but supposedly having the rack at the front helps with steering feel as well.