Wilwood Brake Master Cylinder Upgrade Kit

DESCRIPTION

Upgrade your factory brake master cylinder to this 1" Wilwood master cylinder with dual reservoirs. This is a complete kit and includes everything you need for installation. The 1" master cylinder pairs perfectly with any big brake kits using the Wilwood calipers.

** NEW for 2020: Gone are the two hard lines that had to be hand formed to join between the master cylinder and the factory hard lines. Now included are a pair of braided stainless steel flexible lines to do the same job with none of the difficult hand bending that was required with the old lines. The new lines also eliminate the need for the old straight union fitting; now the braided line connects directly to the factory hard line with no adapter needed.

** 2022 UPDATE: Wilwood now provides these master cylinders with the option to run them with the fluid reservoirs mounted directly on the master cylinder, or remote mounted with a hose connecting from the master to reservoir. For the limited space in the Miata engine bay, it makes the most sense to have the reservoirs mounted directly to the master. These come packed with the remote attachments installed, but you can easily swap the reservoirs on to the master cylinder by just removing the bits for the remote mounting and moving the reservoirs to the master.

WHY:

Most brake calipers used in big brake kits have smaller piston sizes compared to stock calipers. Although braking performance increases overall, the result of the slight change in piston size gives a "softer" pedal feel and more travel with the factory master cylinder. Depending on the year, your Miata came with either a 7/8" or 15/16" master cylinder. The 1" master cylinder regains the firm and responsive brake pedal the Miata has with the factory calipers.

Kit includes:
* Wilwood 1" piston master cylinder with twin reservoirs
* Master to booster adapter bracket
* Tee fitting for front lines
* NEW flexible braided SS adapter lines
* Nylon barb fittings and clear hose for bench bleeding

Note: Fits all years with or without ABS. Does NOT fit on the brake booster in 2004-2005 Mazdaspeed. To fit this in a Mazdaspeed Miata you will need to change to a brake booster from a Sport package 2001-2005 Miata.

ABS / non-ABS option:
Selecting ABS will get you a straight fitting to connect the supplied front braided line to the single front hard line (which goes to the ABS pump). Selecting non-ABS will get you a T-fitting to join the braided line to the two factory hard lines, which go directly to each front caliper.

Sean's Notes:

Wow! On the road, upgrading to the 1" master cylinder was an immediate difference with a much firmer brake pedal and reduced pedal travel. However, on track is where this upgrade truly shines and the 1" master cylinder greatly improves feel and feedback from the brakes. I found the extra feedback gave me the confidence to consistently push deeper and deeper into braking zones. If you have a big brake kit this kit should be your next purchase, you won't regret it.

DIY NOTE:
This is a UNIVERSAL master cylinder by Wilwood, with adapter bracket and fittings to make it possible to attach it to a Miata. It should not be expected that install of this is as drop-in as a Mazda replacement part. Some DIY and figuring things out will be required here. Most specifically, the pushrod in the booster may need adjustment or modification to get it to reach the master cylinder correctly, and you may need to source a different booster, depending on which booster came in your car. We have found many different versions of boosters and pushrods in Miatas from 1990-2005 and it is not very clear which exact combination of years and features gets you a certain booster, or what all the differences are between them. Ultimately, you will need to measure the pushrod extension on your car, check that against the master cylinder, and then figure out how much to adjust or modify to get the pushrod to meet the master cylinder. Do not order this kit and then be surprised when you find these DIY steps are necessary.
Also due to being a universal part, this may not be compatible with some shock tower braces and some items in the surrounding area may need to be relocated or adjusted. Cruise Control module needs to be shifted out of the way on some years that have it.

INSTALL NOTES:
A) The master cylinder comes from Wilwood with a drum brake residual spring in the rear port. Be sure to remove that spring before installation.
B) Installation of these lines involves removing the factory proportioning valve/block. The included braided rear line goes directly to the hard line for the rear brakes, and the included braided front line joins to the two front hard lines via the included Tee fitting. You must adjust the bend in the hard lines somewhat to achieve this. A hand-held line bending tool can be helpful for this.
C) The latest update to this kit to now have soft braided adapter lines rather than formable hard lines is a great change, but it does cause a complication if you are intending to pair a Wilwood brake bias proportioning valve with this master cylinder kit. The proportioning valve is designed to intercept between two hard lines; the factory rear hard line on the firewall on one end, and a hard line going to the master cylinder on the other end. But now with the new adapter line the end on that line has changed to a female fitting so it can connect directly to the hard line, removing the need for a female-female union fittings that was previously required. That soft line cannot connect directly to the proportioning valve because the line has a female end and the valve has a female end. So to make the proportioning valve work with the latest version of this master cylinder kit, you must add a short hard line with metric fittings on each end (available at most auto parts stores) between the proportioning valve and the flexible adapter line coming off the master cylinder. NOTE: you can use this same trick to retain the factory brake proportioning valve in-line with the rear lines if you wish.