"Wedging" Wilwoods

I was prepping my car this week for the upcoming PBIR Double SARRC (April 3-5) and noticed something odd.

The front brake pads are not wearing evenly. The leading edge of the pad is worn noticably more than the trailing edge in relation to the disc rotation. The pads are (est) 30-40% worn, and they are clearly "wedging" My initial concern is since the pads are no longer squared in the caliper, they are just a little on the loose side insofar as the fitment in the caliper.

I believe switching to a caliper with "staggered" pistons sizes will cure this, but should I be immediatley concerned? Anyone else noticing this?

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Mark W-

I was watching something on TV this weekend where the car being worked on was having wear issues with Wilwood brakes. Wilwood sent them something...I don't remember. Most of this weekend is a blur.

IF this is "normal" wear, I will monitor it and otherwise dismiss it. I am just concerned since this is a home-made set-up, that I may have done something wrong. They have performed flawlessly at Sebring and Homestead/Miami after I sorted out the bias problem (with Wilwoods help). They are ducted with plenty of airflow and never hint at fading. Just presently concerned with the wear "pattern"

[jimwheeler]

This is normal. Just flop the pads and you will get longer life out of them. Kind of like rotating your tires.
wheel

[kbsmith1]

You have to flop so that leading edge becomes trailing edge regularly. The pads become unusable if they get too much taper wear. And I suspect that there is a possibility of hurting the pistons as well if run with pads with too much taper wear, but that is just a guess.

Staggered piston calipers might solve the problem, but at some extra expense.

Originally Posted by jimwheeler

This is normal. Just flop the pads and you will get longer life out of them. Kind of like rotating your tires.
wheel

Who needs a chief mechanic when I have you guys!!

That certainly makes sense and I never thought about it. The flopping shall commence immediately.

Originally Posted by kbsmith1

Staggered piston calipers might solve the problem, but at some extra expense.

Actually they were remarkably similiar in price when I was purchasing/comparing. BUT, since there is nothing wrong with the ones I have, you are absolutely correct. An unnecessary $380.00 expenditure.

Thanks Gentlemen.

Staggered pistons are definitely a must. My new Wilwood calipers are about 1.75 X 1.375, although I 'm not sure and I have yet to run them. Jerry

Mark, when you get the car sorted out and going faster, you have to flop the pads every 3 laps.
Chuck

[jimwheeler]

The staggered pistons are preferable, but not mandatory. I, certainly, would not spend the money to replace the calipers I use, just to get the staggered pistons. I have had zero problems since they were installed the day they became legal, (in 2005?). I flip the pads every couple of races.
If I was starting from scratch, I would go with the staggered, however.