Brake Caliper/Pad Position?

[basspro]

Hi All, I have a question that is general in composition but specific in practice!? I travel a lot and see thousands of cars a year. I have often been curious why in general, different vehicles have the Brake Caliper/disk pad unit in different positions on the wheel assembly. Why are all units I have seen on or above the centerline ie. the top 180 degrees of the rotor diameter. Why are some weither it be the front unit or rear have the unit mounted on the front or the rear portion of the rotor centerline. How does it affect the braking of a vehicle (the potition of the caliper unit) or does it not. Are there any articles on the placement of caliper unit. Just wondering!!!? MC

 

[unDummy]

Makes no difference.
Top position keeps caliper away from debris.
Sometimes location is simply for clearance of suspension components or frame.

 

[therealdeal770]

I remember hearing somewhere that the position of the bleeder screw has alot to do with how well the system bleeds.Screw needs to be on top of the caliper and if the caliper was on the bottom it would seem to be harder to get the bleeder at the highest point .

 

[Big Jim]

I have been told by brake engineers that the biggest concern is packaging. What fits where.

 

[Craig in Canada]

There may also be some dependence on whether an "anti-dive" suspension system is engineered into the vehicle. Do you wish to have the caliper mounting points raised or lowered during normal braking action in order to achieve some other effect?

Lower calipers will lower the center of gravity. F1 cars all have their calipers at the 6 o'clock position. Of course they're a bear to bleed and I'm sure the effect isn't worth considering in a street car.

Bleeder nipples are always at the top of the caliper, regardless of the installation orientiation.

 

[basspro]

Thanks for the info, I assumed that there was a placement reason. I would have assumed too that the are some torsional issues along with getting the center of gravity lower too. Interesting! MC