How to choose brake caliper piston?

Time：2025.07.09 Come：Yuhuan Qifeng Machinery Co., LTD View：

Generally speaking, when we modify brakes, we use opposed piston calipers. This type of caliper includes four piston, six piston, and eight piston.
It's easy to distinguish which piston a caliper is. The round mouths on both sides of the caliper are the pistons. Count them yourself, and the number of pistons is the number of pistons. You can tell at a glance, let's treat it as a science popularization for beginners.
Of course, there are also some common misconceptions;
1. Firstly, we need to correct a misconception that the more pistons in the caliper, the stronger the braking. The braking effect of a car depends on too many factors, such as oil circuit design, brake master cylinder, pedal design, selection of brake fluid, brake discs, brake pads, and so on.
For example, some American Bigfoot cars have single piston floating calipers, but the pressure of their calipers can cause the disc of a regular family car to shatter.
So the question is, what is the difference between multi piston calipers and single piston calipers? The answer is that multi piston calipers have a larger friction area, smaller caliper volume, and more delicate brake feedback.
2. Of course, some car owners may ask, after changing the multi piston calipers, will the original car's brake master cylinder not be able to handle it? This issue depends on the fuel supply data of your car's master cylinder. The Qifeng caliper piston indicates that the master cylinder of a sedan on the market, such as the BMW F3/8x, can be fully driven. (Not being able to move is a minority of car models, and when you change the brake, the technician will tell you)
3. Additionally, some car owners have purchased a complete set of imported brake caliper kits, thinking that once installed, there will be no shaking issues. It should be noted here that it does not mean that the entire set of imported brake calipers will not shake. Because every car is subject to tolerances, and over time, the car itself will experience wear and tear. These small errors can affect the performance of the caliper. This issue is stated in the instruction manual of the brake caliper set.