SS caliper pistons

[TurboFource]

Original style brake caliper pistons are available for $11.49 each and stainless ones are $40 each.
If you change the fluid on a regular basis, is there any real advantage to the stainless ones?

Considering mine were stuck, they seem to have faired pretty well....

[BDA]

Stainless pistons would be nice but I think they might not be worth the money (my apologies if I recommended them earlier!). In the first place, if you regularly change your brake fluid, that should reduce your chance of having most problems you'd have with your pistons. If you keep your car in the garage, that would probably prevent you from having most of the rest of the rest. Not driving in the rain would probably eliminate whatever problems might be left. You'd basically just need to worry about the rubber parts then.

[jbcollier]

The only advantage to SS pistons is reduced corrosion.  Seldom does a piston corrode "inside" the caliper.  It most often corrodes on the other side of the hydraulic seal.  Dust boots are not a perfect seal and quite a bit of the piston is exposed as the pads wear.  All well and good until you push the piston back in when changing the pads.

Regardless of which piston you use, you should:

- change the brake fluid regularly, say every two years
- overhaul the brake system every 40K mile/ 65K kilometres which involves changing every hydraulic seal (it's in the maintenance schedule).

Lather caliper pistons in ATE brake assembly grease when overhauling and you'll be fine.

[TurboFource]

Thanks for the replies! Will think about it…..I already bought drilled/slotted discs and stainless braided hoses…..
A couple of the pistons definitely need changed as they corroded near the seal area.

[Pfreen]

I bought ss pistons from RD a long time ago, maybe 25 years.  I also run silicone brake fluid.  I have never had a problem since.  When I overhauled them before the ss pistons, the pistons were very rusted everywhere.  I was also running castrol lma then.  The brake booster also kept failing.  I put in the Lockheed boosters the same time as the ss pistons and silicone fluid.  Again, no problems in 25 or so years.

I can't comment on what BDA and JB say, but I am glad I did it.  However, I know I didn't pay $160 a set back then. However, $100 per set comes to mind.

[TurboFource]

These calipers are the same as a Spitfire?

[jbcollier]

Yup.

[EuropaTC]

I've got stainless pistons in the rear calipers on the Elan, they've been there for over 40yrs now. (the seals haven't !) 

As John says, the main problem is the dust seals which aren't waterproof and as the pads wear, more chrome plating is exposed. When I used the car regularly and it lived outside, replacing front pistons was a regular job and I tried very hard back then to find SS front pistons because they'd show signs after one set of pads & replaced every other set.

Now both cars live in a nice dry garage and I try not to drive them in winter with salt on the roads, it's not an issue. If they were in regular use I'd certainly fit stainless pistons.

I don't know what modern cars use but I've overhauled the brakes on every car we've had at some point and never found the corrosion that I had with the older Girling calipers, are they using SS now or just better plating ?

Brian

[TurboFource]

Since I plan to drive TCST every nice day, I decided to order the stainless pistons  from R.D. Enterprises.
Thanks to everyone for their advice!

[Pfreen]

I think you will be happy you did.

[Chuck Nukem]

Stainless is also less heat conductive than chromed steel. On the racing side there castellated end geometries which reduce surface area to the pad if are tracking the car.