4 pot calipers vs 6 pot calipers

hi all,
I've been wondering recently the difference between 6 pot calipers and 4 pot calipers.
besides the obvious difference that one has 4 and the other 6, my standard calipers will lock my front wheel without too much effort with just braided lines.
seeing as there is no more braking force possible past locking the front wheel, what is the advantage of 6 pots.
Is it just improved braking feel without locking the wheel?
thanks

[maviczap]

From my understanding there is no advantage from using 6 pot callipers, in fact more hassle.

More parts, more seals etc etc

i'd been told this before, that a lot of it is just visible beef factor and no real gain.
as well as me clearing this up i thought someone in the future might find it useful.
thanks

[Sid Squid]

There a hundred other considerations - the amount of pistons is not by necessity the deciding factor of how 'good' the caliper is. The usual advantage of more pistons is the disc can have a narrower pad track, (for same pad area), and thus smaller, lighter discs.

Oh so it makes the pad longer and thinner, much clearer understanding.
Thanks sid

Just a thought on this, I've seen a lot of threads on other forums about replacing the Tokico 6 pots with 4 pots as they are known to be troublesom and a bit of a bugger to service/clean (mainly on older ZX9/ZX6) That might explain the low cost of 6 pots on that well known auction site...

[Sid Squid]

The big problem is that buying S/H six pots is a bit of a gamble.

If nasty pads have been used, (typically EBC), that have stamped, rather than cut backplates, this can cause wear to the bodies of the calipers. Hydraulically speaking they may be fine, but if the bodies are worn they're basically scrap.

This is true of many modern calipers though, so don't get the idea that no others will suffer this, it is true that the Tokico six pots suffer more so than many though.

[Biker Biggles]

I dont know the theory,but from personal experience I like the four pots.I had sixes on my Kwak 600 and they were fine,but lacked feel.On the Kwak 900 the fours are great.Even better though are the four pot Brembos on junior's 748

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

The big problem is that buying S/H six pots is a bit of a gamble.

If nasty pads have been used, (typically EBC), that have stamped, rather than cut backplates, this can cause wear to the bodies of the calipers. Hydraulically speaking they may be fine, but if the bodies are worn they're basically scrap.

This is true of many modern calipers though, so don't get the idea that no others will suffer this, it is true that the Tokico six pots suffer more so than many though.

Not just the 6s suffer from this, the SRAD600 calipers on my SV are terribly worn. I'm curious to know what it actually does, I've just been knocking down any ridges that appear so the pad doesn't bind in the groove.

They still work fine, though they rattle like a bugger.

I've been considering trying to put some little steel shims in that bit like honda do but it's on the round tuit pile and has been for a few years. Get a feeling I will have put the R1 monoblocks on before that...

[Sid Squid]

Examining the pad wear suggests that its position in the caliper varies, and that the brake pad is unable to correctly bed in, as it is not consistently pressed against the disc in an identical position.
In use the effect seems to me to be that the brake lacks initial bite, overall braking power does not seem to suffer to as great a degree, but clearly it must be reduced.

I have a couple of sets of worn six piston calipers, I am investigating the practicality of building up the worn areas with weld, and in particular to enlarge the torque bearing area.