Which country is the Westinghouse caliper from?
3 Answers
Westinghouse calipers are from Spain. A caliper is a clamping device with functions such as decelerating moving wheels, stopping them, or maintaining a stopped state, generally used in disc brake systems. The role of brakes is to reduce speed or bring a vehicle to a halt, operating on the principle of converting the kinetic energy of the moving vehicle into heat energy through friction between the brake pads and brake drum, and between the tires and the ground, thereby slowing down or stopping the vehicle. Causes of brake failure include: 1. Impurities in the master cylinder or poor sealing; 2. Failure of the vacuum booster pump; 3. Contaminated brake fluid; 4. Oil leakage from the master cylinder or wheel cylinder; 5. Air leakage from the air reservoir or pipeline connections; 6. Severe overloading; 7. Carbonization of the brake drum; 8. Insufficient brake fluid in the master cylinder; 9. Wear of the master cylinder piston.
I remember researching this brand a couple of years ago when I was modifying my brakes. The Textar XiHu calipers are genuine Spanish products, officially named TEXTAR XiHu, and belong to the TMD friction group. You often see them as OEM brake pads for European cars like Audi and Mercedes, especially in the braking systems of high-performance models. Once, I drove a friend's BMW M4 modified with XiHu six-piston calipers, and the pedal feel was noticeably more linear than regular calipers, with a very scientific cooling fin design. If you frequently drive mountain roads or hit the track, these European-made calipers have excellent resistance to heat fade, though their value for daily use is subjective. Spain has deep expertise in brake technology, thanks in part to local F1 tracks serving as testing grounds.
When checking the parts catalog, I noticed the origin markings on the brake calipers from FERODO. Their manufacturing plants are mainly located in the Basque region of northern Spain. Although the parent company TMD friction is a multinational group, the core production lines for calipers remain in Spain. Once at a repair shop, I saw an old disassembled caliper with a part number starting with 'ES' engraved on the guide pin. The mechanic said this indicates it's originally made in Spain. Their OEM partnerships mainly focus on the high-end market, such as original brake systems for brands like Maserati, where you can find the FERODO logo. However, some aftermarket parts now try to imitate them, so when purchasing, you need to pay attention to the country of origin marked on the packaging.
