S550 Lightweight brake setup for 18" wheels (Aerospace)?

[bronco100]

Looking for recommendations on a upgrade to my base Ecoboost brake setup. Preferably as lightweight as possible and must fit in 18x9.5 ET25 Konig wheel.

Has anyone used this company "Aerospace Components" products for track before?

https://shop.aerospacecomponents.com/4pistonfrontprostreetkit2015mustangvrdsp-2.aspx

I've never heard much about them but this kit intrigues me because it's lightweight, fairly affordable, and can fit inside a smaller wheel than most other setups. For example if I'm looking at a similar kit like here (https://www.steeda.com/steeda-555-6030-s550-brembo-pp-front-brake-upgrade-kit) - that one is $340 more expensive and has 6 piston Brembo calipers which are probably a bit more than I need for my Ecoboost, and would require me to run a larger than 18" wheel which I don't want to do.

On the other hand, the Aerospace brakes do say For Street Use and from what I can research, no one has ever used them on the track before. They seem to be heavily focused on making drag racing brakes but I have no idea how those would be fundamentally different from a track brake setup.

Any suggestions?

Additional considerations:
1. My rear rotors are non vented and seem to get hotter than the front
2. I have brake cooling ducts in the bumper that will be setup with silicon hoses for the fronts
3. Does anyone make track pads for Ecoboost non-PP Mustangs? Would a pad upgrade alone be a big improvement?

 

[thelostotter]

It says they are 11.75" in diameter, this is smaller than stock I believe? Sounds drag oriented and I would expect them to be worse than your stock brakes for non-drag use.

The pad selection for your brakes isn't as broad as the GT PP kit, but you still have access to some GLOC and Hawk offerings. Hawk DTC60s are very capable for the price point and would definitely out perform stock pads. Jumping up to EB PP brakes gives you a couple more options, but the GT PP Brembos have quite a bit more selection. I like Raybestos and Cobalt personally.

 

[bronco100]

It says they are 11.75" in diameter, this is smaller than stock I believe? Sounds drag oriented and I would expect them to be worse than your stock brakes for non-drag use.

The pad selection for your brakes isn't as broad as the GT PP kit, but you still have access to some GLOC and Hawk offerings. Hawk DTC60s are very capable for the price point and would definitely out perform stock pads. Jumping up to EB PP brakes gives you a couple more options, but the GT PP Brembos have quite a bit more selection. I like Raybestos and Cobalt personally.

What about the DTC-30? It looks like the DTC-60 have a minimum operating temperature of 400 (which my stock brakes barely get up to).

 

[thelostotter]

I don't have experience with DTC30s but I've read of quite a few people using them on GTs as rear pads with DTC60s up front.

400F pad temp seems low, how well are your current pads working?

 

[bronco100]

400F pad temp seems low, how well are your current pads working?

They seem to work fine on track although the bite is not particularly aggressive. I don't know if that has as much to do with pad compound as it does the fact there's only 2 pistons, so perhaps the clamping force is diminished. If I'm applying 100% braking force at 120mph to bring the car down to around 40mph for a hairpin, the car experiences 1.07 G's of force on a 275 wide 200TW tire. This is only 0.1G's up from the 0.97G I recorded on a 235 wide 420TW all-season tire. This would suggest to me that the problem of not enough braking force would lie with the brake setup.

 

[Stangra]

They seem to work fine on track although the bite is not particularly aggressive. I don't know if that has as much to do with pad compound as it does the fact there's only 2 pistons, so perhaps the clamping force is diminished. If I'm applying 100% braking force at 120mph to bring the car down to around 40mph for a hairpin, the car experiences 1.07 G's of force on a 275 wide 200TW tire. This is only 0.1G's up from the 0.97G I recorded on a 235 wide 420TW all-season tire. This would suggest to me that the problem of not enough braking force would lie with the brake setup.

Any brakes should be able to exceed the tires' grip as evidenced by ABS activation...
...at least once!
And no brake can generate more braking force than the tires grip.

Being able to apply the brakes repeatedly and effectively up to the tires' grip limit, especially while on grippy tires is where brake setup & heat management comes into play.

I would think the 100% brake effort you measured should be getting into the ABS, leaving the tires as the limiting factor. Unless you're experiencing heat fade.

 

[bronco100]

Any brakes should be able to exceed the tires' grip as evidenced by ABS activation...
...at least once!
And no brake can generate more braking force than the tires grip.

Being able to apply the brakes repeatedly and effectively up to the tires' grip limit, especially while on grippy tires is where brake setup & heat management comes into play.

I would think the 100% brake effort you measured should be getting into the ABS, leaving the tires as the limiting factor. Unless you're experiencing heat fade.

Well, it doesn’t activate ABS and there’s no heat fade as what I described is what happens on the first lap.

 

[twistedneck]

The best upgrade would be the Radi-Cal from AP. Its way cheaper than the Brembo setup and from what i've seen on track these are equal to the $8000 Brembo's.

https://www.essexparts.com/ap-racing-by-essex-radi-cal-competition-brake-kit-rear-cp9450340mm-s550-ford-mustang

 

[Tonymustang302]

AP makes f1 brakes…..

 

[mavisky]

The best upgrade would be the Radi-Cal from AP. Its way cheaper than the Brembo setup and from what i've seen on track these are equal to the $8000 Brembo's.

https://www.essexparts.com/ap-racing-by-essex-radi-cal-competition-brake-kit-rear-cp9450340mm-s550-ford-mustang

I mean that's a $4,500 rear brake setup. The fronts are another $5,500.

AP Racing by Essex Radi-CAL ENP Competition Brake Kit (Front CP9660/372mm)- S550 Ford Mustang | Essex Parts Services, Inc.

Essex Parts Racing Parts Brakes Brake Kits Service Provider

www.essexparts.com

It looks like they have some slightly cheaper options at $4,600 front and $3,500 rear, but something tells me these are a bit overkill if OP is looking at $1,200-1,600 kits.

Honestly @bronco100 I'd reach out to The Parts Farm on Ebay/Facebook/Instagram or at www.thepartsfarm.com and talk to them about a used brake setup like these. WIth a little cleanup, some new lines, and new pads and rotors you'd be in business for pretty cheap.

2015-2023 Ford Mustang GT PP1 Performance Pack Brembo Brakes Caliper Front 2495

The Parts Farm The Parts Farm proudly presents this 2015-2023 Ford Mustang GT PP1 Performance Pack Brembo Brakes Caliper Front 2495 available for purchase Front Set of PP Brembo Brake Calipers that was removed from a 2016 Ford Mustang GT Coupe with 59k miles. Acid Damage to the Calipers...

thepartsfarm.com

Or you could get the full GT350 upgrade kit about the same as that rear AP kit.

https://www.cjponyparts.com/ford-performance-brake-upgrade-kit-gt350r-black-mustang-ecoboost-gt/p/M2300YBK/?year=2016&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgJyyBhCGARIsAK8LVLPzd5NTlHhpalnyboWzK_qIMWUkI4PfpkH82uAf6XrYZgD2oUOB8UEaAvMlEALw_wcB

 

[Mad Hatter]

No the lightest, but the 15" kit is really very very good.

https://lmr.com/item/LRS-32120K/mustang-ford-oe-6-piston-brake-kit-2015-2020

Any weight gain you might have would be offset by the stopping power. Its so cheap that its hard to rationalize other options.

 

[TeeLew]

What about the DTC-30? It looks like the DTC-60 have a minimum operating temperature of 400 (which my stock brakes barely get up to).

If your brakes aren't hotter than 400* on track then you aren't using them very hard, like almost not at all. Also, that means 400* is the temperature the pad reaches the mu plateau, not that they just don't work entirely below that point.

 

[bronco100]

If your brakes aren't hotter than 400* on track then you aren't using them very hard, like almost not at all. Also, that means 400* is the temperature the pad reaches the mu plateau, not that they just don't work entirely below that point.

I don't know what they get up to on track. I'll try to measure in the pit lane next time. Typically I've only measured them after doing an entire out lap (cool down) and then driving into the paddock which takes another couple minutes.