The Mustang Forum for Track & Racing Enthusiasts

Taking your Mustang to an open track/HPDE event for the first time? Do you race competitively? This forum is for you! Log in to remove most ads.

  • Welcome to the Ford Mustang forum built for owners of the Mustang GT350, BOSS 302, GT500, and all other S550, S197, SN95, Fox Body and older Mustangs set up for open track days, road racing, and/or autocross. Join our forum, interact with others, share your build, and help us strengthen this community!

S197 A Canadian Mustang in Texas Build Thread Profile - S197 Mustangs

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

48
41
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Fort Worth
I hope this is the final set of fixes for my rear brakes. I've replaced the rear calipers with new ones (not rebuilt) and installed a new ABS pump and control module. Both calipers are replaced this time and both show the same amount of pressure. The brake system has been flushed twice and the rear calipers now have temperature sensing stickers applied near the caliper piston.

I've also had the alignment tuned up and new Apex wheels are on order with a late Sept ETA. I ordered black SM-10 (ET52) in 18x11 with 315/30 Falken Azenis 615ks.
 
48
41
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Fort Worth
It's been a while since I've updated this because the car has been solid. It's really nice to just drive it without needing to wrench on it. I've been running on the 16 year old, stock GT, 2 piston fronts without really any issues I could see but I got a really good deal on some S550 six piston Brembos and have been picking up the other parts as they came on sale so this weekend, the time finally came to upgrade.

Here's what I started with:1644762892463.png
Rotors have a little bit of cracking and colour but still servicable and the calipers are still in great shape. I cleaned up the calipers and installed some G-Loc G12s and titanium shims using high temp grease at the edges and on either side of the shims. For anyone else new to these calipers, it's much easier to put the bottom pin in first and then complete the top pin. Also these punches make the whole process much easier.
1644764678407.png
I also bought some new bolts for the calipers because the install instructions for the M-2300-T kit says to discard the old caliper bolts. The bolts are part number W710233-S439 but they are really just M12x35 10.9 bolts so I bought a box of 25 on Amazon. For rotors, I went with Girodisc A1-091 and Goodridge braided stainless lines. Rotor and caliper went on super easy with no issues (caliper bolts get torqued to 85) but the stainless lines were a huge PITA:
  1. They aren't metric. This isn't easily documented anywhere (not in the Haynes manual, not in the install guide for M-2300-T and not anywhere I could easily find. I only confirmed it after trying to spin a M10x1 tap and a 3/8-25 tap to see which one worked after almost rounding off the corners on one of the lines using a 14mm flare nut wrench.
  2. The end of the threaded portion of the hard line had mushroomed and would not thread into the new brake line. It was super confusing because it would easily thread into the old line but would only start enough to tease you in the new lines. I had to file down the mushroomed end of the threaded brake line to get it to install.
  3. The shock mount on the lines is tighter than I'd like. I had to gently hammer it a bit to move some of the slack from the top to the bottom section.
The lines are nicely made and I'm glad I got them - I just wasn't expecting that to be the hard part of the job.

I also took this opportunity to install some cooling plates. Vorschlag's plates are well made and very precise. They just bolt into the big hole in the control arm and they fit so well there really isn't any room to get them in wrong. I'm a little concerned that they'll bind or tear up that rubber boot so I'll keep an eye on that after some driving.
1644766299327.png
It's surprising how well everything fits given how much larger the calipers and rotors are. I still need to finish bleeding the system and finish a few other things before I take it for a cruise but I'm pleased with how well this came together.
1644766685151.png
 
48
41
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Fort Worth
Since everything was apart, I took this opportunity to swap out the rear brake pads with GLoc G10s and threw on a new pair of 615k+s on the rear. I've got 5 track days on the current set and they look great - I have at least 5 more days on these - there's about 60% of the tread left. Rear pads were wearing odd (more on the outside than the inside) - I'll keep an eye on that.

So far the biggest benefit I found from the bigger fronts is the brake pedal is a little lower making heal towing easier.
 

Mad Hatter

Gotta go Faster
5,237
4,227
Santiago, Chile
Hopefully you have a 25mm spacer coming for up front also? You need to get some Molson Decals on the car, it will even scare Texans to know there is a Canadian partying with them after the day's track events, haha!
Molson, boy that brings back fond, if hazy, memories of Rickards Red on tap. A fine beer. On the track you going to like that brake setup. But maybe with a little bit more aggressive pad.
 
48
41
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Fort Worth
It's definitely a lot to get used to - I thought the brakes were "fine" before but holy cow what a difference.

My first session was like the first time you get in a rental car - not smooth and every turn was 5-10 mph slower than usual.

By session 2, the car was warming up an I was starting to smooth out a bit but still a little hard on brakes. At 3:11, there's a GT500 that passes me like I'm parked on the big straight away - damn those cars are fast. At 15:48 there's an S550 that maybe could have used a bit more braking. During this run I noticed a clunk on hard corners.

During Session 3 I hit my typical (slow) pace for this track. A Miata goes off track at 0:37 (cold tires probably) but generally an easy session. The clunk remains and it seems to be when weight transfers from drivers side to passenger side. I got a check engine on this run which turned out to be mass air flow sensor related.

Session 4 is finally getting smooth and I'm getting used to the brakes. No drama on this run and I knocked a second off my PB on this track despite being down on power.


After run inspection looks good. The new pads look barely worn and about 1mm has worn off. The rotors still look brand new and the front calipers didn't get hot enough for the temperature labels to register. Brembos are so much easier to check.

I haven't found the source of the clunk (everything seems fine and tight. I'll try greasing the rear upper control arm. I'm going to try cleaning the MAF sensor, intake and air filter to see if it helps with the power. The airflow readings are swinging wildly when the car is idling and it's idling like crap so I hope that fixes it. I bought a proper wideband sensor so I can get a proper tune as well. No codes when it's rough idling though. I probably should check the plugs but I'll try everything else first because I'm still daily driving it.

Codes on track were P0104, P0307, and P1000.

In other news, I put a deposit on a Department of Boost GT450 supercharger so probably early next year I might give a few of the S550s a run for their money. Rollbar is also on order so I have a summer project.
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,797
2,001
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
Molson, boy that brings back fond, if hazy, memories of Rickards Red on tap. A fine beer. On the track you going to like that brake setup. But maybe with a little bit more aggressive pad.
Rickards is one of the few things that keeps me happy in this socialist ghetto up here these days. That and a mighty fine made in Ontario Red from Laker that is a near clone to Rickards. Since Molson and Labatt are now owned by multi nationals and all profits leave the country I now buy local beer, only making an exception for Rickards. Thankfully though, there's lots of really good stuff made by the small guys.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,352
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
I am ashamed, as I count myself as one of the 10 folks in the US of A who knows you guys live in Provinces and not States. Sorry I forgot New Brunswick since it's reasonably easy to get down to the States from there. Have you run at AMP in NS also? Have not heard of a track in NB, just ones in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia , and of course others in the Western Provinces. 20 years of W2W in the Snowy North means you likely have traveled afar many a time?
 
501
550
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Snowy North
It's ok Bill...and you do know your Snowy North geography for sure.

AMP...yes, since 1976...tough and very hilly...somewhat like Ledges+Louden but with bumps.

Mosport is my favorite (sacrilege for a Maritimer) but AMP is the most demanding...the hardest on a vehicle and driver of any of the many tracks I've been lucky enough to visit.
 

Dave_W

Cones - not just for ice cream
984
1,277
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Connecticut
I remember there being a big annual autocross in PEI that a bunch of New Englanders would head up for. Never got up there myself, but I heard it was a good time.
 

ChrisM

Mostly harmless.
1,180
1,419
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
South Carolina
In other news, I put a deposit on a Department of Boost GT450 supercharger so probably early next year I might give a few of the S550s a run for their money. Rollbar is also on order so I have a summer project.
What, did you think you could slip this one in and no one would notice? Come now. Why did you decide to go this route? Not knocking, just always curious.
 

TMO Supporting Vendors

Top