Best caliper upgrade or rebuild the calipers?

[Navyrugger09]

I just changed the pads on my 4 pot stock calipers and noticed the dust boots were cracked. Parts to rebuild the calipers are ~70 dollars. Is it worth it to rebuild the calipers while I save for upgrades?
Also, once I get the money to upgrade, is the consensus to upgrade to the 6 pot Bren is it is there a better aftermarket brake kit that is worth the investment? I am considering saving up long term to get the GT 350 brake kit that replaces front and rear calipers and half shafts for ~3500 - obviously a long term play

 

[67GTA]

Hard to beat the upgrade to the PP 6 pot Brembos. Save the money on the calipers and save the weight with a good 2 piece 15” rotor to go with them and you’ll still be money ahead.

 

[Coz]

Go with the PP Brembos. But since you will track it, make sure you install cooling ducts. Cooling ducts are useless on the 4-pot "Frembos" because the rotor vents on the wheel side.

 

[Thub]

Don't waste any time on the 4 pots. They'll never work well on the track, and the brembos are so cheap, especially if you've got factory 19" wheels.
Having run the 6 piston bremos a handful of times, and having upgraded from the 4 pots, unless you're going to go huge on wheels and tires, the PP1 brembos with a good pad, and maybe 2 piece rotors are sufficient. Swapping to track pads is also dead easy on the brembos. They'll also save thousands from the GT350 parts, which are, admittedly much better parts.

 

[Navyrugger09]

So the 6 pot brembos are good enough? Even if I end up putting on a power adder?

also, are the non pp rear calipers the same as the pp rear calipers? One of the reasons the gt350r Kit is intriguing is it includes the half shafts and rear brake calipers, too.

I have 18in daily wheels I’ll have to replace anyway so I’m not worried about that extra cost

 

[Thub]

A power adder is definitely a game changer, but a buddy of mine claimed no issues with fade from his brembos on a roush stage 2 car with the stock pads still. I think he probably was being very gentle with his brakes though, because I've seen appreciable fade on those pads with a stock car. As cheap as the GT brembos are, I'd try them first. If they're good, you save $5k by not doing the GT350 kit. If not, you'll be able to sell them for nearly what you paid pretty easily.

 

[docs302]

I upgraded to the AP Pro 5000 6-pot race caliper. If you really want race-spec front brakes you can't go wrong. Plus you can use 25mm endurance pads which will last me 2-3 years it looks like lol. But I agree that the PP Brembos are a hell of a deal.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Do you have 4 pot Brembos now? If so I will suggest a bit different approach, repair the calipers and get a solid set of two piece rotors ( slotted ) from Girodisc. Make sure you have duct work or Vorshlag's duct plate, aggressive race pads, high temp brake fluid and you will stop really well. I can tell you I outstrip folks all the time with 4 pots, but don't believe me , check out what Blacksheep 1 has to say about what they used on the class winning Phoenix Performance Racing Mustang.

 

[302 Hi Pro]

Bill:

That is so true, the old 4 pot Brembos with proper pads, shims, rotors, lines & fluid have won a lot of races & Championships.

Plus the OP spoke about saving up for 6 pots is ‘a long term play’.

I agree, fix/rebuild what you have to get back on the track & learn to drive what you have to its max capacity, then up grade to what you need or want.

Key takeaway? ‘Get back on the track as soon as you can’.

 

[Navyrugger09]

Thanks for the advice! I just got my rotors turned and the shop said the cracking on the boots isn’t an issue yet so I think I’ll wait until they become a problem then rebuild. Also, it sounds like the 6 pot brembos allow for more cost effective consumable parts.
If I upgrade the front calipers, do the rear calipers need to be upgraded, too? Or doe the pp and non pp 17 mustangs share the same rear calipers?

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Assume you don't have an extended warranty on the Mustang that would fix them for you? Some will cover a caliper , others will argue it is a wear and tear item.

 

[Navyrugger09]

Assume you don't have an extended warranty on the Mustang that would fix them for you? Some will cover a caliper , others will argue it is a wear and tear item.

I do have the extended warranty but I enjoy doing work myself. Watching videos it doesn’t look too complicated. I’m not having any issues right now and am going to wait until I inspect the boots again to decide if I’m going to rebuild them.