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!

Front Brake Upgrade Options

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

I've been thinking about upgrading my front brake calipers and rotors to gain additional heat dissipation for a greater margin of overheating my brakes. I haven't had any overheating issues with my current setup, Pagid pads with brake cooling ducts DBA 4000 rotors and ATE brake fluid, but I have experienced it with stock pads the the Hawk HP+ pads I've run. In my mind as my speed picks up and I move to R comp tires I want to stay way ahead of overheating the brakes.

I talked with the techs at Stoptech and Brembo at SEMA 2013 and they both said forged calipers, besides having less flex, do a better job of dissipating heat than the cast Brembo calipers that come on our cars. Additionally having a larger rotor aids greatly in dissipating heat but with a larger rotor comes fitment issues especially with 18" diameter wheels many of us run at the track. With that in mind I'm looking at a couple of setups and would like to get feedback on them along with other suggestions.

GT500 15" 6 piston Brembo
From a cost perspective this is an obvious choice but with the 15" rotors my 18" wheels become unusable. Still not a bad option and a very reasonable price. If you add in the newly available two piece rotors this kit starts to become a lot more expensive. The rotor is 380x32mm. Not many replacement or two piece rotor options available yet but there should be more next year.

http://rehagenracingproducts.com/2013-14-MUSTANG-SHELBY-GT500-15-INCH-2-PIECE-BRAKE-ROTOR-PAIR-M-1125-MSVT15.htm

http://rehagenracingproducts.com/2013-MUSTANG-SHELBY-GT500-6-PISTON-15-BREMBO-FRONT-BRAKE-KIT-RR-2300-TF.htm

IMG_20130522_170832_965.jpg

M-1125-MSVT15.jpg


Brembo Pro Series Racing
This is a nice setup and there are a few members already running this with good results. Expensive but if you want true race gear you're going to pay. This kit includes a 355mm rotor and forged caliper. Does anyone know if this is 32 or 35mm wide? Lots of pad options and some replacement ring options. The pads are also approximately 25mm deep so you'll be changing pads less frequently.

http://rehagenracingproducts.com/BREMBO-14-PRO-SERIES-RACING-BRAKE-KIT-S197-MUSTANG-BRE8026E7S197.htm


Brembo%20BRE80.26E7_rgb.jpg


Stoptech STR 40

Another nice race setup that the new SCCA Spec Mustang class is using. This is the four piston caliper and includes a 355x35mm rotor and the added thickness is supposed to provide a noticeable improvement in heat dissipation. The Stoptech calipers accept a standard Porsche size pad so there are many options. I doubt there are many ring replacement options on this one. Stoptech claims to have the stiffest forged calipers available but who knows. This kit can be ordered with dust seals and anti rattle hardware. The benefit of this kit is more mass and cooling in a 355mm diameter rotor.

http://www.cortexracing.com/shop/stoptech-str40-355x35mm-s197-spec-mustang/

Stoptech_STR.jpg


Both the Stoptech and Brembo Pro calipers should be adaptable to the new S550 Mustangs with the correct brackets.
 
NFSBOSS first question; What are your goals for your car?

Here's a nice graph that outlines the Brembo "family" of calipers.

graph_oem-hp-racing.gif

I spoke with an engineer at Brembo Racing and this is basically what he related.

The Brembo OEM can be brought up to Brembo GT spec with the addition of a two piece floating rotor, a quality race spec pad and braided stainless steel brake lines.

As you can see that runs the range from street and into race level.

I was going to go this route; had SS brake lines, quality race pads on the car and this winter I was going to buy two piece floating rotors from Girodisc ( http://www.girodisc.com/Girodisc-Front-2pc-Floating-Rotors-for-Boss-302-Mustang_p_6419.html )

But I ran into the Brembo Pro kit and the Boss 302R/S ABS ECU for $3,100 and couldn't pass that up.

The Girodisc rotors list for $800.00 but I know where you can get them for $700, pm me if you go that route.

--------------

There's one other Brembo Race Kit you didn't mention it's listed at the "GT500 Option" for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. It's a four piston caliper with a bolt in bridge, and 15 inch rotors.
 
Thanks Doug. I'm doing 6-8 track days a year plus a few thousand miles driving around town. The Brembo GT family of calipers are cast and I'm not sure about the GT-R's. Certainly the cheapest option is upgrading to two piece calipers since I have everything else. I talked to Philip at CorteX Racing and he highly recommends the Spec Mustang package since that rotor mass is similar to going to a 15" without the fitment problems.

Any more of the Brembo Pro kits available? :)
 
173
38
I'm still trying to figure out what i will be running for fronts next year.I keep looking at the GT500 6 piston,but I think having 25MM pads that the 302S has would be a huge advantage.I will definately run the 13.8" GT500 rear setup.
 
Theviking said:
Question regarding the Pro kit for a dual-purpose car. Can you actually buy something resembling a street pad for this setup?
Good question. With the thicker size I'd be surprised if street pads are available but maybe Track Day Solutions or KNS Brakes know.

Below is some info on the Brembo GT kit.

http://www.horsepowerfreaks.com/partdetails/Brembo/Brakes/Big_Brake_Kits/GT_6_Piston/11219/-/Ford/Mustang

Big_Brake_Kits_GT_6_Piston_LRG.jpg
 
Theviking said:
Question regarding the Pro kit for a dual-purpose car. Can you actually buy something resembling a street pad for this setup?

If no street compounds exist, which I doubt, companies like carbotech can easily take custom orders for the compound of your liking.

This is good info btw! thanks for the effort of putting all this info in one thread.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
If you want maximum track performance the Brembo pro kit would be the way to go. The stock brakes are very capable with proper track pads and fluid, as well as the Ti backing plates. Make sure to get the 302R/S ABS controller as well.

WHOLE lot of performance for not a lot of $$$ if you're staying with the stock calipers. Not the end-all-be-all but pretty good.
 

PeteInCT

#LS-378 - So many Porsche's, so little time....
Moderator
2,848
14
Connecticut
ArizonaGT said:
If you want maximum track performance the Brembo pro kit would be the way to go. The stock brakes are very capable with proper track pads and fluid, as well as the Ti backing plates. Make sure to get the 302R/S ABS controller as well.

WHOLE lot of performance for not a lot of $$$ if you're staying with the stock calipers. Not the end-all-be-all but pretty good.

Finally, someone in my camp ;-)
 
ArizonaGT said:
If you want maximum track performance the Brembo pro kit would be the way to go. The stock brakes are very capable with proper track pads and fluid, as well as the Ti backing plates. Make sure to get the 302R/S ABS controller as well.

WHOLE lot of performance for not a lot of $$$ if you're staying with the stock calipers. Not the end-all-be-all but pretty good.

Here's the Titanium Backing Plates.......74.99 for the .05mm

http://hardbrakes.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_7_137_1292&products_id=30
 
steveespo said:
$4000 does buy a lot of pads and rotors. We need some brake tests done!
Steve

The Brembo race brakes stop much better and are very worth doing if you track a lot. It is no big deal to drive on the street with them, however I don't use the car as a DD, I rarely use it on the street now. I have never done a test to see the exact stopping distance but I assume it would be different by a decent percentage. With this kit and the new module I rarely get into the ABS, even with passing in corners that most groups allow here now. I did miss one brake zone and got into full ABS last weekend but was still able to make the turn, although much slower then normal. Biggest problem I had with this setup was using the pads all the way down and wrote about problems doing this last week.

Like anything else it comes down to dollars like you said. The stock brakes will work on track and as long as you use a good fluid they should not boil however the race brakes will dissipate the heat much better then stock. Once you make any changes like these the car becomes more and more a track car then street car. If the kit from Rehagen Rick posted above has the same calipers as mine, it is a very good deal. The hats alone are $500 for this setup. FWIW I would not use anything in-between the stock brakes and the full race setup, I doubt they will be worth the effort in stopping or cost.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
898
544
Cooling ducts, a good set of Pagid pads from Pete, SRF fluid, Stop Tech / Maximum Mototsport braided lines, and .5 to 1.5mm of Ti shims and my brakes remain rock hard. I think it will be a long time before I am able to outdrive the car's brakes.

Steve
 

TMO Supporting Vendors

Top