'17 GT non-PP Brembo/PowerStop rotor swap

This thread will detail the swap/installation of Brembo 6-pot calipers and PowerStop rotors on my '17 GT Premium, non-PP. This will not be a "done in two days" install, so please stay tuned. I have all the parts; it's the TIME to do the work that is in short supply.

I did a ton of research and asked a lot of questions before undertaking this swap. I'm confident it will turn out well. Like many other folks, the first thing I looked at was the FP PP front brake kit. Basically, $1.2K for the 6-pot Brembos, stock rotors and PP pads, clips and splash shields. For just under that amount, I got all that and added drilled/slotted rotors for front and rear, better pads, stainless lines and the power bleeder. I think I did pretty well.

The biggest question I had was "Will the Brembos fit inside the optional 20" Foundry wheels? Found at least one thread here with pics that showed that they do. Also, general online consensus is that the majority of 20" wheels fit over 6-pot Brembos. I went with that positive vibe.

I will detail all part numbers in a future post, but for tonight here's the quick overview:

50th Anniversary Brembos (6-pot, white letters...matches my car)
Pad clip/pin kit for the GT-PP (fits 15" rotors)
New caliper bolts (b/c cheap insurance for $5, that's why)
PowerStop drilled/slotted rotors front and rear, sized for the PP (BrakeMotive F/R set off EBay)
PowerStop Z26 pads F/R
Steeda stainless brake lines
New banjo bolts/crush washers
32oz of Motorcraft DOT4 brake fluid
Motorcraft anti-seize compound for pins/backs of pads
Motive PowerBleeder with #1100 reservoir adaptor
Some cheapo random catch bottle I bought for $5 to catch the bleedout from the calipers



Here's a little eye candy.

They are just beautiful.


Got the splash shields and clips/pins for the pads.


My....my preciousssssssssssss


I should be able to do the swap this weekend. That's the plan. The very first thing I will do is remove one front wheel. Remove the stock caliper and rotor. Put new rotor on. Loosely bolt Brembo in place. Put on wheel and attempt to turn it. That, obviously, is the deal-breaker point, and what I'm seriously Jonesing to see with my own eyes. 1/8" of clearance is not the same thing as 1/32" of clearance. I need to see and measure. Stay tuned!

great start! interested in this myself too

Looks interesting espcially since I have the 20inch foundry rims as well. Looking forward to you reaserch. Once finished don't forget the parts list and the location to purchase XD

+1 on wanting to do this myself

This was documented a long time ago, there is no problem installing 15" 6-piston Brembo's with the 20" Foundary wheels.

http://www.mustang6g.com/?p=4899
http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14491

kn7671 said:

This was documented a long time ago, there is no problem installing 15" 6-piston Brembo's with the 20" Foundary wheels.

http://www.mustang6g.com/?p=4899
http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14491

Click to expand...

Yup, that's the thread I was referring to in my OP. Thanks for posting it here!

A whole bunch of different planned events/work all got changed up in the past couple of days...the stars aligned, so to speak. So, I may actually do the entire brake job tomorrow. Pretty much the only question in my mind now is regarding the Steeda stainless brake lines I purchased.

I bought them despite the single, but seemingly well-founded negative review on the product page here: https://www.steeda.com/steeda-mustang-stainless-braided-brake-lines-2015-gt-555-6027.html

I attributed that problem to hopefully a one-off manufacturing defect. I will give it an honest shot. If they do not fit perfectly right out of the box, they will be going back to Steeda. I sure would like for them to fit fine and work well, of course...that's why I bought them.

Da Proof from the thread linked above: http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showpost.php?p=406993&postcount=47


Lots of pics and a list of parts, etc to follow. Thanks for following along as I get this done.

Started my Steeda suspension swap/install today and while I've got everything apart, I'll be doing the Brembo swap too. I did a dry fit to make 100% sure that the 6-pot Brembos will fit with the 20" wheels and we are good to go! :cheers: Though there are other posts showing this swap works/fits, it's not true until I see it with my own eyes. ;) There's easily 1/4" of space b/t the back of the spokes and the caliper. I'll also be installing the PowerStop (BrakeMotive on EBay) drilled/slotted rotors and PowerStop Z26 pads front/rear.

Since my Photobucket account is now kaput (I am NOT paying $400/year! Any other hosting suggestions?) I will just upload the pics here.

Also, here is a short video I shot showing the caliper fits and the wheel turns freely.

[ame]

I'm waiting to receive the proper braided hoses for the fronts from Steeda (they shipped Thurs and should be here by the end of next week), so I can't actually install them until then.

Do I HAVE TO change the splash shields?

Rather than post a new thread, I'll put this here and hopefully get an answer.

When I bought the 6-pot Brembos I also bought the splash shields that come on the PP-equipped cars. Looking at the PP splash shields, they are small and sort of look like a Mickey Mouse silhouette. I figured there's a good reason why these splash shields are different than the non-PP equipped cars...namely fitment. I figured the non-PP splash shields would interfere with the larger Brembo caliper.

Well, guess what? They don't. In the picture in the post above, the Brembo is fully bolted onto the spindle and the stock splash shield is in place. It doesn't interfere w/the Brembo caliper or the larger 15" rotor at all.

So why change it? The stock splash shield covers probably 50% more of the rotor than the PP splash shield and provides a lot more protection from muck than the PP splash shield does. The only thing I can think of is that being a lot smaller, the PP splash shield lets more air get to the rotor and possibly increases cooling? My car is not a track beast...I don't think it matters, but I'll defer to the smarter folks. Am I missing something here?

Bump for the splash shield question. Happy 4th!

mikes2017gt said:

Started my Steeda suspension swap/install today and while I've got everything apart, I'll be doing the Brembo swap too. I did a dry fit to make 100% sure that the 6-pot Brembos will fit with the 20" wheels and we are good to go! :cheers: Though there are other posts showing this swap works/fits, it's not true until I see it with my own eyes. ;) There's easily 1/4" of space b/t the back of the spokes and the caliper. I'll also be installing the PowerStop (BrakeMotive on EBay) drilled/slotted rotors and PowerStop Z26 pads front/rear.

Since my Photobucket account is now kaput (I am NOT paying $400/year! Any other hosting suggestions?) I will just upload the pics here.

Also, here is a short video I shot showing the caliper fits and the wheel turns freely.



I'm waiting to receive the proper braided hoses for the fronts from Steeda (they shipped Thurs and should be here by the end of next week), so I can't actually install them until then.

Click to expand...

Looking to get the Powerstop Rotors and Pads myself. What's your review/thoughts on them now that you had them installed?

[MENTION=26397]16silvergt[/MENTION]: I'll let you know this weekend, since I'm finally installing them tomorrow. In defense of "what took so long?" I can state that over the past couple of months, I basically swapped out half my stock suspension components for Steeda pieces and added a few more for good measure along with a FP Power Pack2. I've been productive, at least.

Brake parts are prepped! I installed the Z26 pads into the Brembo calipers tonight and installed the Steeda braided brake lines to the calipers as well. The idea here is to minimize brake fluid loss once I disconnect the stock calipers, as well as minimize how much work I have to do hunched over in the wheel wells. The front calipers are fully assembled so they should be a bolt-in affair. I will be installing 15" PowerStop rotors up front, which are what is pictured in that first pic.

I'm not swapping the rear calipers, but I am adding PowerStop rotors, Z26 pads and Steeda braided lines. The rears will be a bigger PITA than the front, I'm thinking. I bought a Motive Power Bleeder with the proper master cylinder cap to aid with the bleeding process. Never used one before so should be interesting. I have two 16-ounce bottles of Motorcraft DOT4 fluid, which should be more than enough, so I'm covered there.

Some pics for you. Wish I could caption them, like I could with Photobucket, but my account there is toast. I think you can gauge what I'm trying to show in the pics. If you have any questions, please ask. So excited about this weekend!

Getting ready to do the same exact thing. Let me know how to motive power bleeder works out.

Will do, Amacron. I didn't get to the brakes this past weekend b/c I decided to get the Steeda F/R sways done first...wanted to wrap up my suspension mods before moving on to other things, like brakes. The front sway was a real PITA and killed the weekend.

mikes2017gt said:

Rather than post a new thread, I'll put this here and hopefully get an answer.

When I bought the 6-pot Brembos I also bought the splash shields that come on the PP-equipped cars. Looking at the PP splash shields, they are small and sort of look like a Mickey Mouse silhouette. I figured there's a good reason why these splash shields are different than the non-PP equipped cars...namely fitment. I figured the non-PP splash shields would interfere with the larger Brembo caliper.

Well, guess what? They don't. In the picture in the post above, the Brembo is fully bolted onto the spindle and the stock splash shield is in place. It doesn't interfere w/the Brembo caliper or the larger 15" rotor at all.

So why change it? The stock splash shield covers probably 50% more of the rotor than the PP splash shield and provides a lot more protection from muck than the PP splash shield does. The only thing I can think of is that being a lot smaller, the PP splash shield lets more air get to the rotor and possibly increases cooling? My car is not a track beast...I don't think it matters, but I'll defer to the smarter folks. Am I missing something here?

Click to expand...

The Brembo spash shield is designed to allow air from the diverter fin on the front upper control arm to reach the center of the rotor for cooling.

Having had PP brakes for 30K miles, not a single instance of "muck" was ever an issue.

Judging from the install pictures, it looks like the installation of the pads was done perfectly. It always put a wee bit of grease - very thin - on part of the pad that gets the pins through it. I've found that keeps my track pads when they're cold from squeaking like a somabich while just driving around - or at least reduces it. I also put a little bit on the edge of each pad where it slides into the caliper. Feel like this seems to get overlooked with the Brembo brakes, and may not actually be necessary per say, but a bit of grease in these locations seems to do a body good. Well done.