Another GT Brake Upgrade Story

[luc]

This was one of my considerations. It is around $1400. The Brembo calipers are very good. On the other hand, the 15" Ford rotors add a very good amount of unsprung weight

You make no sense, you added a ton of weight in front with the supercharger( on a already front heavy understeering pig) and you worry about a few extra lbs???

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[EFI]

I got the deflectors in preparation of the planed brake system overhaul, which I am now thinking through

Not sure if you did this too, but you need the PP undertray which has the channels that direct airflow up to the deflectors. Otherwise the base tray just gets the air under and back.

 

[Bobby57]

Personally I like these just for looks and price! https://www.cjponyparts.com/baer-br...mance-pack-ecoboost-base-gt-2015-2022/p/BR90/

I would just upgrade your current rotors to 2 piece. Or go with a GT PP1 calipers and get 2 piece rotors. There are benefits in all aspects of performance for reducing rotating mass. Save the money and get lightweight wheels and lighter brakes for your current setup, or pp1 brakes with 2 piece rotors imo. Having massive heavy brakes that you dont need will just make your car slower, less effecient, handle worse, etc and you will also limit your wheel choices if you want to get a drag racing wheel setup.

Are the GT350 brakes significantly heavier? ....I have not seen any specs on the weight of these kits and components

 

[Bobby57]

Not sure if you did this too, but you need the PP undertray which has the channels that direct airflow up to the deflectors. Otherwise the base tray just gets the air under and back.

I did not know this. Thanks

 

[Bobby57]

You make no sense, you added a ton of weight in front with the supercharger( on a already front heavy understeering pig) and you worry about a few extra lbs???

Yes, I do worry, where there are alternatives, and especially in regard to unsprung/rotational weight

 

[Bobby57]

Personally I like these just for looks and price! https://www.cjponyparts.com/baer-br...mance-pack-ecoboost-base-gt-2015-2022/p/BR90/

The purchase of the PP brakes and these rotors will come to around $600 less than the GT350 kit. When you factor in the much-desired half-shafts that come with the GT350 kit, the difference is around $200.

This is based on both front and rear components, as I wouldn't consider getting only for the front....I cannot completely ignore esthetics --- don't want to create a Frankenstein car.

So, this is an approach that does not offer an economic advantage, and entails a disadvantage in robustness. I imagine that it would offer a weight-savings one

 

[Bobby57]

The PP1/PP2/bullitt/mach 1 brakes are six pot brembos but bolt on the spindle just like the standard 4 pot mustang GT brakes and use a larger 15" rotor. You can buy the complete front kit for 1K new from LMR https://lmr.com/item/LRS-32120K/mustang-ford-oe-6-piston-brake-kit-2015-2020
If you don't want basic matte black they also have the bullitt kit in red for $1150 and the mach 1 kit in orange for $1300.

For another 1K you can get baer eradispeed+ 2 piece rotors for the front that are way better than stock. https://www.americanmuscle.com/baer-eradispeed-plus-front-rotors-pp-1517.html

And matching rears for $700 https://www.americanmuscle.com/baer-eradispeed-plus-rear-rotors-pp-1516gt.html

And for $362 you can get the GT 350 axles that come in the ford kit. https://www.americanmuscle.com/ford-performance-gt350-half-shaft-kit-15117.html

So for a little over 3K you can get a brake setup that will be 95% of what the GT350 kit will do and you can piece meal it vs. dropping 4K all at once.

When you add the cost of PP rear brakes the difference comes to a few hundred dollars. Which leads me to ask: what would be the comparative performance in terms of stopping power and resistance to fade from overheating, and what would be the comparative weight?

In my browsing of these products on both the distributers' sites and the vendors sites I am seeing almost zero specs on weight, and certainly nothing on benchmarking

 

[shogun32]

Not sure if you did this too, but you need the PP undertray which has the channels that direct airflow up to the deflectors. Otherwise the base tray just gets the air under and back.

that's one way, the other way is $10 at home depot for dryer vents.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-Wide-Mouth-Dryer-Vent-Hood-in-White-BPMH4WHD6/203647465?
you just need the plastic bits and get rid of the flap.

 

[Bobby57]

Good analysis! They would be good for eb hpp

I have reasons for believing that I am going to get sucked into the tracking life.

 

[shogun32]

as I wouldn't consider getting only for the front....I cannot completely ignore esthetics --- don't want to create a Frankenstein car.

I pop a Xanax every time I walk out to the garage so I don't end up in a fetal ball sobbing when I see my gray mottled rear brake calipers not match the red 6-pots up front.

Consistency front/rear is grossly overrated.

 

[luc]

When you add the cost of PP rear brakes the difference comes to a few hundred dollars. Which leads me to ask: what would be the comparative performance in terms of stopping power and resistance to fade from overheating, and what would be the comparative weight?

In my browsing of these products on both the distributers' sites and the vendors sites I am seeing almost zero specs on weight, and certainly nothing on benchmarking

The rear pp1 brakes are exactly the same than regular gt
As for brake fade, you’re never going to face this issue on the street and on the track, open tracking, it’s also a non issue with good pads
You will have to deal first with the terminal understeer of your car and chewing front tires before worrying about brakes

 

[kz]

I have reasons for believing that I am going to get sucked into the tracking life.

If you're really serious about it than start thinking about new car as convertible isn't it. Also, as luc mentioned above, rear PP brakes are the same as on any other GT, Bullit or Mach 1.
Those GT350 half shafts come stock on 18+ PP Magride GTs are only difference is increased diameter of one of the shafts.

I second comment above about understeer, especially with the added weight of a blower. You are seriously overthinking this.

 

[Bobby57]

There should be at least one voice on here that sides with getting the kit, but I should list out the pros and cons and why I chose to go with it.

I spent a lot of time researching what to do with this brake system on the GT for two reasons: 1.) I will be putting this car on the track; 2.) I don't have a PP option nor is it a bullit by default. So I also had an upgrade in my future. I hate the inverted hat design of the default GT rotors. The calipers are fine, but they're heavy for what they do anyway considering they're only 4 piston. The rotors are stout for daily driving and having fun every once in a while, but I've heard some really bad stories about what happens to these OEM brakes on the track.

Here's a good channel that I caught while digging around for info:



I thought that was interesting, and they dive into how bad some of these designs are. They also provide some info on what other brake options are out there. However, since this isn't a race car I'm building, I want to have fun on the track, and I want it to look cool I chose a different path. Still good info.

First the pros (as I see them):

* Half shafts are included. They're much stouter than the stock ones. Since I've had mine out of the car before I know to get a bearing/seal kit when installing the new ones just for good measure from ford performance.
* It comes with the e-brake shoes/assembly and new cables - a big upgrade to the rear brakes. You're no longer using the rear caliper as the e-brake.
* To make everything above tie together it comes with new rear aluminum knuckles with the spherical bushings already installed. So if anyone here has installed their own toe brackets they'll agree with me - removing/installing these bushings is a HUGE pain.
* Calipers are stunning. I opted for the black kit vs. the red. I wanted something different.
* Calipers, pads and rotors all go together really well.
* Hardware is included for everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. The only thing I see missing is the bearing/seal kit I mentioned earlier for the half-shafts, and the brake fluid you'll need to replace what gets lost.
* Documentation is really good. I can follow them easily and it's all available through the ford performance website. I also have contacts I can call and KNOW they're going to answer and care about what I'm asking. That's a huge plus for me.

Cons as I see them:

* Lots and lots and lots of work - esp. on the rears. If you have a lift and a shop - great. You can probably get this done during a long weekend. If you're like me and you have a driveway, jack stands, etc. It's going to take longer. I'm still working on that angle to be honest.
* Definitely the weight. It's going to be heavier than the original brakes by far. The rotors are massive and they're NOT light. When this kit first showed up it was on a box stapled to a wood pallet. I had to disassemble the shipment to move the boxes into storage. Carrying both front rotors together was a bit sketchy up and down the steps. This is a heavy kit.
* The rotors are NOT two-piece. This means if you wear these out, and can't have them turned you'll be buying another set of rotors. Those are going to be expensive. So two-piece units from Steeda or someone else (perhaps carbon fiber???) may be in your future depending on how much track you intend to run.
* They're built for a 19" rim but I'm finding out that I may have to run a different rim than the Project6grs that I have now. I won't know for sure until I mock up the fronts with the new rotor/caliper. I'm really hoping not since I bought these rims with this brake system in mind in the first place, but that remains to be seen. From what I've heard it may boil down to the wheel weights and fitting a sheet of paper between the caliper and the wheel.
* The price obviously

Why the hell did I do this?:

* I want bullet proof brakes and didn't want to design my own kit. That's obviously something that others have done, and that's great, but I didn't want to experiment or try to collect a bunch of components and then have issues making them work together.
* I really wanted an upgrade to the short shafts and the e-brake system. This has both.
* I also have ARP studded hubs that I'm putting on at the same time, so I'm really excited how all of this is going to look together.
* I'm in a car club, so I get some options when it comes to buying a kit like this wholesale and I had to wait for other orders to make it more cost effective. That was no small feat considering the market we're in right now, inflation, etc. I chose to do this before the kit got any more pricy and/or ford performance no longer offered it. So I had some waiting to do.
* I get the chance to document this and share it with the club in case others choose to do something similar. It may drive business to the custom shop we work with.
* I get to exploit the car show angle and yack with others about what I did and why. That's always fun.
* I get to track the car and not be terrified I won't be able to control myself on downhill corners.

So it's an individual choice coupled with what others have said: what do you plan on doing with the car? I'm being really candid here about why I'm doing this and what I see as the pros/cons, so folks probably won't agree with me, but that's alright by me. I bought this for myself as a Christmas present after a tough couple of years with work and the pandemic, and once I took those calipers out of the box - OMG. They're awesome so I'm not sad at all.

Thanks for the great post. I have had many of the same thoughts as you on this

I would also get black, my having a black car, and my wanting to keep it more low-key
I also appreciate the stronger axles, given that I am pumping out 670 HP at the crank, with plans to increase this, and I am planning to get more grippy tires
Alternatives of mixing and matching components to build one's own solution do not offer a compelling economic advantage, though they could offer definite weight advantages
The one thing you said that really struck home with me was: the peace of mind that I won't find myself barreling toward a turn to find that I don't have brakes

My biggest concerns are:

1) the comparatively heavier weight
2) the general cost of component replacement, particularly given the low unit count of the GT350, which became exacerbated by its short production run

 

[I Bleed Ford Blue]

My biggest concerns are:
the general cost of component replacement, particularly given the low unit count of the GT350, which became exacerbated by its short production run

All the more reason to go with the PP1 brakes, they are cheaper and more readily available. And as I said before they will give you 95% of what the 350 brake kit will. If your concerned about brake fade, get a better set of rotors and better pads like powerstop or EBC

 

[Bobby57]

If you're really serious about it than start thinking about new car as convertible isn't it. Also, as luc mentioned above, rear PP brakes are the same as on any other GT, Bullit or Mach 1.
Those GT350 half shafts come stock on 18+ PP Magride GTs are only difference is increased diameter of one of the shafts.

I second comment above about understeer, especially with the added weight of a blower. You are seriously overthinking this.

That I have a convertible I should not enjoy driving it on the track?

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