Another GT Brake Upgrade Story

[Bobby57]

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

What you propose is one of my considerations --- PP kit calipers and lines; powerstop rotors and pads; higher grade fluid

I would be interested in better understanding your quantification that the PP brakes gives one 95% of what one gets from the GT350 brakes

BTW, if I have the money and am willing to spend it on the GT350 brakes then the argument comes down to two things:

weight
possible future unavailability of replacement parts such that I have to rip the whole thing out

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[I Bleed Ford Blue]

There are more restrictions for driving a vert on the track. It can be done, but most just opt for a hardtop for track use.

 

[RacerX#99]

My subjective experience of my brakes is that they have insufficient bite and that their application is not linear to pedal actuation. They are definitely inferior to the brakes on my previous cars (BMWs and Porsches), and their overall feel is dissatisfying relative to other aspects of the car which I have modified, namely the suspension, chassis and power.

When taking turns the car suspension and my Pilot Sport tires are holding the car in there very nicely, and the huge Roush Phase 1 SC torque is great for pulling out....but the braking is very lackluster approaching the the turn --- they are taking away from the enjoyment.

There might be cost-effective remedies such as replacing the pads, rotors and lines. Rotor and fluid grade replacement could also address concerns of heat dissipation. I already have air deflectors on the Steeda tension links.

For esthetics, I could powder coat the existing calipers which I find as having a very unattractive industrial look. I have a black car and would go with black powder coating, as I prefer being more low-key.

Alternatively, I could spend more money and buy a kit that provides all the above. On this I would rule out the Performance Pack Kit (and the Bullitt Kit which is the identical set of components with red-painted calipers). I understand that the 6 piston calipers do provide better braking feel/control but the rotors are heavy and not great at heat dissipation and, as you point out, the overall stopping power is not appreciably greater.

Which takes us to the GT350 brakes, which are available in low-key black, with the kit including more robust half-shafts, which is attractive given the high torque I am putting out, and given that I am looking to spring for a second set of wheels which I would mount with soft compound tires.

Have you ever experienced the braking of the GT350, or have you seen comparative metrics of the 60-0 of same model-year base GT and GT350?

I have not done any serious Open tracking in 15 years well before the current Mustang was available

 

[I Bleed Ford Blue]

the 350 front brakes are 6 pot with 2 piece 15.5" rotors where as the PP1's are 6 pot with one piece 15" rotors. The 350 rotors are also lighter than the heavy cast PP1 rotors. If you also get better pads, braided steel hoses, and better fluid you can get real close to the same stopping power as the 350 front brakes. Also there are 2 piece light weight PP1 rotors out there but they are expensive. For mostly street use the 1 piece lighter rotors like the baer's are more than adequate. The rear brakes are another story, but unless you are tracking a lot there is no need for the gt350 rear brakes as somewhere around 70% of you braking power comes from the front brakes anyway.

 

[Bobby57]

There are more restrictions for driving a vert on the track. It can be done, but most just opt for a hardtop for track use.

Prior to my recent retirement to to Florida, I had, over the last 20 years, owned numerous convertible BMW and Porsches cars. It actually was my intention to purchase a retirement car of a 2021 BMW M4 competition convertible. Not to make this story too long, I accidentally fell into buying this used Mustang as a temporary daily driver, waiting on the release of the new M4 model. But, got hooked on what I could do modifying the Mustang, and forgot all about the BMW.

I have been building out the car in a very personal way. Apart from the performance modifications, I have put in a $6K sound system, built-in radar detectors and laser jammers and the digital instrument cluster, just to name a few of the many non-performance mods I have made.

The car is many things for me:

With living in Florida, I get many days to enjoy having the top down. This includes cruising around listening to high fidelity jazz recordings, cruising with my wife, often with are big ole lab-mix dog in the back seat, and, then there is ripping around turns and opening it up on the interstate. It is also amusing when a couple of young guys pull up in their Mustangs, Challengers, etc. to take in each other on, and to then chat with them later at the next light, when they have finally caught up with me, them having a laugh with the old guy in the convertible.


The car is getting close to being trackable. To the extent that I am allowed, having a convertible, I will enjoy this....hope to see you out there!

 

[Bobby57]

the 350 front brakes are 6 pot with 2 piece 15.5" rotors where as the PP1's are 6 pot with one piece 15" rotors. The 350 rotors are also lighter than the heavy cast PP1 rotors. If you also get better pads, braided steel hoses, and better fluid you can get real close to the same stopping power as the 350 front brakes. Also there are 2 piece light weight PP1 rotors out there but they are expensive. For mostly street use the 1 piece lighter rotors like the baer's are more than adequate. The rear brakes are another story, but unless you are tracking a lot there is no need for the gt350 rear brakes as somewhere around 70% of you braking power comes from the front brakes anyway.

In your opinion, does the PP set-up have better pedal feel than the base GT set-up?

 

[I Bleed Ford Blue]

hope to see you out there!

Not likely, I'm in northern Ohio and my vert is entirely a cruiser. I never intended to track it. My car is more capable than what I need, factory PP1 with a manual on a vert.

 

[I Bleed Ford Blue]

I never drove a non PP1 car so I couldn't tell you. I can say the standard GT brakes like you have are 14" with 4 pot calipers, so just by upgrading to the PP1 kit gets you a larger rotor with more swept area and 6 pot calipers.

When you increase rotor size, you increase the leverage that the brakes have and there for increase stopping power. Couple that with the larger swept area and bigger pads that usually come with bigger brakes and you see why getting the biggest brakes you can afford is so desirable.

 

[shogun32]

possible future unavailability of replacement parts

GT350 pads are pricier. Although some of the full-zoot pads only come in that config because 'FP car' vs wanna-be with "cheap" 6-pots

And yes even on the lighter Ecoboost the 4-pot vs 6-pot is clear. I think the main letdown on the 4-pot is the pads. Try a $150 solution first before you spring for 3000+.

 

[Bobby57]

I never drove a non PP1 car so I couldn't tell you. I can say the standard GT brakes like you have are 14" with 4 pot calipers, so just by upgrading to the PP1 kit gets you a larger rotor with more swept area and 6 pot calipers.

Have you caught any of this Engineering Explained guy's YouTube videos (this one a brake caliper piston count)

 

[I Bleed Ford Blue]

I would like to see ford offer the GT500 brakes in a kit like the 350 kit, but I bet it would retail for about 6K knowing ford. The 350 kit was 4800 when it first came out.

 

[Bobby57]

I would like to see ford offer the GT500 brakes in a kit like the 350 kit, but I bet it would retail for about 6K knowing ford. The 350 kit was 4800 when it first came out.

Ford is charging a $200 premium for red paint versus black paint on the GT350 kit

 

[Bobby57]

For me persoannly, cross drilled and nice calipers are all about the looks only, for the street. For performance I would stick with OEM and maybe get slotted rotors, plus pads either way....

I have been reading about the disadvantages of cross-drilling and that they are not favored for racing applications, so it surprising that Ford would put them on the GT350R which is specifically targeted as a track car. It make you wonder about what Ford thinks about the GT350R buyer

 

[williamachamberlain@gmail]

Not only are the brakes ridiculously priced, you’d have to upgrade the wheels as well so they’d clear the massive calipers

 

[luc]

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

Any serious organization will not let a convertible run without a roll bar…where is your’s ?

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