Best bang for the buck base brake upgrade?

[essque]

The stock 14" brakes on my base gt are pretty damn good but the calipers need some love (paint, powdercoat or hitemp vinyl) to look decent plus better pads, lines and rotors to really do it right. I got a quote for a set of used 15" brembo calipers for $500 and I see baer has 15" rotors for around $550 at AM.

Just wanted to gather any thoughts or intel on what the best and most cost effective route would be. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Sponsored

 

[SYK]

Pad surface area between brembo and 4 piston are very similar. You wouldn't get huge bang for the buck for brembo other than cooling capacity. save money and go pads only if you are looking for street performance. If you want to up your aesthetic game, brembo with slotted rotors look sexy as hell.

 

[Rebellion]

For track cooling, get the brembos plus some sort of cooling duct mod (JLT, maybe).

Obviously get better pads, and the most important...wide wheels and grippy tires!

Traction and ultimate braking ability is determined by tires, the stock GT brakes are more than enough to begin with. This is important for track/autox as it determines how late you can brake. Wheels and tires are the most important braking mods.

 

[Rich of So Cal]

Interesting thread. What are recommended pad only upgrades for the GT premium base brake system?

 

[jstump2490]

Interesting thread. What are recommended pad only upgrades for the GT premium base brake system?

I am curious as well what people are using. I don't track the car, but I would like some good brakes because I love running up a clear off ramp to catch a green light and smashing the brakes to make the turn as the light is turning haha.

 

[essque]

Thanks for the replies rebellion and syk, good food for thought. Does anyone know if the stock 14" calipers are made by brembo? Just in case I do get them painted and want to slap the brembo logo on there lol.

Also, has anyone found or can recommend any quality and lighter weight rotors for this size that are better than stock? I have decent tires already and lightweight staggered MRR wheels so trust me when I say the dull stock setup is not doing them any justice. The cheeseball side of me wants bling bling cross drilled super titanium coated rotors underneath but ill settle for good ole slotted

 

[Rebellion]

Thanks for the replies rebellion and syk, good food for thought. Does anyone know if the stock 14" calipers are made by brembo? Just in case I do get them painted and want to slap the brembo logo on there lol.

Also, has anyone found or can recommend any quality and lighter weight rotors for this size that are better than stock? I have decent tires already and lightweight staggered MRR wheels so trust me when I say the dull stock setup is not doing them any justice. The cheeseball side off me wants bling bling cross drilled super titanium coated rotors underneath but ill settle for good ole slotted

I believe the calipers are made by continental.

I don't think you can get much of weight savings on rotors alone, unless you go for a true 2 piece and a whole lot of cash. Slotted and drilled don't really add much, if any, brake performance...and there are cons from doing them, so it's just for "cheeseball" sakes.

For me, eventually, I'd like to do this: http://www.stage3motorsports.com/K6805-26-2015-2016-Mustang-GT-EcoBoost-PP-Power-Stop-Z26-Street-Warrior-Front-Rear-Brake-Package.html

 

[BmacIL]

Good slotted rotors will offer better initial bite. Really good rotors overall (cryo-treated) will resist warping under high temps much better. There is a slight performance advantage upgrading to single piece slotted rotors, but usually not worth the money unless you have to replace rotors anyway (wait till this point).

 

[mikes2017gt]

I love running up a clear off ramp to catch a green light and smashing the brakes to make the turn as the light is turning haha.

And here I thought I was all alone in doing this.

Very interesting thread to me as I've also been thinking "damn those stock calipers are UGLY...couldn't they've at least sprayed them black?" and want to do something about it. Painting them is easy enough, but if the paint is going to come off in a just a few weeks, it's pointless. Between normal wear and the brake/wheel cleaner I use when washing the car, normal paint would be gone very quickly. So what to do?

 

[higdominator]

If you aren't tracking the car, there is no point to do serious brake upgrades. The cost is not worth it.

TBH, if you want to have bling on the cheap and have Brembo on the caliper to impress chicks then you should buy those $500 calipers and some centrix/powerstop/DBA/OEM front rotors and call it a day.

If you want performance- good pads and fluid and be done with it.

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

Good slotted rotors will offer better initial bite. Really good rotors overall (cryo-treated) will resist warping under high temps much better. There is a slight performance advantage upgrading to single piece slotted rotors, but usually not worth the money unless you have to replace rotors anyway (wait till this point).

From all the research I've done, rotors don't warp, this is a misnomer. What does happen is that pad material becomes baked onto the rotors, and causes high spots, which we perceive as 'warping'. Also, slotted rotors look nice and provide better cooling, but 'scrub' the pads several times per rotation, which reduces pad life.

To the OP, I'm running Power Stop Z23 pads on my GT/PP, and I'm pretty happy with them. They don't dust anywhere near as badly as the stock PP pads did, they have just as much stopping ability (as far as I can tell, and in using the accelerometer function), though initial bite isn't as hard. This is good, because it allows more pedal travel for heel/toeing, if that's your thing.

JR

 

[BmacIL]

From all the research I've done, rotors don't warp, this is a misnomer. What does happen is that pad material becomes baked onto the rotors, and causes high spots, which we perceive as 'warping'.

To the OP, I'm running Power Stop Z23 pads on my GT/PP, and I'm pretty happy with them. They don't dust anywhere near as badly as the stock PP pads did, they have just as much stopping ability (as far as I can tell, and in using the accelerometer function), though initial bite isn't as hard. This is good, because it allows more pedal travel for heel/toeing, if that's your thing.

JR

Rotors can definitely warp, but what is perceived as "warp" is almost always what you stated above. If you get them hot enough they'll warp.

 

[Rebellion]

From all the research I've done, rotors don't warp, this is a misnomer. What does happen is that pad material becomes baked onto the rotors, and causes high spots, which we perceive as 'warping'. Also, slotted rotors look nice and provide better cooling, but 'scrub' the pads several times per rotation, which reduces pad life.

To the OP, I'm running Power Stop Z23 pads on my GT/PP, and I'm pretty happy with them. They don't dust anywhere near as badly as the stock PP pads did, they have just as much stopping ability (as far as I can tell, and in using the accelerometer function), though initial bite isn't as hard. This is good, because it allows more pedal travel for heel/toeing, if that's your thing.

JR

Those Z23 sound good!

Anyone know what's the difference between Z23 and Z26?

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

Those Z23 sound good!

Anyone know what's the difference between Z23 and Z26?

From what I was able to find out, they're the same pad compound, but one has an integrated backing plate (Z26), while the other has a bolted on plate (Z23). They do squeal a little when they're cold, but by the time I'm out of my neighborhood, they're quiet.

JR

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

Rotors can definitely warp, but what is perceived as "warp" is almost always what you stated above. If you get them hot enough they'll warp.

Rotors on a serious track car? Sure. Not on a daily driver.

JR

Sponsored