Upgraded to Brembos from base GT 4 pistons. One man's opinion.

[Thub]

I've gone through a lot of brake parts since I got my 2018 base GT, with the black accent package, which comes with 255/40/19 tires. and I figured some people might like to hear my thoughts on things.
Stock base GT stuff
My stock pads were totally destroyed by my first track day. I boiled the fluid a bunch of times, wore a lot of the pads away, and the trailing edge of the front pads ended up falling off entirely. (That was really scary to find after I drove home from the track)
Powerstop Z26 Base GT parts
I ended up replacing everything with the powerstop Z26 kit with their drilled and slotted rotors, and I was happy with those parts, dust is crazy low, but I learned there's no way to properly cool the rotors, and since I planned on a lot more track days, I knew the Brembos were gonna be necessary.
I did some testing before I remove these parts and on the stock tires, I saw 0.99G on the Track Apps accelerometer and my phone gave me about 1.04G (My phone was level with the car stopped, but with brake dive I expect it to read a little higher. The rear wheels locked much quicker than the fronts as well.
Brembos with stock pads (Z26 out back)
I read Vorschlag's entire thread on their base 2018 car, and decided I didn't believe them about the master cylinder. (Actually I figured if it did suck, I'd be able to swap the MC out before my first track day).
I bought myself some gently used Brembos and braided SS lines. and used the OEM brembo pads to start.
The stock pads are way too grabby for my tastes, and dust like crazy, but I was happy with the ultimate braking force
Brembos with Powerstop Z26 pads
I got sick of the dust and excessive grabbiness from the OEM brembo pads really fast,The rotors I had were only about 0.010" thinner than brand new, so I left them on the car, The dust is almost entirely gone, and the brakes are much easier to modulate around town, so I'm much happier, but I got to thinking about the ultimate braking force. After all, Vorschlag said he saw much worse braking distances with the brembos.
I didn't see that at all. I got 1.10 on the track apps page, while my phone's accelerometer read 1.159G. The rear wheels still locked first, but much closer to the fronts. The extra weight transfer from the higher G force made the rear end feel really light, and I had to steer under braking to stay straight.

My personal conclusion is that the stock master cylinder is satisfactory for handling either caliper set, though I'm sure my pedal is a little lower than the PP master cylinder would be, but I'm ok with it, the brake pedal is basically even with the gas pedal while braking, so heel-toe downshifting is easier.
I've got some Powerstop trackday pads for the track, which I haven't put on, so I'll update after my first trackday for the year.

TLDR in bold, I'd be happy for this to become a discussion.

Sponsored

 

[BmacIL]

I've gone through a lot of brake parts since I got my 2018 base GT, with the black accent package, which comes with 255/40/19 tires. and I figured some people might like to hear my thoughts on things.
Stock base GT stuff
My stock pads were totally destroyed by my first track day. I boiled the fluid a bunch of times, wore a lot of the pads away, and the trailing edge of the front pads ended up falling off entirely. (That was really scary to find after I drove home from the track)
Powerstop Z26 Base GT parts
I ended up replacing everything with the powerstop Z26 kit with their drilled and slotted rotors, and I was happy with those parts, dust is crazy low, but I learned there's no way to properly cool the rotors, and since I planned on a lot more track days, I knew the Brembos were gonna be necessary.
I did some testing before I remove these parts and on the stock tires, I saw 0.99G on the Track Apps accelerometer and my phone gave me about 1.04G (My phone was level with the car stopped, but with brake dive I expect it to read a little higher. The rear wheels locked much quicker than the fronts as well.
Brembos with stock pads (Z26 out back)
I read Vorschlag's entire thread on their base 2018 car, and decided I didn't believe them about the master cylinder. (Actually I figured if it did suck, I'd be able to swap the MC out before my first track day).
I bought myself some gently used Brembos and braided SS lines. and used the OEM brembo pads to start.
The stock pads are way too grabby for my tastes, and dust like crazy, but I was happy with the ultimate braking force
Brembos with Powerstop Z26 pads
I got sick of the dust and excessive grabbiness from the OEM brembo pads really fast,The rotors I had were only about 0.010" thinner than brand new, so I left them on the car, The dust is almost entirely gone, and the brakes are much easier to modulate around town, so I'm much happier, but I got to thinking about the ultimate braking force. After all, Vorschlag said he saw much worse braking distances with the brembos.
I didn't see that at all. I got 1.10 on the track apps page, while my phone's accelerometer read 1.159G. The rear wheels still locked first, but much closer to the fronts. The extra weight transfer from the higher G force made the rear end feel really light, and I had to steer under braking to stay straight.

My personal conclusion is that the stock master cylinder is satisfactory for handling either caliper set, though I'm sure my pedal is a little lower than the PP master cylinder would be, but I'm ok with it, the brake pedal is basically even with the gas pedal while braking, so heel-toe downshifting is easier.
I've got some Powerstop trackday pads for the track, which I haven't put on, so I'll update after my first trackday for the year.

TLDR in bold, I'd be happy for this to become a discussion.

Nice report. Try some GLOC R10 and R8 for the track (or even R12 fronts). That will help your rear locking issue. FYI the Powerstop Track Day pads have horrendous dust, and that dust will ruin the finish of your wheels.

 

[Thub]

Nice report. Try some GLOC R10 and R8 for the track (or even R12 fronts). That will help your rear locking issue. FYI the Powerstop Track Day pads have horrendous dust, and that dust will ruin the finish of your wheels.

I plan on swapping the trackday pads out and washing the wheels after track days. It's super quick with the brembos.

 

[BmacIL]

I plan on swapping the trackday pads out and washing the wheels after track days. It's super quick with the brembos.

Yeah good idea. Or ceramic coat the wheels!

The brakes need a compound stagger for a car that's driven hard, otherwise you'll see the issue Vorshlag had. They ran R16 pads all around.

 

[Thub]

Yeah good idea. Or ceramic coat the wheels!

The brakes need a compound stagger for a car that's driven hard, otherwise you'll see the issue Vorshlag had. They ran R16 pads all around.

I've seen a lot of people say that.
I'm curious if powerstop staggers the friction coefficients of their street pads. When I had the base GT stuff, (with the z26) it was like grabbing the E brake but with ABS. On the brembos (with z26) it is much closer between when the rears stay locking and the fronts do.

 

[BmacIL]

I've seen a lot of people say that.
I'm curious if powerstop staggers the friction coefficients of their street pads. When I had the base GT stuff, (with the z26) it was like grabbing the E brake but with ABS. On the brembos (with z26) it is much closer between when the rears stay locking and the fronts do.

I'm not sure, but most of the serious track pad manufacturers suggest or only make a compound stagger. GLOC, Pagid, PFC, Raybestos, etc.

 

[SVO MkII]

" Stock base GT stuff
My stock pads were totally destroyed by my first track day. I boiled the fluid a bunch of times, wore a lot of the pads away, and the trailing edge of the front pads ended up falling off entirely. (That was really scary to find after I drove home from the track)"

This was my experience exactly with the 4 piston brakes, i.e., boiled the fluid after 5 laps at Road America last May. Since installing the 6 piston Brembos, I have done a couple HPDEs at Autobahn, no issues. I just installed some GLOC R12 (f), R10 (r) pads in prep for Road America in a couple weeks (and Motul 660). I'm surprised at how quiet and grippy the GLOC pads are on the street. Most other track pads I've used squeal like a pig and don't have any bite until they get hot. I'm expecting a BIG improvement overall vs last year.

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

Brembos with Powerstop Z26 pads
I got sick of the dust and excessive grabbiness from the OEM brembo pads really fast,The rotors I had were only about 0.010" thinner than brand new, so I left them on the car, The dust is almost entirely gone, and the brakes are much easier to modulate around town, so I'm much happier, but I got to thinking about the ultimate braking force. After all, Vorschlag said he saw much worse braking distances with the brembos.
I didn't see that at all. I got 1.10 on the track apps page, while my phone's accelerometer read 1.159G. The rear wheels still locked first, but much closer to the fronts. The extra weight transfer from the higher G force made the rear end feel really light, and I had to steer under braking to stay straight.

I'm also very happy with Powerstop Z23 (same compound as the Z26s, different backing plate) on my Brembos. I didn't like the stock Brembo pads because there was ZERO pedal travel, even when pushing hard, and modulation was damn near impossible. Along with pedal travel, you couldn't heel/toe, because, well, the brake pedal didn't travel. The Z23s work great for DD duty, give much better pedal travel and modulation, and allow me to heel/toe with ease. Way less dusty, too (though they do dust, it's just less).

JR

 

[BlownGP]

So, if I didn't track my car would the Z16s be ok. Or should I splurge for the Z26?

I've ran the Z16s on many cars and love them but never on a performance vehicle.

 

[Thub]

So, if I didn't track my car would the Z16s be ok. Or should I splurge for the Z26?

I've ran the Z16s on many cars and love them but never on a performance vehicle.

I never had a single issue with the stock pads on the street or drag strip (never even thought about them, honestly). In a single stop from ~115 at the strip, they didn't even smell.
I can't imagine the Z17s are a lot worse than stock, so I'm sure you'd have no problem with the Z17's. The Z23s are only $5 more per axle though, same compound as the Z26 and that compound is fantastic. I've never seen a pad give off so little dust. It does give less initial bite though, which I prefer, but might not be for everyone.

 

[BlownGP]

Yeah, I forgot about the Z23s. I think I will go with those.

Thanks

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

Yeah, I forgot about the Z23s. I think I will go with those.

Thanks

I can vouch for the Z23s. I've never run the Z17s or Z26s, but the Z23s are exactly what I'm looking for in a street pad.

JR

 

[Bull Run]

I read Vorschlag's entire thread on their base 2018 car, and decided I didn't believe them about the master cylinder.

I also read and watched Vorschlag's video regarding the upgrade. What I don't get is; if he installed new brakes calipers, pads, and rotors, shouldn't he been seasoning the rotors and bedding the pads prior to the track day? And since seasoning and bedding requires several high-speed stops, shouldn't he be able to tell something was wrong?

 

[Bull Run]

This was my experience exactly with the 4 piston brakes, i.e., boiled the fluid after 5 laps at Road America last May. Since installing the 6 piston Brembos, I have done a couple HPDEs at Autobahn, no issues. I just installed some GLOC R12 (f), R10 (r) pads in prep for Road America in a couple weeks (and Motul 660). I'm surprised at how quiet and grippy the GLOC pads are on the street. Most other track pads I've used squeal like a pig and don't have any bite until they get hot. I'm expecting a BIG improvement overall vs last year.

I've been testing GLOC R12 (f), R10 (r) pads for street use and found that they eventually squeal like crazy (way more than the OEM Brembo pads) unless you frequently wash off the brake dust. They do stop well in the cold weather (haven't tried below freezing). Interested in hearing how your pads do after you put more miles on them.

 

[SVO MkII]

I've been testing GLOC R12 (f), R10 (r) pads for street use and found that they eventually squeal like crazy (way more than the OEM Brembo pads) unless you frequently wash off the brake dust. They do stop well in the cold weather (haven't tried below freezing). Interested in hearing how your pads do after you put more miles on them.

Yep, after a couple days they started squealing, like all other track pads. I'm OK with it. I'll pop the stock pads back in once the track season ends.

Sponsored