Brake Upgrade for Base 2017 GT. What To Get?

[G-HORCE]

Hey all. I’m completely stock currently, and looking for front and rear upgrades. Application will be for Time Trials, though I run Autocross and Trackcross too, so some compromise may be in order, but safety and reliability are paramount.

The speed shop I’m talking to recommends the following:

1) Ford Racing 2015-2016 Mustang Performance Pack 6-Piston Front Brake Upgrade Kit (Part M-2300-V).

2) Power Stop 2015-2019 Rear Autospecialty Brake Kit (part KOE6812).

3) Power Stop 15-17 Ford Mustang Front and Rear SS Braided Hose Kit (part BH00116)

4) OEM Ford brake booster line for 2018-2021 Mustang GT and 2019-2020 Ford Mustang Bullitt (part JR3Z-2420-C).

5) RBF 660 DOT brake fluid - 500 ML/.5 ML - boiling point 617°F - wet-boiling point 400°F (part 101667)

I wanted to save some money with the rears, as they don’t carry much of the load, but I don’t want to rely on the shop’s word alone. The brakes will have to perform and hold up for 15-20 minutes at a time of moderate-to-hard use. Not quite the level of abuse some of you guys apply, but way more heat to deal with than autocross or a track sprints. The shop claims these Power Stops will be a significant upgrade, if I don’t want to spend for the rear Brembos. They said the 6-piston Brembos up front are the way to go.

Any knowledge on all the above would be appreciated. Will this do the job well?

And I wonder what pads I should choose, front and rear?

And whether the front Brembo rotors should be swapped out too?

Switching out pads for time trials would be acceptable.

I want to get this right obviously. Thanks!

 

[o-man]

I'm sure you will get several different opinions on this. On my Bullitt, I've run the Brembos with G-loc R16 front, R8 rears. Currently trying Carbotech XP20 front, Xp8 or 10 rears; sorry, can't remember. Currently Using ATE "gold" brake fluid; might upgrade that in the future. Also, running the Vorshlag brake deflectors for cooling. More than likely will upgrade brake lines either later this year or next. Hope this helps

 

[JDee]

I wouldn't upgrade the rear brake calipers, the stock ones work fine for pretty aggressive track day use. I run the stock GT rear calipers and they are fine on track even on tracks that are known for being hard on brakes. Whatever brake pads you run, use a less aggressive rear pad, 1 step down from whatever you're running up front. For example I run Hawk DTC50 up front and DTC30 out back.
+1 to the many different opinions comment above, you'll just have to try some setups and see what works for you, your car and your driving style/events.

 

[Dave_W]

Good information on the Vorshlag forum detailing the S550 brake options -

Mustang S550 Brakes - Uses, Limitaitons and Upgrade Options - Vorshlag Motorsports Forum

Note that if you upgrade to the PP brakes, you need to upgrade to the PP brake master cylinder as well. See the Vorshlag thread.

Also, note that Terry upgraded from the "reverse" GT front brakes to the PP brakes, but used the stock GT rear brakes (he actually upgraded the V6 unvented brakes to the vented GT rears, as the junkyard auction car he started with was a mix of V6 and GT parts).

The PowerStop KOE6812 is just rotors and pads, plus the little clips the pads slide on. If you're going to get track pads, you'll just be throwing out the pads in that kit, so wasted money IMHO. Probably cheaper to just get new rotors (RockAuto has Centric C-Tek for $25 per rotor) if you need them.

If you're doing a brake job yourself, don't forget a hardware kit. It costs $10-$15 for a front axle kit with retaining pins & spring clips from Rock Auto, and $5 - $10 for a rear axle kit with pad slider clips and caliper pin boots; note that not all rear kits include the caliper pin boots. Also grab a "ketchup packet" or two of brake lubricant (look for high-temp like Permatex "ceramic extreme" or "silicone ceramic extreme" - they're rated to 3000F) and put a very light smear on the pad back only where it contacts the caliper piston(s), a little dab on the edge of each pad "ear" where it rides in the slider clip, and a light coating on the rear caliper pins.

 

[G-HORCE]

I'm sure you will get several different opinions on this. On my Bullitt, I've run the Brembos with G-loc R16 front, R8 rears. Currently trying Carbotech XP20 front, Xp8 or 10 rears; sorry, can't remember. Currently Using ATE "gold" brake fluid; might upgrade that in the future. Also, running the Vorshlag brake deflectors for cooling. More than likely will upgrade brake lines either later this year or next. Hope this helps

Thanks. I’ll look into the Vorshlag deflectors - Looks like I’ll need the PP splitter ($$) to make that work. I’m base model.

 

[G-HORCE]

I wouldn't upgrade the rear brake calipers, the stock ones work fine for pretty aggressive track day use. I run the stock GT rear calipers and they are fine on track even on tracks that are known for being hard on brakes. Whatever brake pads you run, use a less aggressive rear pad, 1 step down from whatever you're running up front. For example I run Hawk DTC50 up front and DTC30 out back.
+1 to the many different opinions comment above, you'll just have to try some setups and see what works for you, your car and your driving style/events.

Thank you. The kit is just pads and rotors. What’s the logic behind a less-aggressive pads in the rear? Interesting.

 

[G-HORCE]

Good information on the Vorshlag forum detailing the S550 brake options -

Mustang S550 Brakes - Uses, Limitaitons and Upgrade Options - Vorshlag Motorsports Forum

Note that if you upgrade to the PP brakes, you need to upgrade to the PP brake master cylinder as well. See the Vorshlag thread.

Also, note that Terry upgraded from the "reverse" GT front brakes to the PP brakes, but used the stock GT rear brakes (he actually upgraded the V6 unvented brakes to the vented GT rears, as the junkyard auction car he started with was a mix of V6 and GT parts).

The PowerStop KOE6812 is just rotors and pads, plus the little clips the pads slide on. If you're going to get track pads, you'll just be throwing out the pads in that kit, so wasted money IMHO. Probably cheaper to just get new rotors (RockAuto has Centric C-Tek for $25 per rotor) if you need them.

If you're doing a brake job yourself, don't forget a hardware kit. It costs $10-$15 for a front axle kit with retaining pins & spring clips from Rock Auto, and $5 - $10 for a rear axle kit with pad slider clips and caliper pin boots; note that not all rear kits include the caliper pin boots. Also grab a "ketchup packet" or two of brake lubricant (look for high-temp like Permatex "ceramic extreme" or "silicone ceramic extreme" - they're rated to 3000F) and put a very light smear on the pad back only where it contacts the caliper piston(s), a little dab on the edge of each pad "ear" where it rides in the slider clip, and a light coating on the rear caliper pins.

Much appreciated. I wonder why BOTH shops I talked to said I didn’t need the PP master cylinder when I asked them directly. That’s a bit concerning, and disappointing due to added cost. They do a lot of track mustangs. To be clear, running Time Trials are as far as I’ll be going with this car. Don’t know if that matters?

I‘m looking at the Vorshlag thread now.

As for the rear pads, I figured I’ll keep the new, fresh ones with the kit for autocross, and switch pads when running time trials.

 

[JDee]

Thank you. The kit is just pads and rotors. What’s the logic behind a less-aggressive pads in the rear? Interesting.

The rear of the car is light under braking and there's a limit to how much brake force can be used back there. Running a pad the same compound as the front is going to result in a lot of brake lock up or ABS activity if you run with ABS on. Rear brakes only supply a small amount of the decel force because of this.

 

[bnight]

I wouldn't upgrade the rear brake calipers, the stock ones work fine for pretty aggressive track day use. I run the stock GT rear calipers and they are fine on track even on tracks that are known for being hard on brakes. Whatever brake pads you run, use a less aggressive rear pad, 1 step down from whatever you're running up front. For example I run Hawk DTC50 up front and DTC30 out back.
+1 to the many different opinions comment above, you'll just have to try some setups and see what works for you, your car and your driving style/events.

I want to find some rear calliper that don't use the annoying brackets design as mine are knocking real bad over potholes after 14 track days. I hate it to a point where I ether will rebuild the callipers (and this will happen again) or want to upgrade to something better and get rid of that problem all together. With that in mind the OEM PP Brembo fronts are amazing. But the rear 1 pistons are a joke. Never had problem with them just the knocking is annoying ...

 

[JDee]

I get no noise or any other issue with the stock rear brakes and they work perfectly with the 6 piston fronts and 1 step down of brake pad vs the fronts. I've got close to 40 track days on them and there's no rattling or other abnormal noise. I run with ABS on and I get no issue with elevated brake pad wear, rear pads outlast the fronts by at least 2 to 1, more likely 3 to 1. It sounds like there is possibly some mechanical problem with the rear caliper mount?

There are several aftermarket suppliers of rear 4 piston brakes but some of them are just bling, if you go that route make sure you get a real racing caliper system. Full Tilt Boogie sells a GT350R conversion rear brake kit for GTs for one option, $3K USD and I would think it would be a big upgrade over stock. But there's others as well.

 

[mr2raw]

Good information on the Vorshlag forum detailing the S550 brake options -

Mustang S550 Brakes - Uses, Limitaitons and Upgrade Options - Vorshlag Motorsports Forum

Note that if you upgrade to the PP brakes, you need to upgrade to the PP brake master cylinder as well. See the Vorshlag thread.

Also, note that Terry upgraded from the "reverse" GT front brakes to the PP brakes, but used the stock GT rear brakes (he actually upgraded the V6 unvented brakes to the vented GT rears, as the junkyard auction car he started with was a mix of V6 and GT parts).

The PowerStop KOE6812 is just rotors and pads, plus the little clips the pads slide on. If you're going to get track pads, you'll just be throwing out the pads in that kit, so wasted money IMHO. Probably cheaper to just get new rotors (RockAuto has Centric C-Tek for $25 per rotor) if you need them.

If you're doing a brake job yourself, don't forget a hardware kit. It costs $10-$15 for a front axle kit with retaining pins & spring clips from Rock Auto, and $5 - $10 for a rear axle kit with pad slider clips and caliper pin boots; note that not all rear kits include the caliper pin boots. Also grab a "ketchup packet" or two of brake lubricant (look for high-temp like Permatex "ceramic extreme" or "silicone ceramic extreme" - they're rated to 3000F) and put a very light smear on the pad back only where it contacts the caliper piston(s), a little dab on the edge of each pad "ear" where it rides in the slider clip, and a light coating on the rear caliper pins.

So sorry to be replying to an old thread. I am currently searching for OEM style blanks. I have a 17 5.0 non-PP.
The C-Teks you mentioned.

Is it these?

More Information for CENTRIC 12161114

and

More Information for CENTRIC 12161109

These do perform better than the OEM rotors?

 

[Dave_W]

If that's what RockAuto shows for your car, then it should fit. You'll probably get more replies on your other thread.