hunters1 Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Good thread. Always learn a lot here. There is more reading elsewhere to be had. Autotrackdaily.com is another great source for info on brakes. Follow the threads for additional info. What I found out over the past three years is, there is little compromise available when it comes to brakes and application. I read a lot of forums and have become a believer that if you want to race it behooves to have race grade brakes. All LuLu said is true to get to a strong street setup, all Albino said is track oriented and proven. You can simply add true track pads to the setup LuLu mentioned and track the car at a moderate level and be safe, for short runs. One area that rarely gets a mention is what are the other upgrades that are done to the car, ie suspension? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmor Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Maybe I can save y'all a few steps, and repeat my advice. Replace the following components with selection I suggest. You will love the feel. Replace OEM rotors with slotted rotors, same size, from DBA. You can get crossed drilled, but its just decoration. No real/practical purpose, just less rotor to bite into. Replace OEM pads with EBC Yellow stuff pads, OEM size. Dusty, but worth it. Replace OEM brake lines with braided SS from Goodrich. Flush and replace OEM brake fluid with high temp DOT4, supplier of your choice. I prefer ATE SL-6. It's DOT4.6, boiling point 509f, wet 347f. It's German stuff but available here. Blue 1L can, yellow cap. Flush completely, thoroughly. Old fluid will contaminate the new and greatly degrade performance. While you have this stuff broken down, feel free to decorate the calipers to your delight. Don't do that while on the car. I have used this formula six times on my cars, twice that on friends and relatives. Sorry, don't mean to sound like a school teacher, but I drive on this stuff myself, and my Marauder weighs 4700 pounds. The 75/80 highway MPH to zero factor can be frightening. It's RIGHT NOW stuff and performance of these suggestions is outstanding. This stuff will endure lots of track time in a S197 frame car if you're just doing laps. Sorry about the high dust, but Dawn soap makes short work of it. When you get more serious, a full upgrade is the ticket. I like the Wilwood stuff. This program is very inexpensive with a lot of payback. Save your pennies for the upgrade, and drive safely on my suggestions until then. Remember, family members may be behind the wheel. Don't sell them short. Y'all be safe. I did pretty much exactly this and have been quite happy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynno Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Do the front calipers from a 1999-2004 Mustang GT (being that they are a two piston caliper) fit the years 2005-2009 Mustang GT or SGT? Reason I am asking the question is that I have a brand new set that I was to install on my 2001 GT, now just sitting in the garage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revan Posted March 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Just ran the search on my 07 SGT and an 04 mustang GT on autozone. Different part numbers came up, so it would seem the answer is no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revan Posted March 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 So after thinking about it, I'm going to go with Lulu's recommendation and try out his suggested setup. Perhaps later on I'll look at doing that SSBC 3 piston setup, but it sure can't hurt to try this first since it's half the cost. At first I also liked the idea of having a massive 8 piston caliper up front, but then I got to thinking an figured that's a lot of unsprung mass up front for a 325HP SGT. Might be worth it as an upgrade on the much heavier GT500, but I'm thinking not on a SGT or at least not on one with stock power levels. Lulu, Just want to verify I'm looking at the right parts - EBC yellowstuff pads - DBA Rotors (I'm thinking the T3 4000 series are the right ones?) Got the other things covered already - I've already got a set of Goodridge #12364 stainless steel lines. Bought em for an 07 Mustang GT I had before I traded it for my 08 GT500. They're old but never mounted so I don't see why they would't work on my 07 SGT (same car essentially). - I'll stick with some high temp DOT 4 fluid like you said. Not gonna mess with converting to DOT5. - I think I'll stick with the stock calipers up front. This weekend I swapped out the stock A-arms for some BMR tubulars and got my first good look at the stock calipers (i.e. without wheels covering them) - they're far bigger than they look when you can see the back side of them. They're only two pistons but they're pretty big pistons. Anything else I'm missing? thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITHERTZ66 Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 Well after getting yet another email stating the calipers I purchased were back-ordered again, and will ship no sooner than end of April (doubt that will even happen), I cancelled my order. So much for the "in stock" notice on their website. I hope they used my money wisely while they had it, and I hope I get it back sooner than later. Troy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuLu Posted March 25, 2015 Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 So after thinking about it, I'm going to go with Lulu's recommendation and try out his suggested setup. Perhaps later on I'll look at doing that SSBC 3 piston setup, but it sure can't hurt to try this first since it's half the cost. At first I also liked the idea of having a massive 8 piston caliper up front, but then I got to thinking an figured that's a lot of unsprung mass up front for a 325HP SGT. Might be worth it as an upgrade on the much heavier GT500, but I'm thinking not on a SGT or at least not on one with stock power levels. Lulu, Just want to verify I'm looking at the right parts - EBC yellowstuff pads - DBA Rotors (I'm thinking the T3 4000 series are the right ones?) Got the other things covered already - I've already got a set of Goodridge #12364 stainless steel lines. Bought em for an 07 Mustang GT I had before I traded it for my 08 GT500. They're old but never mounted so I don't see why they would't work on my 07 SGT (same car essentially). - I'll stick with some high temp DOT 4 fluid like you said. Not gonna mess with converting to DOT5. - I think I'll stick with the stock calipers up front. This weekend I swapped out the stock A-arms for some BMR tubulars and got my first good look at the stock calipers (i.e. without wheels covering them) - they're far bigger than they look when you can see the back side of them. They're only two pistons but they're pretty big pistons. Anything else I'm missing? thanks! Yes sir, you have the right stuff, and you will be pleased. The only caution I have for you, is the mounting brackets for the brake lines. I believe you have what you need, just mentioning it as my only reservation. Please stop back with your impression? Best wishes, be safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revan Posted March 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 Is there a known problem with the mounting brackets for those brake lines? I'm about to order the stuff to get the car ready for a NASA HPDE at TWS last weekend of April. I'll definitely be putting the setup to the test :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuLu Posted March 25, 2015 Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 Is there a known problem with the mounting brackets for those brake lines? I'm about to order the stuff to get the car ready for a NASA HPDE at TWS last weekend of April. I'll definitely be putting the setup to the test :D No, not that I am aware of. I know there some "exact fit" issues with the hardware in general, but nothing to worry about. Had that been the case, I would have spelled it out. The Lord knows, I can type. You'll be fine. Be safe, y'all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revan Posted March 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 hahahaha, no problem. Better too much info than too little Thanks again, and I'll post an update once It's all built out. By the way, I'm thinking I'll probably grab a set of these calipers for the front. It's the same stock caliper, just painted in a nice black powercoat. Nothing wrong with improving the looks of things while we're down there. They come loaded with pads but I'll just swap in the yellowstuff pads and sell the pads they come with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2007_Shelby_GT Posted March 25, 2015 Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 I did a swap similar to what LuLu describes. On all four corners, I went with Baer DecelaRotors, (same dimensions as stock, except for drilled and slotted), originally Hawk pads but switched to EBC Yellow Stuff, (yes, lots of dust), Stainless brake lines, and ATE Blue DOT4 fluid which now is ATE Yellow since they outlawed the blue! I've been happy with that until now since I finally saved enough cash to convert to big brakes! Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revan Posted March 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 ^ Thanks for the extra feedback. I had looked at the Baer's but decided against it due to them being drilled and the potential issues that might cause. The DBA's are slotted only, which should be great for hard street driving and the occasional track day. As for the dust, well I have an 08 GT500 which is a brake dust monster up front so at least I'm used to having to clean that up. Small price to pay for the return in braking performance :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revan Posted March 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2015 Order placed....now I wait :D And to make it even better, AutoAnything.com had a 20% off on everything code right on the front page. Decided to take that savings and "invest" it in those black powercoated calipers. Same caliper, but a little more "bling" now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39Mustang Posted March 26, 2015 Report Share Posted March 26, 2015 Yeh Lulu, this thread may be heading towards being "sticky" worthy. I stumbled across this company a while back (SSBC). Seems like good quality stuff. I found this kit. 3 piston calipers. may not be as good as a 4 piston but at least better than the stock 2 calipers pistons. Then I ran across THESE behemoths. Never heard of an EIGHT piston caliper setup before now. Decided to dig in and read up just out curiosity even though I was sure there's no way such a caliper would fit my wheels but then I found this video. These guys are getting these to fit inside 15 and 16" wheels. Crazy! Though the version for our cars indicates 18" or higher. I guess I can see it, since these calipers have a lot more curvature and seem to mount closer to the center of the rotor than brembos and other typical 4+ piston setups. Just wish I had a local shop (Houston area) that sells their stuff so I could go try a test fit before buying. $2k is pretty steep for something that you're not sure will fit. At one point SSBC brakes had a serious issue on modern cars with rear ABS so did they ever fix that problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuLu Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 At one point SSBC brakes had a serious issue on modern cars with rear ABS so did they ever fix that problem?I poked around via Google, came up with a GMC forum where a kit did not fit a Colorado truck and caused complications for the ABS sensor bracket. Hard to say, but I think it got ironed out okay. The kit was for an older vehicle, the part had been updated but not included in that kit. Meanwhile, the customer made everything work (I think) after grinding on everything. I think he got half his money back after the situation was brought out into the light. Also found a FB entry on it, but most of that was in Spanish, so, can't say more. These incidents were back in 2010 and 2011, didn't find anything more recent. I gave it a shot, and you know many of us post on multiple boards, so, any more problems should have come to the surface. Got anything more on this? I'm thinking about SSBC myself, I would appreciate anything you can add to your original remarks. Something more current? Something more related to Shelby/Mustang? Happy motoring, gents, be safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revan Posted April 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2015 Well I got all the stuff installed this week and got the car back today. I'm taking my time to properly bed in the new pads and rotors, per EBC instructions, so I can't speak to their real potential just yet. So far so good though. They do have a sudden bite and stop from around 2-0mph, but I know that's just the bed-in layer of the pads and they mentioned this behavior. The "blue ring" they mention is forming on the front rotor nicely. I'm doing lots of short drives here and there to get some good heat/cooling cycles in. Tomorrow I'm gonna drive the car about an hour out to Texas World Speedway to watch the HPDE event going on, so that should give some nice additional bed-in. Can't wait till it's done and I can really push the new setup 100%I'll report back once it's all broken-in and showing its true colors.P.S. The shop that did the install gave me back all my old parts to check em out. There's still plenty of original pad left and the rotors aren't all that bad off. They saved a fluid sample which had a red hue to it. Methinks that was the major culprit of the performance drop-off of the stock setup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuLu Posted April 25, 2015 Report Share Posted April 25, 2015 P.S. The shop that did the install gave me back all my old parts to check em out. There's still plenty of original pad left and the rotors aren't all that bad off. They saved a fluid sample which had a red hue to it. Methinks that was the major culprit of the performance drop-off of the stock setup Revan...I am looking for some stock Shelby GT - Mustang GT calipers, front and rear, for a project I have in mind. Did the shop return your old calipers? If so, do you want to sell them? You can reach me at the email address listed in my profile. Thanks. Y'all be safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revan Posted April 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 Email sent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revan Posted April 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 So I've had about a week of driving on the new setup. I'm around 400 miles in which puts me about through the end of the initial break-in period, but I haven't done the 5 hard stops to finish the process yet, which I'll get to in short order. Observations so far: - Just as the instructions said, the pads would bite super hard at the end of a stop for the first 100 miles or so. That's the break-in layer of the pad so I expected this - Now that they're bedding in that sudden hard bite is gone and it's nice and progressive - it talks about fully bedded pads building up a nice bluish layer of material on the rotors which I have on all 4. It's nice and fairly solid so the calipers are doing their job properly - DUST - holy cow these yellow stuff pads are dusty. Lulu warned me about that and boy they didn't disappoint. WAY dustier than the pads on my 08 GT500 with brembos up front which are notoriously dusty. But I understand dusty is a function of high friction pads so it wasn't unexpected - takes about the same amount of pedal effort to get the brakes to start biting. Since I'm using the same caliper (just a painted version of it that LMR sells) I wasn't expecting much change here. Once you've got pad engagement though it's definitely better than stock. I'm sure the real difference will be felt once I finish the bed-in and can start giving them full pressure. Lulu, does the dusting reduce after you get out of the break-in layer of the pad or is that pretty much standard for the whole life of the pad?I'll report back with final thoughts once I've done my final hard-stops to complete the bed-in procedure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revan Posted May 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 Status update: I did the 10 hard stops indicated in the yellowstuff bed-in guide and I've driven about 400 miles since then. The guide wasn't lying - they did smoke a bit and had a noticeable smell to them during the hard stops. I definitely made sure to cruise around for a while after to let them cool down before parking for the night. I figured out later on that I hadn't quite worn down the break-in layer of the pad even after my hard stops; about a week later the feel suddenly changed and that's when I knew I was on the regular pad. When I was toward the end of the break-in layer of the pad I have to say the feel of the setup was just about "perfect." Everyone has their personal preference for brake feel, and personally I like a system that feels like it's almost reading my mind. In other words, I like to feel just a little bit of bite as soon as I touch the pedal, with a nice progressive bite the further I go all the way to the floor. Toward the end of the break-in layer this is pretty much what I had and it was wonderful. I could get around town and rarely have to go past 2-3 inches of pedal travel (and that's driving the car "spirited"). Once I got onto the regular layer of the pad though this went away and now behaves more like the stock setup did as far as pedal travel goes - i.e., you gotta push into the pedal a few inches before you really get any bite. That's not unexpected considering I used a black powercoated version of the stock calipers and calipers are the biggest component in how the pedal feels in the early part of travel so I won't hold it against them. Once you're past that first few inches of pedal though and the pads are really engaging the rotors the difference is night and day. At that point they're back to that nice progressive bite and confidence inspiring ability to stop the car. With the stock brakes I always felt like I had to use way too much pedal to get the car to stop reliably and didn't have enough reserve braking left in case of a panic stop (i.e. when other idiot drivers suddenly tear into the brakes for no reason which is a daily occurrence where I live). With this new setup I don't have to go nearly as far down the pedal and I'm confident I have plenty of reserve left in an emergency - Those 10 hard break-in stops just reinforced that for me (most fun i've had in a while going from 60-10mph). And most importantly, they don't start fading when they get hot after driving around town for a while. I haven't been able to get it on the track yet, but I'm confident this setup will be just fine when I finally do. I have more confidence in my ability to stop this car than I do my GT500 with its 4 piston brembos up front, though that's not as much cause of the brake setups as it is the weight difference in the two cars - that GT500 is a heavy pig to stop; when you really lay into the brembos it will stop with confidence but there's not much stoppage till you really start getting into them. In short, I'm happy with the result, especially considering the price over what I would have had to spend for a big brake setup. Thanks again LuLu and everyone else that chipped in their feedback. If anything changes over time I'll post another update to let everyone know. One other thing I was thinking - I've seen some people upgrading to the GT500 brake booster when they put a big brake setup on a GT. I don't know much about how the booster relates to the pedal effort, but could changing that cause the brakes to engage higher up on the pedal (i.e. the way I like it) or would it just make the pedal easier to press? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HFDCapt60 Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 I have a 2012 GT500. I'm looking to upgrade the rear brakes. 1. for better function ability and 2. for better looks. The rotor on the back is small and looks awkward with the 20" wheel. Any advise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revan Posted June 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Unfortunately there's not as wide of a variety of choices out back as there are for the front brakes. This is mainly due to the brake bias settings on all the mustangs (GT and GT500 alike) which is heavily biased toward the front. They're front heavy cars so Ford biases the brakes toward the front appropriately. You can put a big brake setup on the back, but it's only going to be so effective since the rears aren't being engaged very heavily. Check out Shelby store, Baer, Wilwood, and the other major big brake players. They've all got 6 piston setups for the rear that I've seen but like I said not sure how effective they'll be. You probably won't find many people on this section of the forum with experience there cause you rarely see 6 piston rear setups on a Shelby GT. I bet if you hop over to the GT350 or GT500 super snake section you'll find a lot more people with experience there since those cars come with 6 piston setups. Good luck with your build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chance.316 Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Sorry to go off on a tangent but the setup recommended is the yellow stuff on this thread. Have you tried hawk hps? If you yu or anyone have tried them both can you give me some info on the pros and cons of both? I'm running hawks hps right now and am pretty happy with them. Still running stock rotors but will be getting slotting next brake change. Just wondering if I should stick with hps or go with ebc. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revan Posted June 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 I've never used HPS personally so I can't say. As far as 05-09 4.6 cars go I've only ever used the stock setup till I did the EBC setup Lulu recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39Mustang Posted June 25, 2015 Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 I poked around via Google, came up with a GMC forum where a kit did not fit a Colorado truck and caused complications for the ABS sensor bracket. Hard to say, but I think it got ironed out okay. The kit was for an older vehicle, the part had been updated but not included in that kit. Meanwhile, the customer made everything work (I think) after grinding on everything. I think he got half his money back after the situation was brought out into the light. Also found a FB entry on it, but most of that was in Spanish, so, can't say more. These incidents were back in 2010 and 2011, didn't find anything more recent. I gave it a shot, and you know many of us post on multiple boards, so, any more problems should have come to the surface. Got anything more on this? I'm thinking about SSBC myself, I would appreciate anything you can add to your original remarks. Something more current? Something more related to Shelby/Mustang? Happy motoring, gents, be safe. Only just saw this... I don't have anything more but it was a fact that when SSBC started offering their systems for the modern cars with ABS they had serious reliability issues. I'm sure they fixed it by now Also, people want big HP engines the best suspension then skimp on brakes and your brakes should always be #1 priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmor Posted March 24, 2016 Report Share Posted March 24, 2016 Does anyone know if these calipers will fit the standard Shelby GT "Bullet" wheels? I emailed SPP 4 days ago but they don't respond. http://www.shelbystore.com/product-p/Z28-4261238.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revan Posted March 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2016 Those are 6 piston calipers, so that's a definite no with the stock 8" wide SGT wheels. You can't even fit 4 piston calipers with the stock wheels. Now if you're willing to upgrade to some bigger wheels then your options are much better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL SHELBY Posted March 24, 2016 Report Share Posted March 24, 2016 They may fit, with wheel spacers. Guys have been successful with the Brembo 4 pistons and bolt on spacers. No idea what thickness would be necessary to clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmor Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 They may fit, with wheel spacers. Guys have been successful with the Brembo 4 pistons and bolt on spacers. No idea what thickness would be necessary to clear. OK thanks all. I didn't think they would fit but just wanted to make sure. I love the original wheels so I'll stick with what I have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL SHELBY Posted March 25, 2016 Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 I have a pair of Brembos, that I painted red, that I'll let go for cheap if you are interested in playing around with spacers. Spacers tend to have a bad rap, but a quality set are plenty safe. They are used in the offroad world, and even F1. I have a set on my Wrangler now. I had considered staying with the OE wheels, using spacers, and Brembos. I even considered having the wheels widened to 9.5-10 inches. Still think that would look pretty cool. The other options you have are quality rotors and pads. Add steel braded lines and you will have a good brake setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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