scrmnws6

Hello guise!

I'm doing a ton of research before I purchase a Mustang, so I'm browsing all day, reading, etc.

What are the stopping numbers for the Brembos and the stockers?

sonicx

I saw a recent test where a non brembo GT on all season tires stopped at 117. A brembo with summer tires stopped in 110ft. But im not totally sure.

Here's a good article though: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/201...brembo-brakes/

timothyrw

the numbers would not be comparable.

AFAIK, all brembo-equipped mustangs will have summer-performance tires on them where the lesser 2-piston brakes will likely be tested with all-season tires.

the example i always use is when tirerack.com switched tires on one of their 3-series test cars and by going to a stickier tire they dropped their 60-0 stopping distance by 9 feet. (or maybe it as 5, but either way it was a good distance.)

scrmnws6

How about if we leave pads and tires out of the equation?

If I go Brembos I'll use racing pads on the track, same with the base brakes. I'm just trying to get an idea whether or not the Brembo brake/tire combo is worth the $2k extra.

timothyrw

as some have proven with their experience you can take the "lesser" 2-piston calipers pretty far into the track-day learning curve.

but there also seems to be the conclusion that if you are doing more then a handful of track days a year you will eventually get to a point where a big brake kit (bbk) will be worth the money to you.

the brembos are certainly an upgrade over the 2-piston setup. ultimately, only you can decide whether it is worth it or not for your situation.

my opinion is if you have the money to burn it is good insurance (and you get the added bling) for the future.

i am looking into a set of brembos. my big issue is finding wheels i like (and can afford) to fit over them...

scrmnws6

I tracked my Formula WS6 with the Baer brake kit, nothing with stockers, so I don't have much to compare to. Although the Baer kit was only a two piston caliper, not the 4 like this set. It still stopped well from 140+ going into the turns with good high temperature brake pads.

timothyrw

i would suggest doing some more research in this section. argonaut and others have contributed a lot of their road course experience when it comes to pads, calipers, fluid, and ducts.

scrmnws6

Oh trust me, I am. I have 12 tabs open of threads from this forum. I'm trying to soak up as much as possible before ordering one. I'd like to order the 2012 this weekend, or maybe next and have it get here in 4-6 weeks.

Argonaut

OMG, thats so funny, I'm pretty sure that I am the said C5Z06 driver mentioned in that article. I was at Shenandoah that day and I had a 5.0 on my tail, and I did indeed point him buy, he was wicked fast. Small World.

Argonaut

There are a lot of mis-conceptions about the size of rotors and the number of pistons in the caliper. Most folks seem to believe that an increase in rotor size and/or an increase in the number of pistons in the caliper will automatically result in shorter stopping distances. This, in and of itself, is not true. There are many more factors involved and there have been more than a few guys who have slapped fancy bling-bling BBKs on their car only to find stopping distances no better or even worse. In general (not talking about the 2011 Brembo option here) BBKs increase unsprung weight and if not properly designed to work with the car's master cylinder and brake bias can cause the front to do too much work at the expense of the rear and overall stopping distances.

The two piston slide-rail PBR caliper is just as capable of applying pressure to the rotor and inducing lock-up/ABS activation as the 4 piston Brembos or the 6 piston Willwoods or any other caliper/rotor combination. In other words on the same car, same driver, same tires, same surface, same pads - the stock brakes will stop just as well as any BBK, within a very few feet. That is...for one or two high speed stops.

Astetics aside, the main reason 14 in rotors and radial mount 4 or 6 piston calipers are used in high performance driving is because of their heat capacity. In other words, they can take a lot more use before fade sets in than the stock units can.

Do you *need* them. Well, as everyone else mentioned - that depends on your usage. I do roughly 12-15 track days a year. I went almost 3 years before I reached a level where I felt I had to upgrade to a BBK. The main reason I upgraded was partly cost related and partly performance. The more seat time you get the faster you will go. The faster you go the quicker you wear out brake pads (and tires and everything else). I was starting to eat thru pads at an alarming rate (how about over $100/day in pad cost alone?). The reason was because I was overheating the system - causing caliper spread, pad taper and all kind of nasty things. With a new set of pads - at least for the first couple sessions, the stock brakes stopped every bit as well as my new BBK. But then everything started going to s**t as the pads quickly wore down. My AP Racing BBK fixed all this.

I don't remember the cost of the Brembo package for 2011 but I do remember thinking it was a good deal when all the parts in that upgrade were factored in (it is more than just the brakes...right?). So would I get the Brembo option for my use...heck yea.