Hey all, I have an 07 GT and get out for a couple track days a year. Typically I head up to Gingerman in MI, but I may go to a T&T day at Mid-Ohio this year.

Anyway, I am looking for advice on the next affordable step in upgrading my brake performance. I was hoping for a little better out of the setup I am running. My problem is not in brake performance but in overheating issues. I can accept less bite but consistent performance.

I am running the stock GT brakes with SS lines and Porterfield R4s on all 4 corners. I also have added a set of brake ducts that I use for track days only. Car is tracked on summer tires, but not R-compounds. In one day I killed 50% of the front pads or maybe a little more. I managed to boil fresh dot 3 (will go to ATE next time).

I get about halfway through a session before I feel like I'm loosing confidence in the brakes. I came from a setup in my previous track car that was capable of running a 20-30 minute session without fade, boiling, or other issues. Albeit that was on a lighter, FWD car that had a lot less power. But I also have run 5-7 track days on one set of pads on R-Comps.

Now, power is also part of my issue since the car is running a Brenspeed/Saleen Stage 2 S/C and pushes 450+rwhp. Although I lay up some in the straights. No point in coming into the last turn at 130+ just to have to scrub it all off killing my brakes more. The suspension is Koni/Steeda Sport with UMI control/panhard in the rear.

I'm running the stock 17's and that's part of my issue. Going to any BBK is going to require new wheels. Aside from maybe a change in pads is there any other upgrade out there that will fit under the stock 17's? changing wheels, tires, and brakes makes it a bit costly...

Zach

 

Interesting post.

Better fluid may help.

Curious as to why you went with the R4. It's sounds like this is your main issues you chew through them so fast. Maybe changing to a slotted or drilled rotor must help with cooling as presumably you are going through the pads so fast cause they overheat and wear quicker.

 

yea i would say go with some slotted rotors, that could possibly help. also another thing you might be able to do is upgrade to 2011 rotors? using very basic and possibly illogical science, you would think the larger surface area on the rotors would allow more heat to dissipate, but i cant remember if any of the newer ones run 17's so im not sure if theyre too big or not. but i would also say upgrade to the ATE fluid

 

If I'm correctly reading R4s as R4-S, that's a street pad that's a bit out of its element with the power and speed capability that your car has.

Get a real track pad.

Slotted or drilled won't help with cooling. Drilled is much more likely to crack under thermal stress (which you're making plenty of) and the slots are sitting inside the boundary layer of air and won't see much flow velocity. Slots have advantages unrelated to cooling.


Norm

 

Which porterfield pads do you have?

The R4-S is a street pad

The R-4 is a track pad.

 

i thought the slots had something to do with cooling, thanks for clearing that up though. does my idea of a larger surface area for the brakes helping with cooling make sense?

 

A larger (and presumably slightly more massive) rotor will make for a better heat sink (lower bulk temperature) and will reject heat a little faster at any given temperature.

I don't think I'd want there to be much rotor outside the area swept by the pads, though, as that could lead to a rather sharp temperature gradient when you're hammering on the brakes.


Norm

 

makes sense but i guess since the calipers for the 11+ are the same as all the other sn-197's, the engineers must believe theres some sort of advantage. ill report back if it feels any better on track next time im able to make a track day

 

Sorry about the misinterpretation, The pads are R4 track compound. It is the same compound I've used in the past on my previous track car. I learned pretty early on not to skimp on the pads and have found the Porterfield pads to be a good value, but perhaps Hawk may be a bit better.

Thanks for the replies. I am pretty sure the 2011 rotors take an 18" wheel. I'm also thinking they have a different caliper bracket which pushes the caliper to the edge of the rotor. There is more unswept area on the inside, but the larger rotor means a little bigger heat sink, and a bit more mechanical advantage on the wheel.

I ran a similar setup on my old track car - 13" Cobra rotors (re-drilled for a different lug pattern) and PBR 2 piston calipers. There was about 1/2 an inch of unswept radius toward the center of the rotor on that car and it didn't hurt anything. Braking was great in that car, but as I eluded to it weighed less and went slower. I actually wish I could make that brake setup fit the Mustang.

And I've always agreed with Norm - I usually always run a normal solid rotor. With NewTakeOff.com a mere 20 minutes away I've run OEM rootrs because they have new ones pretty cheap. OEM rotor quality seems to be excellent. I've seen drilled rotors come apart on the track, and it's not pretty.