Fader

Please pardon my ignorance, but I'm just not a mechanic or car expert. I have a couple of questions about upgrading the brakes on my 05 GT.

1. Brake discs- Slotted vs. drilled vs. both. I know it's important to have vented discs, especially on the front, but is there a performance difference with slotted/drilled discs? Any specific concerns to be aware of?

The bottom line for me is that I want to upgrade my brakes, but don't want to dump thousands of dollars into a package. Is there a lower-cost alternative that will improve performance and appearance without breaking the bank?

Thanks, in advance, for the opinions!

427Roush

Drilled/slotted rotors are fine for daily driving if all you want is looks. Do they actually give you any cooling advantage in daily driving? I don't think so. Where they actually make a difference is if you are road racing or driving your car in a way that has a lot of intense braking. Auto crossing sessions are too short for these brakes to really make a difference.
Road racing is very hard on your brakes because you are on and off them so much that the rotors and calipers don't have enough time to properly cool down. This is why I went to a bigger 14" rotor. More rotor surface means more area for the heat to dissipate.
It's not so much the braking power they gain as much as the advantage of heat dissipation. When brakes heat up, brake fade ensues and when you're trying to negotiate a 90' corner at speed, brake fade is the last thing you want.
Slotting and/or cross-drilling helps wipe away the debris that forms between the pad and the disc, adds more bite, and can help the rear brakes to match the looks of a front big brake kit. The rotor finish helps prevent glazing of the pads and improves wet and dry braking performance.

The cracks that some people find when changing out the rotors on their race/track cars are due to extreme heat fluctuations. The drill holes had the potential of compromising the brake system and they felt that it wasn't worth the extra cooling that it provided especially since they could get around this by going with a bigger rotor. Also, race teams regularly change out their rotors throughout the season so they constantly inspect the used ones to for any potential failures. This is why many race teams have decided to not drill their rotors and only run slotted ones. The slots help keep pad glaze to a minimum since they shave a very thin layer of pad off leaving fresh pad for the racer.

F1Fan

Start with why? What is it that you think your brakes don't do as well as you would like them to do? Do they not stop your car? Do they not look cool? Is there some actual performance issue you want to improve? Do you track your car? What type of use, have you taken the car on track regularly, what type of events, HPDE, parking lot races, canyon running, daily driver? If it is just for looks you will be wasting a lot of money for no good reason. Form follows function and if you like the big brake look only big brakes will make it look right and there is no cheap way to get a BB kit short of installing OEM Brembos which are not so inexpensive even if you do the install yourself.

HTH!

Fader

I don't currently have any performance issues, and appearance really isn't a factor. However, as I make future power mods, I didn't want to neglect that aspect of the car. Also, my current brakes will wear out, so I'm looking down the road to making the right choices once, rather than making changes repeatedly. The questions were mostly informational for me.

Thanks!

JThor

For street use, the stock brakes are fine. Where it starts getting problematic is when the car is put on a road track. Autocross and strip, the brakes are not used enough to overheat (unless you have a really wild setup). HPDE's is where you will test the limits of the stock setup. In that case, race pads and hi-temp brake fluid are usually sufficient to overcome the overheating problems. If that's not enough, then start looking into the various big brake kits to suit your needs. However, I wouldn't do any upgrading like that until you've reached that limit.

BTW, in the hi-perf circles there has been a move away from drilled rotors because of cracking and failure issues. You will get differing reviews of slotted rotors. Personally, I don't believe the slotted rotors are worth the extra money unless you are doing some serious competitive racing.

BeachBlv

well you have a few options when it comes to brakes. The brakes on your car are 12.5 from the factory, so you could get a take off set of brakes from a 5.0. Upgrades your car to the bigger 13.2 inch rotors for better heat dissipation but throw in a set of Hawk brake pads for more stopping power. Thats what I did with my 06 V6 when I had it and the car stopped ALOT better, especially from hwy speeds. Or you could do what I did on my 5.0, I found a set of take off Brembos for $400 of craigslist. Upgrades to 14" rotors and adds 2 more pistons for more stopping power. I also did drilled and slotted power stop rotors all around and Hawk pads. Car stops so hard it makes my jaw drop and im into the brakes about $700 bucks.

Bullitt2059

I did this shortly after getting my Bullitt as the rotors were warped (probably from the car sitting on the lot for awhile). I didnt have much experience with the standard size rotor, but I will say after using the 13.2inch rotors with Hawk hps pads now i've been very happy. Only thing is you need at least 18inch wheels to accommodate the bigger rotor size.

Fader

Thanks for the heads-up. I've got 18's off a 2014 with the Brembo package, so I think I'll be fine without spacers. I've been looking at brake parts for a few days, and am just not sure which parts to get, or just say screw it, and get the FRPP Brembo upgrade package for the front. It's not an emergency, so I'll wait and see what I can find.

157dB

This will get you where you want to be for cheap.
And it is all OEM to boot. Just better.
https://mustangforums.com/forum/v6-s...ml#post7901475

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forum...brake-kit.html

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forum...ml#post2659337