14" brakes or not

faspony · Apr 26, 2010

I want to upgrade my brakes on my 06 Stang GT, but I'm not sure which way I want to go.
Here are my options as I see it, any thoughts or suggestions would be welcomed .

I can replace the stock rotors with OE drilled and slotted rotors from Stillen, also upgraded pads and braided lines, front and rear for $545.00.

Baer offers a kit to upgrade to 14" rotors using the stock calipers, however you have to have 18" wheels. The kit sells for $645.00

I'm just not sure if I would see any improvement in the braking by replacing OE rotors with drilled and slotted OE rotors vs 14" rotors.

Your thoughts.

Thanks

arcwcb · Apr 26, 2010

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Baer Plus Two brake kit includes drilled and slotted rotors. I'd go with the Baer kit, I contacted customer service at CJ Pony Parts and they said the Baer kit will clear the stock bullit 18's so you won't have to have aftermarket wheels. The clamping power will be the same since you will be using stock calipers, but the ability to disipate heat over the larger area and the additional torque of the caliper being farther away from the hub will give you a noticeable improvement.

'08GTcaRED · Apr 26, 2010

All GTs come with 17" wheels arcwb, unless upgraded That's the problem that people were having with the big brake kits. Sure they were only 700ish$, but you had to spend more on wheels and rubber too.

OP: I am thinking of these same mods. I have the upgraded wheels so it is a little different for me, but I like to think long term and getting rotors that can't be turned or require special procedures is not a good selling factor. Not to mention I don't really autox or road race much(in fact only once). Hence safety of better brakes is important, but I think that upgraded pads, ss lines and better fluid will be the extent of my brake upgrades.

So in the end, it depends on what you are using the car for? Track, autox, road race etc. or just peace of mind after that long straightaway?

arcwcb · Apr 26, 2010

I knew all GTs came with 17" wheels standard, but really ANY brake upgrade asside from just rotors and pads will require at LEAST an 18" wheel and most of those won't fit the factory 18" bullits... It was nice to see a kit that does fit all the factory 18" wheels and not just the "fan blade" wheel and the GT500 wheel, which means if he went with it, he could find some cheap take-off 18s at a good price...

'08GTcaRED · Apr 26, 2010

True. Take offs are cheap Actually I wish a company would design a set of upgraded calipers that don't need a bigger wheel. I'm sure it could be done, but everyone wants bigger and better...didn't that happen in the 70's

arcwcb · Apr 26, 2010

Second that! I would love to have a brake upgrade choice that wasn't $1k and over...

walter · Apr 26, 2010

Your choice should depend on the type of driving you do. If you just daily drive your car and want a little extra bite getting some slotted rotors, pads and lines is the most cost effective way to go. If not you probably want to invest in something like a 14in kit and upgrade the rear lines and pads to go with it. I went that route and while I'm sure the performance is going to be great at the track once the system goes on the car I'm stuck in the sidelines trying to raise enough money for a set of wheels that will accommodate the big brakes.

That said I got lucky because I jumped on those clearance Saleen/Stoptech kits that were on clearance for about 900 bucks which is dirt cheap compared to some big brake kits that are out there which easily go in the 2-3K dollar range. Still I wouldn't want it any other way as you can never have enough brakes on a performance vehicle especially one over 3000 pounds.

pesj · Apr 26, 2010

'08GTcaRED said:
All GTs come with 17" wheels arcwb, unless upgraded

What does upgraded mean, like a factory option? Mine has 18's, but could it have come with 17's if the PO didnt specify?

pesj · Apr 26, 2010

walter said:
Your choice should depend on the type of driving you do. If you just daily drive your car and want a little extra bite getting some slotted rotors, pads and lines is the most cost effective way to go.

Exactly the route I was thinking of taking. Although, some better looking calipers could surely be a good thing.

4bangstangvert · Apr 26, 2010

pesj said:
What does upgraded mean, like a factory option? Mine has 18's, but could it have come with 17's if the PO didnt specify?

The 18" polished Bullitts were part of the CS package but they were optional on regular gt's

faspony · Apr 27, 2010

arcwcb said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Baer Plus Two brake kit includes drilled and slotted rotors. I'd go with the Baer kit, I contacted customer service at CJ Pony Parts and they said the Baer kit will clear the stock bullit 18's so you won't have to have aftermarket wheels. The clamping power will be the same since you will be using stock calipers, but the ability to disipate heat over the larger area and the additional torque of the caliper being farther away from the hub will give you a noticeable improvement.

Thanks for you input.

Yes, you're right the Bear 14 plus-two kit comes drilled and slotted, however you can order them just drilled or just slotted, not nothing at all.
Your point about the clamping power is well taken and a concern I had.
I want the real stopping power of 14" brakes not just a half way measure. I am beginning to think that the Plus-two kit is a only a half way measure, because of the so-so clamping power.
I think it best to just spend the money and go with the Baer GT-Plus 14" system for the front and have really good stopping power. I had this same set up on my 97 GT and loved it, it would stop on a dime and give you nine cents change.

By the way, I have the optoinal polished Bullitt wheels on my car, it came that way. So 14" brakes should fit just fine.

arcwcb · Apr 27, 2010

Actually, with the factory bullitt wheels, most 14" brakes won't fit, the only factory 18" wheels that fit all are the "fan blade" and the gt500. That was the problem I ran into when looking for new brakes. All of them had a mile of clearence when my 20s were on, but all of the companies said they won't fit factory bullitt 18s which is what I use in the winter... I was looking at the GT500 Brembos for the front of mine and Ford specifically lists the other two wheels as the only Ford wheels that clear the caliper.

faspony · Apr 27, 2010

arcwcb said:
Actually, with the factory bullitt wheels, most 14" brakes won't fit, the only factory 18" wheels that fit all are the "fan blade" and the gt500. That was the problem I ran into when looking for new brakes. All of them had a mile of clearence when my 20s were on, but all of the companies said they won't fit factory bullitt 18s which is what I use in the winter... I was looking at the GT500 Brembos for the front of mine and Ford specifically lists the other two wheels as the only Ford wheels that clear the caliper.

How did you determine that the 14" rotors would not if the bullitt 18s, did you use a template?

I printed out a template from Baers web site today. Tomorrow I'm going to place it onto a piece of card board and then fit it into the hub of one of my wheels to see if I have enough clearance. This will tell me of I can use Baers GT-plus brake system or not.

I'll let everyone know what I find.

arcwcb · Apr 27, 2010

The calipers are too big on most 14" brake kits. I didn't print out templates, I'm just telling you what Ford, Baer, and Steeda all told me. It isn't how big around the brake is, it's how wide the caliper is, it will make contact with the wheel spokes of the factory 18" bullits is what I'm told. All of the above said a wheel spacer would solve the problem though so it obviously isn't much, but I would keep that in mind when shopping for new brakes...

walter · Apr 27, 2010

arcwcb said:
The calipers are too big on most 14" brake kits. I didn't print out templates, I'm just telling you what Ford, Baer, and Steeda all told me. It isn't how big around the brake is, it's how wide the caliper is, it will make contact with the wheel spokes of the factory 18" bullits is what I'm told. All of the above said a wheel spacer would solve the problem though so it obviously isn't much, but I would keep that in mind when shopping for new brakes...

+1 18in wheels will fit 14in brakes just fine as far as width or diameter is concerned. The Calipers (or hats) themselves are too thick and will not clear the spokes unless you buy the right wheel that distances the spokes from the calipers.

Your other option (on the cheap) would be to buy 1in spacers for your wheels but I'm not a fan of that option as it stresses components as well as not doing anything for wide tire fitment.

arcwcb · Apr 28, 2010

+1000 on the spacer comment, even if you are using stock wheels and fitment ISN'T an issue, I'd still be a little worried about the additional stress that puts on your car, especially from sudden impacts i.e. potholes

'08GTcaRED · Apr 28, 2010

I had read that 3/8 to 1/2 inch spacer would be sufficient, wrong in this? It would still add undue stress, but much less than a 1in.

Another thought would be to replace the studs on the hubs, if they can since I actually haven't looked into that. Certainly cheaper than buying new wheels if it can be done...

Boy, we are throwing all sorts of monkey wrenches around

ct07gt · Apr 29, 2010

Unless you are fading the stock brakes, you probably don't need anything other than a good set of pads like the Hawk HPS. There are a lot of guys that track their cars and just get cooling ducts and good pads like the DTC-60 and DTC-70. I liked the way slotted rotors looked on my car as well, but they did not really make a noticeable difference. I will go back to stock when mine are worn out. Stainless lines are probably worth it as well, it will probably be the only other brake upgrade I make.

14" brakes or not

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