4 lug brake upgrades

drk · Oct 21, 2009

So before you all say go with 5 lug... I'm not. I can't justify the cost of them and for what I do with my car the 4 lugs are just fine. Besides, the rims that came with the car are look good (saleens). So, Going with some brakepads, new shoes for the rear drums...

latemodelrestoration sells remanufactured front calipers for 70 bucks. They don't specify if they're the fronts or not but I'm assuming they are. And for 70 bucks it's good insurance especially since my stockers are almost 20 years old.

I've heard of people upgrading to the SVO master cylinder. Any insight on this? I've read it adds pedal pressure and reduces braking distance.

impulse001 · Oct 21, 2009

I have been working on my brakes the past few days actually...

I got 2 remanufactured calipers from advanced auto for $26 each, plus a $15 core charge that I get back when I return my old calipers... At that price, i'll get new calipers everytime I change my pads!

\\J// · Oct 22, 2009

looks like something i need to look into.. to whoever has done it how good (performance-wise) is upgrading to svo master cylinder + adding the re-manu brake calipers vs the 5 lug swap? i really REALLY want to keep it four lug for originality.

54deuce · Oct 22, 2009

There is a kit that is a SVO mc and lincoln mark VII calipers for the fronts. Or you can put 93 cobra brakes on. The fronts I think are the same as all fox but it has rear 4 lug disc if I remember correctly so you may have to do a combination of the two kits.

jrichker · Oct 22, 2009

See 87-93 Mustang 5.0 Brake upgrade pages. Improve your 60-0 times! for the best and cheapest brake upgrades and 5 lug swaps. The site doesn't sell anything but some fittings, but the tech notes are great. It tells you what junkyard or remanufactured parts to use to upgrade your brakes. It has almost everything you could want to know about Mustang brakes on it.

Mustang5L5 · Oct 22, 2009

\\J// said:
looks like something i need to look into.. to whoever has done it how good (performance-wise) is upgrading to svo master cylinder + adding the re-manu brake calipers vs the 5 lug swap? i really REALLY want to keep it four lug for originality.

If you install the SVO MC without any brake changes, you'll make performance worse. It's a larger bore MC, so pedal effort will increase with stock brakes.

Check out reman calipers at local parts stores...you can get them usually for under $20 each.

If you want to stay 4-lug, you are pretty limited to what you can do. Install SS brake lines (2 front, 1 rear), bleed the brakes with fresh quality fluid, install steel caliper sleeves up front and a fresh set of performance pads and shoes. Don't put swiss cheese rotors on.

Other than that, you could instal t-bird rear disks, but that will require a Cobra 1" bore MC and booster and prop valve mods.

5-lug brakes are more than an extra lug. They are a superior modern brake system.

Shaolin Crane · Oct 22, 2009

Mustang5L5 said:
If you install the SVO MC without any brake changes, you'll make performance worse. It's a larger bore MC, so pedal effort will increase with stock brakes.

Check out reman calipers at local parts stores...you can get them usually for under $20 each.

If you want to stay 4-lug, you are pretty limited to what you can do. Install SS brake lines (2 front, 1 rear), bleed the brakes with fresh quality fluid, install steel caliper sleeves up front and a fresh set of performance pads and shoes. Don't put swiss cheese rotors on.

Other than that, you could instal t-bird rear disks, but that will require a Cobra 1" bore MC and booster and prop valve mods.

5-lug brakes are more than an extra lug. They are a superior modern brake system.

couldnt be more right you can do SO much more with 5 lugs, stoptech brembo etc as well as adding ABS, damn cant wait to get some time for that

newskool · Oct 22, 2009

Stay 4 lug. Check out the guys over at ssbc. They have performance disc kits for both the front and the rear. It may not be the cheapest route, but you'll definitely be unique.
SSBC :: SSBC Performance Brake Systems

drk · Oct 22, 2009

Shaolin Crane said:
couldnt be more right you can do SO much more with 5 lugs, stoptech brembo etc as well as adding ABS, damn cant wait to get some time for that

Yea... But I got this car for 1700 bucks and I drive it daily. Will never see any type of track. Just wanted a comfortable relatively fast cruiser. Granted I came from a jeep wrangler...

So I can't really see myself throwing over a grand into the braking system on this thing. Overkill for my purposes.

Also snagged a pair of brand new 40P heads with 3 angle valve job for 265 bucks... And picked up a typhoon intake manifold on the cheap. Budget is the name of the game here.

Anyone got any ideas for cheap 65mm or 70mm throttlebodies? Don't want to throw 200 bucks on a new one.

2000xp8 · Oct 22, 2009

You aren't going to get any front budget brake setups that are worth the trouble.
If anything, convert the rears to discs.

Search around, i think there is write ups on how to convert an explorer 5.0 TB to work.

Mustang5L5 · Oct 23, 2009

drk said:
Overkill for my purposes.

Many will disagree with you there. No such thing as overkill when it comes to brakes. You aren't into your car for much here, but there are some guys who have a lot of time and sweat into their cars who'd be devastated if they lost them because some moron cut in front of them on the street. It happens quite frequently here.

For a cheap TB, the exploder throttle body is 65MM and can be modified to work on a Mustang. I got one for $10

90lxcoupe · Oct 23, 2009

newskool said:
Stay 4 lug. Check out the guys over at ssbc. They have performance disc kits for both the front and the rear. It may not be the cheapest route, but you'll definitely be unique.
SSBC :: SSBC Performance Brake Systems

he is talking about saving money on brakes and you link him to SSBC, yea cause that company is definitly budget friendly.

I'm an advocate of 5-lug swaps, for a few reasons, it dosent cost much, parts are plentiful, 4-lug wheels look cheap(yes all 4-lug wheels), and stock fox brakes SUCK, bottom line.

you can do a 5-lug swap for under 500 bucks, not including wheels. If you are gonna keep the stock brakes then dont dump a ton of money into a 4-lug setup, just replace them with a set of good pads(not autozone) and keep the rest of the stock junk, cause someday, you will probably swap to 5-lug

50sleeper · Oct 24, 2009

brakes

If you don't have the money or want to take the plunge to 5 lug your best bet is just to get the stock system freshened up.

I may go 5 lug later on, but for now here is what I did:

MM stainless steel sleeves $30

Napa rotors and pads about $120

New shoes and springs (drums if you need them) about $40

Gloves, rags etc about $10

Couple bottles of brake fluid to do a flush with about $15

So for a little over $200 or so you can have the stock setup performing as well as it can.

I wont disagree with anyone who says that 5 lug is a world of difference better in terms of breaking performance as well as wheel choices. But since you already have a set of 4 lug wheels you like and you mentioned you want to do it cheap, this is what I would suggest.

4 lug brake upgrades

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