ponyman

Tony05gt

Did you look into the GT500 brakes?

What about rears?

I am also going to watch this thread and hope guys post pics of their mods.

Also, I think many rotor makers sell decent brakes with drill holes in them these days, I wouldn't rule that out totally regarding cracking unless you don't like the look.

The 2 piece is lighter but, imo it's more cleaning to upkeep, I think I'd go with 1 piece but, this is your thread, I am only thinking aloud.

Also, alot of what you can do has to do with your wheels, the clearance needs to be there, anybody have a rule of thumb gap?

scott08

the gt500 will be cheaper and im sure the aftermarket will make a 2 piece rotor for it.

RoyMT

GT500 front calipers $600 from local ford dealer
Steeda GT500 14"/13" front/rear slotted rotors and rear SS lines $800
Front SS line upgrade $100
EBC redstuff, or hawk pads $120
Motul 5.1 500* fluid

Granted, this isnt a kit, but it is all readily available, removable, in stock and fits together like stock.
$1620 or so, this will be good enough for me, look into it...

billet60

That's what I used to think, but it just ain't true. Holes is holes, and they all subtract structural integrity from the rotor. Check out this bit straight from the Baer (who cross-drill their own rotors) site. Emphasis added by me:

"In years past, cross-drilling and/or slotting the rotor for racing purposes was beneficial by providing a way to expel the gasses created when the bonding agents employed to manufacture the pads began to break down at extreme temperatures. This condition is often referred to as "green pad fade" or "outgassing". When it does occur, the driver still has a good firm brake pedal, but simply little or no friction. Since this normally happens only at temperatures witnessed in racing, this can be very exciting! However, with today´s race pad technology, “outgassing” is no longer much of a concern. When shopping for races pads, or even ultra high performance road pads, look for the phrases, "dynamic surface treatment", "race ready", and/or, "pre-burnished". When these or similar statements are made by the pad manufacturer, the pad in question will likely have little or no problem with “outgassing”. Ironically more pedestrian pads used on most streetcars will still exhibit “outgassing”, but only when used at temperatures normally only encountered on the racetrack. Although cross-drilling and/or slotting will provide a welcome path to expend any gasses when and if they develop, it is primarily a visual enhancement behind today’s often wide-open wheel designs. Cross-drilling offers the greatest gas relief pathway, but creates potential "stress risers" from which cracks can occur. Baer´s rotors are cast with cross-drilling in mind, from the material specified, to curved vanes, behind which the holes are placed to minimize potential crack migration. Slotted surfaces are what Baer recommends for track only use."

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mach1

Oh yeah, if you are going to put your rotors under extreme braking cycles with hard road race track flogging, cross drilling is being phased out.

The slots will "clean" your pads and the outgassing is almost non-existant anymore.

Still if, you like the drilled look, dimpling is an alternative.

I'd like to see members aftermarket brake mods.

shelbygt

I have to agree with the outgassing having the most affect on stopping power. I put crossdrilled slotted rotors on my turbo mustang and it did not have as much affect as when I installed the Hawk pads later. The pads made the biggest difference. I began to wonder if a pad upgrade and a set of SS braided lines with the factory rotors would have yielded better results.

06GT89

I've heard that the Stoptech stuff if great for that reason. Better pads, slotted rotors, and SS brake lines.

$780

adam892

I've been researching brakes myself, some of my notes:

- Stoptech makes Saleen's and Roush's brakes. They're usually cheaper than the "branded" alternative. They also can plate their rotors to avoid the rusty look.

- Drilled/Slotted rotors are mostly a gimmick/cosmetic enhancement. I think they do look nice though.

- There are different *kinds* of drilled rotors. They can "cast" the holes when they're making the rotors, or they may make a solid rotor and drill the holes in. The ones where they drill the holes later are more prone to failure/cracking. For street driving, this isn't usually a problem. I haven't yet found a manufacturer that tells you how they made the holes in their rotors.

Why are you upgrading?
For cosmetic reasons, the upgrade path goes like:
1) Paint your calipers with G2 or something
2) Put in shinier cross-drilled rotors
3) Get bigger calipers

For better braking on the street:
Upgrade your pads. Hawk HPS Ferro-Carbon seem to be well recommended. They also offer a ceramic brake pad if you don't like brake dust.

1/4 mile track:
- Don't bother

Road course:
1) The biggest complaint about Mustang brakes is not that they don't stop, it's that they don't stop for very long. You can install a brake cooling system to combat this. I'm personally thinking Agent47 brake cooling kits might be what I'm going to do.
2) Stainless steel lines are good for increasing your clamping pressure as well as providing better brake pedal feel. Otherwise your brake fluid is really just expanding the rubber tubes instead of providing more clamping force.
3) Better/newer brake fluid. When your brake fluid boils, you start compressing a gas instead of squeezing a liquid. This drastically limits the effectiveness of your brakes. Over time, water seeps into your brake fluid, lowering the boiling temperature.
4) Bigger rotors, bigger calipers. The only time where rotor/caliper upgrade should be considered first is when you're upgrading from a drum brake or solid disc.

black05

I went with the Steeda 14" Front kit.
They were drop shipped from StopTech branded with Steeda.

I'm very happy with them, the stock brakes were scary.