YaoNYC

hi all.
check out this article.

who has what brakes and what are best performance for buck?

i want to try to achieve amazing stopping power and awesome big brake LOOKS

http://mustanglife.tenmagazines.com/...ticle&aid=3521

thanks!

RadBOSS

Nice article. Too bad there isn't any back to back performance test ratings.

YaoNYC

hi radboss,

i was thinking that the best bang for buck is NOT brembo since brembo is industry lead and costs the most.

i would dare say ssbc, wilwood and ap racing would probably get you most for your money. ssbc and wilwood with 6 piston!!!

ap racing has 4 piston and comes with pads and steel lines. thats a good package.

StillenMustang07

http://www.stillen.com/specials_american.asp

Call me biased but I’m an AP Racing fan . This kit is definitely a solid value and the performance increase is substantial.

YaoNYC

hi brian, thanks for chiming in here.
whats the difference between the 6 piston vs. 4 piston AP racing kits in terms of stopping performance?

How are your 4 piston kits better than the shelby gt500 4 piston brembo kits? so far, i know it weights less and its slotted/cross drilled....

thanks again brian!

wsmatau

Here are a few opinions of mine, and some pertinant facts:
1) The StopTech, Roush, Steeda and Saleen kits are all the same brakes with different logos stenciled on. They are all made by StopTech, which is why StopTech sells for the lowest price. I personally don't think a Roush stencil is worth $500.
Also, Saleen (and the people that sell Saleen badged Brakes) have a bad habit of posting pictures of the two-piece designed brakes with the one-piece rotor pricing (about a $400 difference depending on where you are looking).
2) Several of those kits (Wilwood, APC, Brembo Gran-turismo) are real racing brakes. They are complete overkill for a street car, or even someone that just Auto-X ocassionally. Of course they are the best of the best and if you have the money then that is the route I would look to. But, for the cost conscious, there are definitely better buys out there.
Six/eight pot BBKs offer fade resistance over extreme repeated braking. They don't necessarily stop the car any faster. What they offer is consistant repeatability and rapid heat dissipation that street brake setups normally don't provide.
3) IMO the Brembo GT500 kit is the best bang for the buck for a street car, followed closely by the StopTech Kit. The GT500 kit regularly sells on Ebay for less than $1000. It is very popular on this board and there are several write ups discussing its' pros and cons.
4) For the truly cost conscious Stop Tech offers a "Stage 2 Brake upgrade" that provides 90% of what these BBK offer. It provides you with new rotors to use with stock calipers, SS lines and new brake fluid. I've seen it as a special online for as low as $599 but it regularly sells for $769.

I'm sure people may argue about which kit is best. I'd say to seek out people (non-vendors) that have each kit and ask for an unbiased opinion and if they had it all to do over again what would they change (if anything). Most guys will offer you some tips and where to find good deals to try and save you time and money.

StillenMustang07

Hi Yao, typically the braking difference between a 6 and 4 piston kit depends on the vehicle and its usage. Normally when you move up to this level of performance the vehicles tires become the limiting factor. Therefore on a street car the performance difference is negligible. The AP4400 4-piston kit works exceptionally well for this application. However, if the car is going to see extensive track use then I would recommend a 6 piston up front and a 4 piston out back.

The GT500 binders are certainly better than the factory 2 piston sliders. The downside to the 500 caliper is that they are non-serviceable units. Meaning if you ever rupture a seal or burn through a dust boot you will have to replace the entire caliper…no replacement parts on this one. Keep in mind that this caliper is a low cost unit manufactured to Ford specifications. It’s not the F50 caliper that Brembo uses in their big brake kit.

On a side note, we have noticed that most GT500’s that we get in here to do a brake swap on have issues with the rotors. I don’t know if this is due to the fashion in which the car is driven or an inherent problem with the rotors. If I remember correctly the difference in weight between the GT500 set up and the AP 4-piston is approximately 6 lbs per corner.

PM me with your email address and I’ll send you over a feature/spec sheet for this kit.

Thanks

subzero05

My vote is the SSBC kit(s) . They have a rear kit for the car as well and I believe are the only ones who offer it, I may be wrong on that one though. I have both the front and rear and the difference is huge. The overall value compared to the others on the market is alot better on the wallet as well!.. Ray Gorman is the head guy over at SSBC.. he will hook you up if you contact them