i really didnt care for the stock brakes and decided to go with high performance brake pads. i didnt get the rotors , just the pads. these babies stop the car on the dime. unbelievable compared to stock.

 

hows the noise if any, i had those on my fox and loved them as well

 

it has some noise right now but ive been told will come and go. they dont make noise at all when you really need to stop the car. i love them!!!!

 

Front and rear? Price? Where'd you get them?

 

did you get them from maximummotorsprots.com ?

 

$110 front set
$85 rear set

 

Definitely a mod I'll be considering. The '05 brakes are terrible compared to last year's. These remind me of an old Fox.

 

I guess there's always room for improvement, but I think the brakes are pretty good. Changing them out has never crossed my mind. Just trying to educate myself here.....what makes you guys say they are so bad?

 

I agree with Tom...first night i had the car a deer ran out and the car stopped on a dime

 

Just comparing them to other Mustangs I've had. Comparing then to the '03 GT, the '05 has a soft pedal feel.

A few days after I got the '05, I had to drive the '03. Apparently I had gotten used to the '05's brakes, because the first time I went to press the brakes (only going 5-10mph)in the '03, I came to a jolting stop. It took a lot less to stop the '03 than it did the '05.

 

BOTH FRONT AND REAR FOR $150. ILL GET BACK TO U ON WHERE I BOUGHT THEM. A FRIEND OF MINE IS FRIENDS WITH OWNER SO I GOT A PRETTY GOOD DEAL I GUESS.

 

What is your opinion on using them on a daily driver only?
I remeber a discussion a while back comparing REALLY good street pads to auto-X pads. A lot of people said they wouldn't use auto-x pads for a street-only car because they'd never really get hot enough to work very well.

 

I think that's a bit of a misconception for Autocross since your brakes don't heat up enough or have the time to heat up nearly at all with the time for a run and or the speeds at which you run.

The importance of initial torque and cold stopping power is paramount for autocross and more similar to an agressive street pad as opposed to higher temp fade resistence of Road course pads (which even though I do run on the street, I wouldn't promote).

Personally, I'd run a more agressive pad like an autocross or crossover autox/street or street/roadcourse pad in place of OEM. But most likely when the OEM pads ran out. And I'd be very aware of the dusting, squealing and or premature rotor wear issues.

Also it is important to keep in mind that Brake pads do not stop the car, tires do.

If you want better stopping ability, I'd upgrade tires first, then move to pads second, and definitely Not needless crossdrilled or slotted rotors.

 

When I said REALLY good street pads, I was actually refering to aftermarket pads. Yes, If I upgrade, I would want better than OEM.

As for the tires, I saw a definite improvement when I put on new tires. Those are about as high performance as I want to go. I'd like to get at least 20K miles out of a set.

What would you recomend for a good aftermarket street pad?

 

I've been using HP+ on my last 3 Mustangs (97GT, 00GT & 05GT). They are definetly fine for AutoX & daily driving.

I was a little disappointed when I put them on my 05 because I expected a BIG difference; it is an upgrade from OEM but I expected better.

When I put them on my 97GT a while ago, I litteraly almost hit my dash ... they were a MAJOR improvement ... the best performance upgrade I put on my 97.

I was just a little disappointed on my 05.

BTW, I had 80 000 miles (city driving) when I sold my 97GT and I had HP+ from almost day 1 ... I never changed my rotors !!

Also, it is not worth putting HP+ as rear brake pads ... waste of money :nono:

 

There are several ways to go, Hawk being a well known performance brake pad manufacturer that provides some decent upgrades and has what looks like 3 replacement pad compounds currently available.

The HPS's mentioned earlier being a good street/performance pad.

You could also if you were so inclined to, step up to something like the HP Plus which is a more aggressive pad designed for both Autocross and weekend track events DE's (by track and DE I mean road course driver education at high speeds).

But be aware when you do step up to more aggressive pads that they Will dust more and many times will squeal and squeak.

Another step up would be a full blown race compound pad like the Hawk Blue 9012, of which I have personal exerience with. It is designed with higher initial torque and temp fade resistance and better modulation. BUT is not designed for road use and is extremely unkind to rotors when at street temperatures and speeds. As well if it gets wet out and the Blue's pad dust gets on your car, Watch Out and wash it off ASAP since it tends to form a nifty corrossive crud layer that will haze paint on the car and rust and get crappy on wheels. Don't ask me how I know :bang: It's a great brake pad for it's stopping ability, modulation and fade resistance but the dust it produces is evil.

I personally use Cobalt Friction pads exclusively on my track car, here is a link to their site: http://www.cobaltfriction.com I currently use Spec VR's and Sports in combination and sometimes move up to Spec B's depending on the design and speed of the track and or course the weather. All 3 of the aforementioned pad compounds are very kind to rotors, and the dust is easy and wipes off no muss or fuss.

I spoke to Glen at Cobalt this afternoon to inquire if they had any pad compounds in the works for the S197 Mustang to which he replied that Yes they indeed do have 3 compounds currently being developed, (1 for Autocross, 1 for something like Club racing or Advanced DE's and 1 for Sprint racing) and will be available as soon as January 2006, but to check with them near November to see how the production is going.

I personally would probably wait for the Cobalt pads since I have a very good track record with several of their products as well as their excellent customer service. But if I needed pads now I'd opt for the Hawk HP Plus's.

There are other Pad companies out there such as Ferrodo and Axis, etc. I just don't have experience with their product so I cannot comment, But have heard many good things from their offerings.

Quote:

Originally posted by StangNut@
As for the tires, I saw a definite improvement when I put on new tires. Those are about as high performance as I want to go. I'd like to get at least 20K miles out of a set.

This is very good to hear since the KDW's are exactly the tires I'm looking to upgrade to when the time comes.


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What would you recomend for a good aftermarket street pad?

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I hope what I mentioned above would be helpful in your decision.

 

Thanks for the help, Anton. It sounds to me like most (or all?) of the pads you mentioned are mainly for track use. I will only be driving on the street.
I'm actually looking for that same feel Martin described above where he almost hit the dash. That's what happen to me when I got back in my '03 as described above.

As for the tires, I can't say how much of the improvement was due to the fact that I went to a wider tire.

 

No problem Jason.

The Hawk HPS's are a good street performance compound, the HP+'s are more an autocross and light track compound BUT are completely streetable and again what I'd choose for daily driving if I needed a new pad. The GT sports from Cobalt are streetable as well but are closer to the HP+'s in performance and from what I see from Cobalt, they will have a competitive street/autox-track compound available by January.

The firmness of the pedal during street application is more related to the brake system itself IE, booster, MC, ABS pump, etc.

Don't be thrown off by the ability of a pad for both track and street though. Even OEM pads could be used on track and Definitely at Autocross where stock is a great place to start especially for the S197.

Let us know what you eventually decide and your experience and impressions. I always like to hear others feedback and am extremely impressed with this sites knowledge base and friendly sharing of information.

 

Good post's. Very infomative, when I'm ready for pad's I'll be well armed...

Chef, what would you recomend for a rotor up grade without going all out to a big brake set-up aka Brembo etc...A set up for aggresive street/mild race, to complement the HP+ pad's...Thank's

 

Stock. Seriously.

Rotors are wear items. Once you get past improving tire compounds, and brake pad compounds and of coruse the nut behind the wheel, rotors are completely disposable.

Crossdrilled and slotted (especially stock size replacement) rotors will not help you get a better pedal feel or stop your car any quicker, they are just trendy and stylish now days.

Me personally, when I campaign an S197 next summer for local and regional SCCA and NASA Autocross & attend track days, I will absolutely Not need a rotor upgrade, but as well according to the club rules governing competition in stock or a selected class I will not, or may not be allowed any big brake setups. But I seriously wouldn't be concerned about even thinking of upgrading the rotor/caliper setup until I got the car out on the road course frequently, and even then I'd be bound by the club rules (and at this point I'd take close looks at what the Stang's in Grand Am run).

And honestly, when I read some aftermarket setups don't provide any major improvement currently, I think the addition of some sticky tires, aggressive pads and possibly ducting will suffice. I'll have alot more to share on this next season though.

But as for street use and even weekend HPDE's, I'd stick with stock rotors and find a place that sells them as cheap as possible such as say Autozone Duralasts.