Sweetstang84

It was suggested I start a new post/thread on this upgrade topic for my car, so here it goes:

I am looking at upgrading my 2014 V6 brakes with some power stop slotted and drilled rotors and z26 ceramic pads. So what I am getting from much of what Ive read is, don't bother with the rotors, just do the pads for everyday driving and possible some drag racing in the future? (ps I will probably painting my calipers while I am at it) I do not think I will ever want to put the money into a big brake kit, but what will I get the most out of from a brake upgrade? I have been reading a ton of different material and seeing many different answers. I know with the slotted rotors I will get more reliability from the brakes with repetitive braking, as on a track; but I can see where the utility is not so great on the street. Would it be good to just get some slotted and drilled rotors for 132$ to accompany the pads, or is it more worth it to put that money towards, say some better BMR lower control arms, or a rear stabilizer bar? (I would look at getting some new rims and tires, but that is a little outside my price range right now) Any advice would be greatly appreciated/help. I've got some good feedback so far, which basically says, don't really bother with the brakes. Thank you.

Joeywhat

You don't need better rotors or calipers, especially for drag racing. Start with tires, pads and fluid and go from there. Identify the issues you are having and respond accordingly. If you can lock up your tires with the current setup, bigger brakes won't help.

Sweetstang84

Ok, Than you for your input! As mentioned in my post though, I do not have the income for a new set of tires yet. Any suggestions between the other upgrades mentioned? I guess I should add what I am looking for with this car. It is my every day driver, however I am also using it as my spring board to learning how to work on cars/the mustang and make mods as well. So this is a learning experience as well a my hobby now too. So I am looking to make mods to increase overall performance and things that help me learn about working with the car. I should also mention that this car is a lease vehicle currently, and I cannot touch the power train for another year, ie. CAI, TB, Exhaust ect.

David Young

Your brakes are good enough for what your going to use them for. I would look into struts and shocks and maybe lowering springs. Be careful on your mods, my v6 is my hobby too. I have receipts adding to over $10,000 and i don't even have a supercharger.

Sweetstang84

Thanks for the post David! I've really need to talk to someone who's in my same boat. Maybe mine isn't such a good idea cause its my every day driver? Im planning on sinking $10,000 into the car over its lifetime. I did not really look into a new suspension, i did take a brief look at the lower spings. How difficult are these mods to complete? Aside from the lowering spring, what will the suspension give me?

Joeywhat

Tires are cheaper then a big brake kit. OEM rotors generally offer the best performance as well, unless you go bigger, of course.

Pads and fluid will offer a noticeable change in performance. Just remember that there are no free lunches, increased braking performance means more noise and dust, and track only pads will need to be warmed up before being effective.

05PRMTX

Don't get drilled rotors if the car is a daily. Mine came with them and one cracked 2 months after buying the car. Standard rotors are your best option for a DD.

Better pads and control arms would be a good investment. I have ford racing shocks/struts and lowering springs, with 19 X 9.5" wheels and Nitto tires. The handling/grip is fantastic and still functions well in daily driving. I would look into suspension and wider tires over spending a bunch on a brake kit.

Also, I just saw this is a lease. Not sure what the restrictions on the brake/suspension mods would be,

Joeywhat

I will also add (or reinforce my earlier thoughts) in that tires are the best upgrade for most stock vehicles. Until you can get the power to the ground and make it all come to a stop nice and quick, other mods tend to be fairly limited.

Sweetstang84

Ok, this sounds like the way to go then. As mentioned above thought I was definitely never going to spend the money on a big brake kit. But even the 300$ or so, i will now put towards some other handling mods then. Just for looks though I will go ahead and paint the calipers and maybe pick up some new pads.

So how much did the ford racing kit set you back? I am looking at investing in the springs, but It looks like a complicated job, something I may not be able to do yet. Did you do it yourself or did you have someone else do it; if so how much do you think it would cost?

JoeMidnight

Hey OP,

Here are my two Cents. My V6 has the PP on my car which has friction pads (upgrade over base model) and believe it has a tweaked caliper calibration. Don't know much else without digging through my documentation (been a while).

My stock brakes stop pretty quick. I'm in the works of flushing out my system sometime this week and will replenish using DOT4 fluid. My take is that OEM is always the best way to go for a DD car. my issue with OEM is that its REALLY expensive. I recall spending $575 of my wife's Tucson on just the hardware.

I'm sure the mustang will be around that price range. With that in mind, when i'm in the same boat as you, i'm going to research aftermarket hardware that may offer the same level of performance as OEM or better in braking power and that has the same life longevity as OEM if i can get them for a bit less.

otherwise, OEM it is.

Sweetstang84

I really would like to do the rims and tires, but that is pretty expensive. AM has what I want for $1200 which includes mount and balance. It may be a good deal, but it is still quite a bit upfront cost.

Sweetstang84

Hey Midnight, thank you. I have been trying to research to find eq. or better hardware. if you find any, please let me know.

Joeywhat

You should be able to get very good tires for around $800 installed.

Sweetstang84

We just talking about new tires for the 17in stocks on the v6?

Joeywhat

17 inch will likely be even cheaper. BFG Sport Comp 2 for my 19's are around $800 installed. On my Focus (17") they were closer to $500.

Sweetstang84

ok, but if I want 18-19inch rims I gotta buy the rims first too, so collectively it gets pricey.Tires+rims. Unless I just do new tires.

Joeywhat

This is a lease, right?

Step one is to limit what you spend your money on. There is zero need to modify it in any way that will 1) void the warranty and 2) cause issues when you turn in the lease. Significant suspension modifications will need to be removed before turning in the vehicle, and you will not get any significant amount of return back on those parts.

With that in mind, tires alone will give you the same performance upgrade as wheels and tires...unless you're throwing down for real quality lightweight wheels (which are very expensive). Cheap LW wheels just break way too easily. 17" summer tires will be a HUGE improvement over the stock all seasons. Not only will they grip better, but the sidewall will be much stiffer then stock and lateral grip will improve tremendously.

You are obviously free to do what you choose, but it seems absurd to blow a lot of money on parts that will need to be removed after a couple years, and will have little to no resale value.

Sweetstang84

Yeah i totally agree. Sorry, I guess I should have prefaced with this fact. I am currently leasing but I will be financing the car after. Its more of a matter of what I am allowed to do before I start financing the car. Mainly I cannot touch the power train from what I have discussed with the dealer.

JoeMidnight

If you're 100% SURE that you're going to finance when your lease is up, i'm sure bolt ons are a none issue. If at the end of 3 years or whenever your lease it up and you decide you want to trade it in, you may screw yourself now as Joey said.

99% of the time, people lease, intend on keeping the car and buy it out and at the end of the lease, those sales guy convince you to lease again be careful haha.

if you have 17's now, definitely consider 19's or 20's it gives the car a HUGE facelift

https://instagram.com/p/0fZCu9yw37/?taken-by=joeboxer

check that out. a snapshot of my 17's (winter wheels) VS my 19's.

Sweetstang84

Haha, I will be. I really have fallen in love with this car and I don't think anything, aside from losing my job or anything completely drastic like that could tear her away from me. I also am not in love with or like the 2015s AT ALL. Mainly the lease was the cheaper option up front, and I honestly got the car for a steal.