Trying to keep the price of this car down but Ford has made so many options available that the 5.0 I plan on ordering is getting up there in price. As of now:

MSRP: 37,100
Invoice: 34,079
My price:34,500

My question is wether the Brembos are worth it?

Pros and cons please? Is the aftermarket cheaper?

 

Question you really have to answer yourself. For me, so long as the car can stop in a reasonable distance, that's good enough for me. I'm not going to race mine at the track. Then there is the wheels and tires. Nice, but I'd rather just pick out some aftermarket wheels and tires. Then there's the "Electronic Stability Control® (ESC) Tuning". Meh. There's the coolness factor of it as well, but still not worth the cost to me.

For you? Who knows. Only you do. :-)

 

I had my order placed without them but had the dealer add the brake package earlier this week.

Here were my reasons:

1. To add the parts after the fact is going to cost you more.

2. I like the looks of the wheels, especially with the Sterling paint I'm getting.

3. The standard 18" wheels don't have many tire size options available, Brembo wheels can fit larger rubber.

4. I didn't want regrets down the road that I cheaped out and didn't order my GT with all the performance options available from the factory.

5. I prefer factory parts to aftermarket.

The only negative I see is that the big brakes don't allow you to fit as many other wheels. I was thinking I may want 15" drag wheels on this car at some point but I doubt they'd clear the new 13.2" standard front brakes either.

Sounds like you're getting a good price from your dealer, treat yourself to the Brembo's for the difference?

 

Absolutely!! Price out a set of GT500 Brembos and summer Pirelli's and you will see what a deal it is.

Dave

 

If you're not going road racing or heavy into autocross then the only advantage in the big brakes and wheels will be bragging rights.

So many more options for aftermarket wheels and tires with the standard brakes.

And later down the line when it comes time for maintanance and repairs the parts will cost less and be more readily available.

 

I track my 2005 GT with the original calipers (with race pads) and track tires with no fade; sure the extra braking power would be nice but I can fit 17" wheels and when you go through a set of tires per season, cost becomes an issue. Not to mention that New Take Off rotors are cheap !

I ordered a 2011 GT and when I found out they increased the rotors from 12.4 to 13.2 inches then that was the end of the debate; the extra cost for the 14" and having to put 18" track tires was not worth it besides the increase to 13.2" should suffice my needs !

But I agree that if you plan to retrofit later then you should take the option now because it will you cost much less.

my 2 cents !

 

412HP with all that- I wouldn't want anything more than 110 ft. of stopping distance from 60-0 mph. 'Got to rein in all those ponies'.

 

When you are on the track and you reach the braking point where the ABS are just about to kick in with some 275/40R17 Toyo RA1 all around (read very sticky tires !)and you have no fade then a big *** brake kit will not really shorten the distance by much !

 

For 60 - 0 the stock brakes are fine. Its when you need to go from 160 - 0 that the brake upgrades come into their own.

 

My understanding is that the tires are what is primarily going to limit how fast you can stop. Under repeated hard braking, like you would experience in a race, the brakes will got hot and start to fade. That's where the Brembos and other higher performance brake systems are going to be an advantage. But for regular street driving, the stock brakes in the GT are going to deliver more braking power than the tires are going to be able to deliver anyway, and you are unlikely to overheat the brakes and experience fading. Of course the Brembo package also gives you stickier tires, so they actually will shorten stopping distances, providing it's dry out. My guess is that the summer-only tires (Pirelli P Zero) probably have less traction in the rain than the Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season tires that come on the non-Brembo Mustang GT's. Not that you are going to be driving like a bat out of hell in the rain, but you could be driving down a country road in the rain at a sedate 70 mph and have a stupid deer jump out on the road. In that case, the regular brakes and all season tires might stop you quicker.

In summary, if you are going to drive it on a track, you should probably get the Brembo package. I'm sure it's less expensive than doing an aftermarket upgrade. If you're not going to be literally racing, you probably won't realize much benefit from the package. Of course, this is all based on assumptions since nobody has driven the 2011 with or without Brembos yet.

Boy, what a long-winded answer, huh?

 

You don't go from 160 - 0 on a track and how often would you do that on the street

My answer in the previous post were from my own experience tracking Mustangs for 10 years now. The SN95 needed brake upgrade but the S197 brakes are fine. Mind you, I'm not talking racing but high performance driving schools or lapping where sessions are at maximum 30min long.

Look at my videos as examples

 

I got the Brembo package but I don't plan on street racing, probably go to the track maybe once or twice but that's it. I got them for the looks I guess..

 

Hey, I used to think all seasons would be better in the rain too, but I learned it's a very common misconception.

In actuality, summer tires perform better than all seasons in both dry AND wet.

All seasons are an all-around compromise, in that they perform "acceptably" in dry, wet, and in snow.

Summer tires are the king in both wet and dry conditions. The only condition in which they perform worse than all seasons is when the temperature is below 40 degrees or in snow.


Also anecdotally, I just put on a set of Nitto Invo (255/50/17) summer tires last week, and they are AMAZING in the rain.

 

and they look good!

 

As it has already been stated, It all depends on how you plan to use the car. If you plan to attend a couple track driving events per year, the Brembos would be nice to have, but not exactly necessary. If you plan to go to the racetrack often, I'd say the Brembos are a necessity. Their ability to give you repeatable brake performance will be worth the price of the option upgrade.
Dont let the talk about the availability of 18" wheels & tires deter you from the brakes. All of the Continnental Cup (Grand Am) Mustangs use 285/35/18 tires and scrubs can be found for real cheap ($200-300 per set).

 

That's good information to know. I've never read an article where they compared high performance all season to high performance summer only tires for wet braking, so it's good to hear from someone with experience.

 

The Brembos come with 19 inch wheels. Don't they?

 

Yup, brembo pkg. comes with 19" wheels.

 

While I don't think I will see the track I plan on adding the GT500 wheels. From pics I have seen the stock brakes look tiny. I'm guessing that the Brembos will fill in the gap appearence wise, or am I wrong.

I am aware that aftermarket will cost more. You are right about it being factoried from Ford.
This car will be with me a long time so I might as well get it loaded up to the max.

Yeah you are right. Dam. Yeah its worth it.

How much is maintance cost estimated at for these brakes?

I am really leaning towards getting them just bc aftermarket is so darn expensive.



I think I am getting them just for looks mostly.


Thanks everybody for your replies. It has made my decision that much easier. Ordering my 5.0 in August.

 

not trying to jack the thread but nice videos!

I agree, if you are planning to upgrade to larger brakes in the future. go for it now, the option is much cheaper than buying them new and then having them installed and then buying larger wheels to fit. the money you save can get you a nice set of aftermarket wheels and tires