I'm looking at (cheap and easy) ways to improve the brakes on my 2011 GT, non-brembo. I will track my car 3-4 days per year. And the stock set-up goes soft after several laps. Any input on the following is appreciated:

* Ford Racing brake hose upgrade kit (essentially the Boss brake hoses, banjo bolts, and washers).
* Hawk performance pads.
* Braided steel lines.

I could not get a narrow search result on TMS, so I'm sorry if there are other threads on this. Thanks for any and all input.

 

Better pads and rotors, dot4 fluid, and braided lines.

 

Exactly what I did. Plus Boss cooling ducts will keep temps down in the front which sees 70% of brake force. I did rotors but you can forgo them. On the rear remove the dust shield.

 

Thanks! So that leads me to even more questions please:

Brake fluid - OEM is Dot 3, what does the change to Dot 4 do? Will it adversely affect daily driving?

Braided lines - I've read elsewhere that these need to be inspected and/or changed every year, because dirt and sand can get into the braids, and harm the lines. What do you say?

Rear dust shield - What will removing it do for me? Good stuff? Any, bad affects from doing this?

Front cooling ducts - too much $, remember, I'll only see the track 3-4 days per year.

Thanks so much!

 

Dot 4 has a higher boiling point, so will not fade as easily. Will not affect daily driving.

Never heard of that with braided lines. I know people who have been running the same lines for 10 years without issue.

Rear dust sheild removal will allow heat to escape easier.

 

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Thanks again! As for the rear dust sheild removal, any bad affects from doing this?

 

Not that I know of, but I don't think its needed either. I know when I track mine, I don't plan on removing it.

 

If the braided lines don’t have an outer shell than yes dirt can get in-between the braids. All the lines I have seen do have an outer shell. The Boss manual suggests removing the rear dust shield for extended tracking to aid in brake cooling. If you live in a place with harsh winters I would just put them back in for winter. That’s what I’m going to do. Dot 4 fluid absorbs water faster than dot 3 so flushing your brakes yearly when running dot 4 is advisable. It takes less than 10 minutes with a Motive power bleeder. As for the front you could probably remove those shields as well to aid in cooling.

 

For braided lines, can you please tell me the brand of yours, where purchased, and how much $?
Do you know anything about the brand, Russell? This is a picture from their website, http://www.russellperformance.com/mc...domestic.shtml

 

The TPS ones are the least expensive and the corvette guys seem to like them.

 

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Which do you have?

 

I have Goodridge. They are the most popular for for any car. Tire rack sells them. About 250

 

Depends on the particular variety, but from what I've read it's not the speed of water absorption, it's the effect it has (compared to new fluid), especially at low temps that brought about the recommendation of frequent changes. The rate of absorption not being different since it is largely based on what water is getting past the seals, etc rather than the fluid itself.

 

Haven't changed mine yet. Will be using TPS most likely.

 

It should become a habbit to flush out the brake fluid before every track day. The reason your pedal is going soft is due to the fluid boiling. I use the ATE super blue fluid. It costs about $15/quart and they sell it in both blue and gold colors. I alternate between the colors at each change so you know when each line is flushed out. Even if you had the brembo brakes, this is needed.

 

I have goodridge SS lines. Really easy to install. SS lines generally have a plastic coating of the outside so no issues with sand. You'll get a little more rear brake dust removing the rear dust shield but no big deal.

 

Jason / Eric / Mike / Alex...thanks!

 

On both my 07 Roush and my 2011 Brembo car even with HPS pads, good fluid (Motul RBF600 or Wilwood EXP600), and stainless lines the brakes didn't hold up at track days (especially the rears). These are heavy cars and the brakes take a beating at the track. If I do it again with this car I will swap in better pads (at least HT-10s).

As far as the stainless lines, I've never had any issues with them on either car. Even if I wasn't tracking I'd do them on a street car just for the firmer pedal feel. I've been running the ones from Steeda which if I remember correctly are StopTechs.

 

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Thanks, that's good info.

 

Back in the day when I had my 2011 GT I upgraded the brakes with Hawk HPS pads,Goodridge SS lines and Motul fluid. It made a big difference in brake feel and after running hard in the canyons, there was no fade or spongy feeling at all.

I got everything from Sam Strano