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http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...=214&ModelID=5

My understanding is the brake lines are no different than the past GT500 pieces, so those others should fit.

The Boss supposedly comes with better, stiffer brake lines, but they're still just plain rubber. Braided stainless steel lines are an insurance policy against heat and abrasion.

 

It does not recommend it. I have driven both a stock one and mine with SS lines on the track. I've been told the performance is the same, but I personally feel the SS lines provide a better/firmer pedal.

 

That's where I bought mine.

 

Thanks Gary for comments based on actual track experience.

I agree, braided brake lines are a "nice-to-have", but certainly not a critical item prior to attending your first (or second...) track event. The OE Boss will undoubtedly possess track skills eclipsing most of us drivers. Not all, but most. IMO "preparation costs" are more appropriately directed at the driver, increasing skill level by purchasing more track seat time.

 

I couldn't agree more. That's why I'm doing more driving and less modding with the Boss I just wish tires lasted longer Next trip this Friday. 40% chance of T-storms

 

I guess I go back to the 03-04 Cobra, and the failed brake lines under track conditions. I'm sure the Boss Brake lines will handle anything I can throw at it. It is just a safey precaution for me, not necessarily a performance enhancement. When you are coming into a 100 degree corner at 125 mph and need to get to 50 mph, I guess I want to know I have done EVERYTHING I can do to assure success. Maybe that is a 2nd or third season addition.

 

Can you talk about how old those oe lines were in your '03/'04 Cobra when they failed? Don't get me wrong, I will be putting Stoptech SS lines in immediately, but not necessarily needed with our "new" cars, this year.

And as Gary said, some (with sensitive feet) can feel the difference, with a slightly firmer feel.

 

I did not have an 03-04 Cobra. However, When I read about the track failures and the Ford "official" recommendation for SS brake lines, I put them on my SN95 even though I did not have the Cobra or "Big-Brake" package. Its not that expensive and easy to do. I'm a novice Tracker but REALLY enjoy it! One less thing to worry about.

 

Bossdog and meanmud, I am right there with you. Safety is first.
But just want others to know these modifications although a plus for safety, are not really necessary out of the box for tracking our Boss. They can safely come aboard at a later date.

Like Gary, I plan on investing in track time.

Especially his September 24th get together which promices to be a great event!

 

Easy...take ownership of the car, and your track ready

 

I don't know about the 03-04 Cobras, but brake line failure was a problem with the 1994-98 Cobras. The 1999 Cobra had a revised brake line to fix the problem. The problem was heat transfer from the calipers to the metal brake hose fitting. The heat weakened the bond between the rubber hose and the fitting. Eventually the hose gave way or burst at the connection with the fitting. The 1999 fix was to put a piece of steel tubing between the end of the hose and the caliper connection fitting. The steel tubing length was sized to dissipate enough heat so the hose connection was not damaged. The NHTSA report said the problem occurred from using aftermarket high performance brake pads at race track braking conditions. My personal track experience with a 1998 Cobra and stock PBR pads was that my calipers got hot enough to melt the rubber boot seals on the caliper pistons. I had already changed to Goodridge braided stainless steel brake lines so I didn’t have to worry about blowing out the rubber brake line hose.

Also my experience with braided stainless steel brake lines is that they bring a much firmer feeling brake pedal. My 1998 Cobra brake pedal is like stepping on a rock. The stock rubber hoses were very firm, but not as firm as the braided ones.

Here is the 1999 NHTSA Bulletin:






The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warns owners of 1994 through 1998 Ford SVT Mustang Cobras of the possible danger of front brake hose failures occurring as a result of equipping their vehicles with aftermarket high performance front brake linings and then driving under severe high speed conditions on a race track.

"To date we have learned of 21 brake hose failures in 15 vehicles. Two of these failures led to crashes on racetracks, one in which the Cobra was a total loss," said Ricardo Martinez, M.D., NHTSA administrator. "Safety is President Clinton’s highest transportation priority, and this warning is intended as a caution to owners to protect their safety."

Information developed during a NHTSA safety defect investigation revealed that two failures were brake fluid leaks from the hose, and 19 failures involved the separation of the rubber brake hose from the metal end fitting at the brake caliper. Such a separation leads to a partial brake system hydraulic failure and a loss of about 70 percent of the vehicle’s braking capability.

Except for one of the Cobras that had a front brake hose leak, all of the Cobras that experienced a leakage or separation failure of one or both front brake hoses had been driven at high speed in a "race track event" with non-Ford high performance front brake linings. Fifteen separation failures occurred while the vehicle was being driven on a race track, and three hose separations occurred on public roads after race track use. The other failures occurred or were discovered during brake system maintenance.

Ford says the hose failures are a direct result of brake caliper/rotor overheating following replacement of the Ford production brake linings with high performance aftermarket metallic brake linings and use of the vehicles in a race track situation.

To address this problem, Ford published an article in its "SVT Enthusiast" magazine, which is mailed to over 34,000 Cobra owners. The article informed owners of the issue and indicated that a new front brake hose incorporating a steel section between the fitting and hose to dissipate heat is available at Ford dealers. Ford has released this hose, which is also used on the 1999 Cobra, for use on 1994 through 1998 Ford SVT Mustang Cobras and will remove the earlier versions of these front brake hoses from the stock of its service departments.

Owners who have equipped their vehicles with non-Ford high performance front brake linings and plan to drive their vehicles in a high speed "race track event" can purchase the new hoses from their Ford dealers.

 

I have an LS on order with a 3rd qtr build. I will be using this car for the track mostly and do about 15 to 18 week ends a year for the last 15 years. I have started to order some safety equipment and have a couple of questions that the people who have cars can answer.

a) do your cars have tie downs or must we add them? if we must add them can they be added to the bottoms of the shocks?

b) does anyone know the color and part number for the red wheel paint so we may paint the roll cage the same color.

Thanks, Jim

 

The two pages out of the BOSS Owners Manual Supplement (pages 36 & 37):

TRACK PREPARATION
The Boss® 302 and Boss® 302 Laguna Seca edition have been rigorously proven out on race tracks. Below are recommendations for optimizing your Boss 302® for a track day event.
· For optimal performance, premium fuel is recommended.
· Change brake fluid to Super DOT 4 to improve track performance of braking system (WSS-M6C65-A2), Ford part number (YS4Z-19542-AA).
· Install Ford Racing front brake cooling kit (M-2004-MB) to improve brake cooling (standard on Laguna Seca edition).
· Remove rear brake dust shields to improve brake cooling.
· Install Ford Racing transmission cooling scoop (M-5025-MBR) to improve transmission cooling (standard on Laguna Seca edition).
· For extended track use, Ford recommends installing a rear differential cooler to improve rear axle cooling.
· Remove vertical rear tire spoilers at rear edge of rocker moldings.
· The Ford Racing front splitter kit (M-16601-MB, standard on Laguna Seca edition) can be installed to improve high-speed vehicle stability and handling. If the Ford Racing front splitter kit will be installed on a Boss 302 without the Laguna Seca package, Ford recommends installing the Laguna Seca edition rear spoiler in place of the standard rear spoiler to maintain aerodynamic balance. This front splitter is intended for race track use only and is not legal for on-street driving. It may degrade crash performance and void the vehicle warranty. The front splitter must be installed by the customer.
· For track sessions, it is recommended to run 41 psi (283 kPa) hot for the OEM tires, front and rear.
· Depending on track temperature, ambient temperature and driving style, you may need to reduce the starting tire pressure by as much as 4 psi (27 kPa).
· The starting pressure may be lower in the rear tires relative to the front tires to achieve 41 psi (283 kPa) hot.
· Reset tire pressures to placard recommended pressures before leaving the track.
· For improved track performance, Ford recommends, TracKey, available through Ford Racing. See your local Ford dealer or go to http://www.trackey.ford.com for more information (M-14204-MBTKA).
· Your Boss® 302 is equipped from the factory with Brembo 4-piston front calipers and unique, high-performance rear brake pads that will provide excellent performance under normal driving conditions. Ford recommends the following bedding procedure for race track driving be followed.
Note: Restore the vehicle to factory specifications prior to driving on public roads.
Brake burnishing procedure for race track driving
If the vehicle has to be driven on a track (racing) or in severe driving conditions, the following steps must be performed on a closed course, not on public roads:
· Burnish: 30 burnish stops at 60-0 mph (96-0 km/h), 0.4g deceleration, one mile (1.6 km) between stops. If the vehicle has more than 200 miles (322 km) on the brakes, skip this step and proceed to the Fade stops.
· Fade: 20 fade stops, at 65-0 mph (105-0 km/h), 0.85g deceleration or just below ABS activity, no dwell between stops.
· Cool down: Minimum of five mile (8 km) cool down route, if on public roads (no brakes) run at 60 mph (96 km/h)
· Recovery: 30 recovery stops at 60-0 mph (96-0 km/h), 0.4 g deceleration, one mile (1.6 km) between stops
· Cool down: Minimum of five mile (8 km) cool down route, if on public roads (no brakes) run at 60 mph (96 km/h)
Damper adjustment recommendations:
· Boss® 302 - Set all four dampers to position (5) for all tracks.
· Boss® 302 Laguna Seca edition - Set front dampers to position (5) and set the rear dampers to position (3), (4) or (5) depending on how smooth the track is or how much curbing the driver likes to use.
· On a rough track, set the rear dampers to position (3).
· On a smooth track with aggressive apex curbs, set the rear dampers to position (4), but only if the driver uses those curbs.
· On a smooth track with mild FIA-type apex curbs, set the rear dampers to position (5).
· If the turn-in portions of the track are rough, reduce the front damper setting by one position until the Boss® 302 turns in on those rough portions.
· If the rear of the car is skipping over bumps during corner exit so that the driver has to reduce throttle input, reduce the rear damper setting by one position until the driver can apply appropriate throttle.

 

It all depends on how hard you drive, but I've quickly found the cheapest, easiest and most effective upgrades are pads, fluid, lines (optional), camber and a good staggered set of wheels tires (1" to 1.5"). Don't believe me? Here's another guy who I've never met and he posted almost the exact same thing. It's so close to the same experience that it's funny: http://bossmustangsonline.com/boss-3...orld-speedway/

If you're not going to drive it hard, at least do what the Boss Track Prep Manual tells you, but if you're going to push it do these other things as well.

 

Highly doubt that they would -- do any stock cars have these?

 

The color of the roof, rear spoiler, side mirrors, front grille surround and rear seat delete x-brace is Ford Race Red, color code PQ.

The red color on my LS wheels looks slightly darker than the other pieces painted red.

 

I've been using the rear axle and front LCAs crossing both at the front and back. If you use the rear axle, you have to cross the straps so it pulls around the diff. Otherwise the passenger side strap will work its way toward the wheel and ultimately come up against the panhard bar mount. It has a sharp edge, is sprung, and with the car bouncing up and down acts like a box cutter If you figure out a good solution for attaching tie downs I would be interested, but these attachment points have worked well for the Boss and GT500 with thousands of trailer miles.

 

What Gary said is the best I have come up with also. There are some true T-hook locations on the inside of the front wheelwell but they are too high up to help unless you have a rail built into the trailer for tie downs. I ended up getting a few axle straps for the back and use the lower control arms up front.

The frame has no true T-hooks but to pull the car up I modified a hole in a front crossmember to accept a T-hook. Helps if you don't want to drive up like me on an open trailer, I can send you pics if you would like.