GT Brakes

[white07gt-cs]

I've owned a 07 GT for about 18 months now. I've rolled up about 17000 miles on it and today I took a drive in twisties. After about 5 minutes of serious flogging, the brakes were starting to fade significantly and when I stopped they were a stinkin' and smokin' heavily. I checked the rotors and they were starting to turn blue, especially the rears. I cooled them off slowly and headed home. It was disappointing to know that the brakes wouldn't last more than about 2 laps at close to a race pace at a track like Laguna Seca before serious brake problems would start.

NORMALLY I'm very easy on brakes (more than 75 % pad life remaining). Even though I probably wouldn't lean on the brakes with repeated hard stops from high speeds very often, I'd still like a little peace of mind that improved braking would provide. I DO NOT want to put big brakes on the car so I was thinking about upgrading the pads. I'm looking at Hawk HPS or Hawk Ceramic pads. Which would you recommend for normal brake service with occasional "spirited" driving??

 

[DarkFireGT]

Quite a few people run the HPS's. The other problem is cooling. I would get some kind of brake cooling kit. Agent 47 sells a cooling kit for GT's and GT/CS's. Also, if you have a GT/CS, Shelby sells grill inserts that add foglights and brake duct holes.

 

[Snooze]

braided lines, dot 4/5 brake fluid will do wonders for the fade.

an agent 47 - style - brake cooling kit is also a good cheap option. and pads, hawk's ceramic pads don't deliever when cold. (impo -- had them for 2months on my subaru before i happily replaced them)

rotor's and pads are fine if you don't plan to run 5hot-laps on a track in a row.

until the time comes to replace them from wear, just pay attention to your rotor (warpage, pitting etc)

discoleration is normal for heavy braking, and the smell, normal for economy pads.. Just don't use you parking brake after a hot-lap.. you'll roast the pad

 

[Mr_Q]

Another thing for the future too is Tirerack carries some really good performance replacement rotors from the Australian company DBA. The rotors are custom slotted and offer nearly 20% more cooling over stock.

Since getting rear coolers is not practical ANY increase in cooling one can do is welcome. Plus the DBA rotors come with the temp paint on them. Quite handy.

 

[SlideWRX]

I've owned a 07 GT for about 18 months now. I've rolled up about 17000 miles on it and today I took a drive in twisties. After about 5 minutes of serious flogging, the brakes were starting to fade significantly and when I stopped they were a stinkin' and smokin' heavily. I checked the rotors and they were starting to turn blue, especially the rears. I cooled them off slowly and headed home. It was disappointing to know that the brakes wouldn't last more than about 2 laps at close to a race pace at a track like Laguna Seca before serious brake problems would start.

All of the suggestions above are valid, but one point to consider; Was the traction control on? You may not have noticed it coming on but it may have cooked the rears, which then made the fronts overheat. Just a thought.

Personally I know I want to do lines, fluid & pads. I might do ducts, but that really depends on where I do track days; Seems the local track is mostly a third gear course.

 

[Snooze]

Traction control cuts the engine out before you have time to actually get any type of "burnout"

And i feel sorry for you if your going to buy some DBA rotors.. Just missed a huge buyout on my subaru website.. i picked up the 5000series for my subaru for 290$ each.. the 4000 were probably had for 150-200ish!

 

[highvolts]

braided lines, dot 4/5 brake fluid will do wonders for the fade.

How does DOT 4/5 fluid effect the hydraulic clutch in our cars?

 

[Snooze]

Your driving along.. come along to a couple of heavy corners.. brake, accelerate, brake accelerate..

30seconds of this pass, of which your brake calipers are a searing 230degree's celcious..
The fluid in your lines close to the caliper begins to boil. Water vapour is released in miniscule amounts,
another 5seconds pass, and you try to brake.. The brake feels spongy! But you still stop with little effort..
another few corners later, water vapour has formed bubbles, and your peddle sinks even further to get required stopping..

This is a characteristic of brake fade. and a higher rated DOT fluid will resist the tempature of heavy braking more effectivly...

Any questions?

 

[jlisle01]

Your driving along.. come along to a couple of heavy corners.. brake, accelerate, brake accelerate..

30seconds of this pass, of which your brake calipers are a searing 230degree's celcious..
The fluid in your lines close to the caliper begins to boil. Water vapour is released in miniscule amounts,
another 5seconds pass, and you try to brake.. The brake feels spongy! But you still stop with little effort..
another few corners later, water vapour has formed bubbles, and your peddle sinks even further to get required stopping..

This is a characteristic of brake fade. and a higher rated DOT fluid will resist the tempature of heavy braking more effectivly...

Any questions?

Yes. Have you ever heard of a spell check?

I believe the question was about the clutch, not the brakes. To answer your question, I have been running DOT 4 fluid for two years now without any issues whatsoever. DOT 3, DOT 4,and DOT 5.1 fluids are all compatible with each other, they just have different boiling points so your clutch should be fine.

DOT 5 fluid however is silicone based as opposed to glycol based and IS NOT compatible with other fluids or with the seals in your Mustang. ***DO NOT PUT DOT 5 FLUID IN YOUR CAR!*** It's also a poor performance brake fluid because it's more compressible under high heat conditions and thus will give you a "spongy" brake feel.

I personally like Motul DOT4 fluid. Great stuff, but that said, it's really easy to get all caught up in the numbers game looking at fluid specifications. The important thing is not what fluid you use but that you change it often. It's kind of like motor oil. I'll put cheapo autozone 10W30 up against any motor oil you can name, if the cheapo is new and the good stuff's been in the car for 30,000 miles. You have to pay to play and if you're going to push your brake system that hard then part of the bill is regular brake fluid flushing.

 

[highvolts]

Yes. Have you ever heard of a spell check?

I believe the question was about the clutch, not the brakes. To answer your question, I have been running DOT 4 fluid for two years now without any issues whatsoever. DOT 3, DOT 4,and DOT 5.1 fluids are all compatible with each other, they just have different boiling points so your clutch should be fine.

DOT 5 fluid however is silicone based as opposed to glycol based and IS NOT compatible with other fluids or with the seals in your Mustang. ***DO NOT PUT DOT 5 FLUID IN YOUR CAR!*** It's also a poor performance brake fluid because it's more compressible under high heat conditions and thus will give you a "spongy" brake feel.

I personally like Motul DOT4 fluid. Great stuff, but that said, it's really easy to get all caught up in the numbers game looking at fluid specifications. The important thing is not what fluid you use but that you change it often. It's kind of like motor oil. I'll put cheapo autozone 10W30 up against any motor oil you can name, if the cheapo is new and the good stuff's been in the car for 30,000 miles. You have to pay to play and if you're going to push your brake system that hard then part of the bill is regular brake fluid flushing.

Thanks.. I'm glad someone can read and spell

 

[Snooze]

Yes. Have you ever heard of a spell check?

Until 5minutes ago i didn't know this forum had a spell check. Thank you for clueing me in into this.
for 3 miss spelt words from someone who is apathetic about his spelling... Great.

next time i ask a question as i had, i'll be sure to include that only relevant or scinttillating Q&A be posted.
If you seek to include smart aleck responses, then a FAQ section would definatly be more suiting.

 

[jlisle01]

I'm sorry I've bruised your fragile ego. My most humble apologies good sir...........however, you did ask if I had any more questions, did you not? If you don't want the answer, don't ask the question.

Actually, my "smart aleck" response was in response to your entire previous post, which I read as more than a little sarcastic. Perhaps I misread the tone and you really thought that people here were confused about whether or not brakes get hot with repeated hard use. Or was it the fact that high temp brake fluid is used to counteract high heat in the brake system that you thought we were unable to ascertain for ourselves?