6 piston Brembos really worth it?

[Darin]

I had a 2013 Boss 302 with the 4 pot Brembos, took it to 4 HPDE's in a year and never had a problem with the brakes. Own a 08 Bullitt and it's time for a BBK and while the 6 piston 15" rotor setup looks nice it seems like it could be over kill (if that's possible with brakes) those rotors must weigh a ton and the calipers got to have some heft too. Shouldn't we be concerned about unsprung weight?

 

[CobraRed]

They aren't inherently overkill, however their size limit wheel diameter choices, aka you usually need 19+.

This not only adds needless weight (on top of the heavier rotors and calipers), it also really limits your tire size and brand options on the wide end vs 17's and 18's - which is usually considered paramount.

The 4-pots also happen to be very decent at doing their job.

 

[SlowJim]

Yes they are extremely heavy, less pad choices, pads are much more expensive IIRC, plus the wheel issue. Not worth it at all.

 

[Pentalab]

Does anybody even make a 18" wheel that clears the 15" rotor ?
Has anybody used 6 pot / 14" rotor's ? Do they buy you anything over the 4 pot /14" rotor?

 

[Roadracer350]

Radial mount or reg GT500 4 piston Brembos with good pads and cooling ducts are more than enough.

 

[o2sys]

I went from stock to 6 to now 4.

The 6 rotors are really heavy.

No noticeable difference in braking power and performance.

 

[Norm Peterson]

I had a 2013 Boss 302 with the 4 pot Brembos, took it to 4 HPDE's in a year and never had a problem with the brakes. Own a 08 Bullitt and it's time for a BBK and while the 6 piston 15" rotor setup looks nice it seems like it could be over kill (if that's possible with brakes) those rotors must weigh a ton and the calipers got to have some heft too. Shouldn't we be concerned about unsprung weight?

If the 4-pot Brembos were enough for a 5.0L Boss with you driving, they'll be more than enough for your time in a 4.6L '08.

I did 11 track days in just over a year, all on the little 12.4" front brakes. While I did heat-check one set of fronts, I've got 6 days on the rotors I replaced them with (4 days running as an intermediate, 2 with the advanced guys). Not that I'm recommending anybody stay with brakes that small, only that 14" represents a pretty solid upgrade for a car that only has a little more than 300 HP at the crank. If it matters, I'm currently running Carbotech XP10's all around, with XP12's & XP10's waiting in the wings for when those no longer pass tech or a visual friction surface inspection.


Norm

 

[SlowJim]

Does anybody even make a 18" wheel that clears the 15" rotor ?
Has anybody used 6 pot / 14" rotor's ? Do they buy you anything over the 4 pot /14" rotor?

Check with Vorshlag, they were able to get one of the Forgestar wheels to fit. Maybe the CF5V IIRC

 

[stkjock]

might want to read this

http://s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85230&highlight=piston+brembo

and search some... IIRC this topic has been covered more than just /\ the one time

 

[Pentalab]

If the 4-pot Brembos were enough for a 5.0L Boss with you driving, they'll be more than enough for your time in a 4.6L '08.

I did 11 track days in just over a year, all on the little 12.4" front brakes. While I did heat-check one set of fronts, I've got 6 days on the rotors I replaced them with (4 days running as an intermediate, 2 with the advanced guys). Not that I'm recommending anybody stay with brakes that small, only that 14" represents a pretty solid upgrade for a car that only has a little more than 300 HP at the crank. If it matters, I'm currently running Carbotech XP10's all around, with XP12's & XP10's waiting in the wings for when those no longer pass tech or a visual friction surface inspection.


Norm

I installed 2.5" silicone brake ducts on my 12.4" powerslots (using 14" dust shields) and it appears to have done the trick for my application. Good enough for the interim at any rate.

 

[Boone]

BBS makes wheels for Ford Racing that will clear the 15" 6-pots. Part number M-1007-R1895 is an 18" x 9.5" and they go for $625 each. You can opt for the 18" x 10.5" wheel (M-1007-R18105) for the same money. The amazing part is the 10.5" wheel weighs only 20.8 pounds each, and the 9.5" wheel comes in at 20.7 pounds each.

 

[Vorshlag-Fair]

might want to read this

http://s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85230&highlight=piston+brembo

and search some... IIRC this topic has been covered more than just /\ the one time

YES, THIS! Please search before posting a NEW THREAD to just ask the same question over and over.

If you cannot think of a good performance reason to add the 15" 6-piston Brembos and just "want to be a pimp", we have one 18" wheel we can fit over these....

This is mostly for 2015+ Mustang GT PP folks...

 

[Sky Render]

If I was building a show car, I'd put them on (they look cool). Otherwise, plenty of very fast folks have used the 4-pot units with no issues.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 using Tapatalk

 

[ChrisGT]

If you cannot think of a good performance reason to add the 15" 6-piston Brembos and just "want to be a pimp", we have one 18" wheel we can fit over these....

This is mostly for 2015+ Mustang GT PP folks...

This looks magnificent.

I would stick with the 4 pistons though. I can't imagine how heavy the 6 pots and 15" rotors are.

I honestly think the stock 12.4" rotors and 2 piston calipers stopped the car in a shorter distance on the street due to their lighter weight. I mean they would really rip your face off with 18's and wide conti's up front. I only added the 4 pistons for bling.

 

[Norm Peterson]

I honestly think the stock 12.4" rotors and 2 piston calipers stopped the car in a shorter distance on the street due to their lighter weight. I mean they would really rip your face off with 18's and wide conti's up front. I only added the 4 pistons for bling.

Unless you were running the same pads with both and getting the same bite at the same rate, that's a bit difficult to agree with. Minutely shorter stops, maybe, but the difference in rotating rotor mass x 2 rotors is going to be a drop in the bucket compared to the car's weight (including the 12.4" rotors' own rotating mass effect).



I think my own trigger for 14" front brakes will be when (if?) XP12 pads in the 12.4's no longer feel like they're enough. But until that is on the verge of happening I'd rather let people wonder why the eye candy isn't there, especially if I'm outbraking them. It's a "sleeper" kind of mentality.


Norm

 

[steveespo]

Team Dynamics 18x10 wheels fit with 15mm front spacer, Ford Racing BBS wheels for the 302S cars fit, Vorschlag has the CF5 wheels shown above that fit and the Boss wheels, stock, 302S and GT 500 Track PAck wheels in 19" work too. I run carbotech XP24 pads on them and they work very well. If you are truly fast the stock 4 pots can do with an upgrade as do these 6 piston versions, more cooling should help, for me Road America is the brake challenge.

 

[JTB]

Not worth it, the weight of the STOCK 13-14 Rotors is ridiculous.

 

[Darin]

Not worth it, the weight of the STOCK 13-14 Rotors is ridiculous.

Got a set of 4 piston front and GT500 rear rotors / caliper brackets, all set.

 

[Whiskey11]

Enkei PF01's also fit over these, the 18x9's fit over the ones on my GT/PP with a small spacer (testing a 3mm spacer next week, but confirmed fit with a 5mm spacer). I imagine the 18x10.5 Enkei PF01's popular in the autocross world would fit if you can tolerate the fact that they do not fit entirely under the rear fenders but will fit up to 315 wide Hoosiers without rubbing.

 

[ArizonaGT]

Enkei PF01's also fit over these, the 18x9's fit over the ones on my GT/PP with a small spacer (testing a 3mm spacer next week, but confirmed fit with a 5mm spacer). I imagine the 18x10.5 Enkei PF01's popular in the autocross world would fit if you can tolerate the fact that they do not fit entirely under the rear fenders but will fit up to 315 wide Hoosiers without rubbing.

Whiskey--can you share some photographs of the clearance, etc?

I've got the 18x10.5s and I'm contemplating going to the 15" Brembo PRO kit next year, this GT500 kit comparison would be helpful in understanding the clearance available--I'll bet it's tight.