The upgrade to the 2-piston sliding caliper 13.2" brakes is relatively easy for the previous S197 cars... That's what came on my base model 2013 GT, shown below. And yes, they are technically "bigger" than the previous 11" and 12" bits, but they are still inadequate for track use. Let me explain...
I bought a brand new 2013 GT in the Fall of 2013, to go along with my existing 2011 GT (Brembo equipped). The car was but a few days old, still had paper plates. With nothing more than an 18x10" wheel and 295/35/18 tire upgrade all around we took it to the track (Eagles Canyon Raceway) during a NASA TT event Oct 6th, 2012, to get a "baseline lap time" with the stock 13.2" brakes...
I mean, sure, I figured the 13.2" brakes would suck compared to the 14" 4 piston Brembos, but I had no idea how quickly and totally they would fail.
I am 8 laps into my first session on track that day, and the car is moving around the track all right. I ran a best lap pf 2:07.3 and on the next lap, coming into Turn 7 at about 120 mph... the brake pedal goes to the floor. No warning, just nothing. I went off the track at the end of T7 at about 85 mph and took a ride off road. Limped it back to the pits and what did I see? The front brake pads had disintegrated. There was nothing left but the backing plates. Catastrophic brake failure.
So we installed one of our 14" Brembo front brake upgrades to this car, which we have sold 200+ worth of since that day. Had installed a set of coilovers and camber plates during that time as well, and we used this car to develop our 2013-14 brake cooling inlet duct kits, which are barely visible in the image below.
Came back to this track a couple more times and in June of 2013 ran a 2:03 lap on the same tires but now in 99°F weather. Of course the brakes not only worked better they lasted all day, with two drivers beating on them session after session.
Long story short - don't install the 13.2 brakes and expect any miracles. The rotor is smaller but the caliper is the big determent here. The Brembo upgrade is relatively easy and cheap, and is a MUCH better brake for the S197 than any of the two-piston sliding caliper OEM versions.
Cheers,
I bought a brand new 2013 GT in the Fall of 2013, to go along with my existing 2011 GT (Brembo equipped). The car was but a few days old, still had paper plates. With nothing more than an 18x10" wheel and 295/35/18 tire upgrade all around we took it to the track (Eagles Canyon Raceway) during a NASA TT event Oct 6th, 2012, to get a "baseline lap time" with the stock 13.2" brakes...
I mean, sure, I figured the 13.2" brakes would suck compared to the 14" 4 piston Brembos, but I had no idea how quickly and totally they would fail.
I am 8 laps into my first session on track that day, and the car is moving around the track all right. I ran a best lap pf 2:07.3 and on the next lap, coming into Turn 7 at about 120 mph... the brake pedal goes to the floor. No warning, just nothing. I went off the track at the end of T7 at about 85 mph and took a ride off road. Limped it back to the pits and what did I see? The front brake pads had disintegrated. There was nothing left but the backing plates. Catastrophic brake failure.
So we installed one of our 14" Brembo front brake upgrades to this car, which we have sold 200+ worth of since that day. Had installed a set of coilovers and camber plates during that time as well, and we used this car to develop our 2013-14 brake cooling inlet duct kits, which are barely visible in the image below.
Came back to this track a couple more times and in June of 2013 ran a 2:03 lap on the same tires but now in 99°F weather. Of course the brakes not only worked better they lasted all day, with two drivers beating on them session after session.
Long story short - don't install the 13.2 brakes and expect any miracles. The rotor is smaller but the caliper is the big determent here. The Brembo upgrade is relatively easy and cheap, and is a MUCH better brake for the S197 than any of the two-piston sliding caliper OEM versions.
Cheers,