2011 Ford Mustang GT Optional Brembo Package Selling Like Hotcakes

[Ry_Trapp0]

2011 Ford Mustang GT Optional Brembo Package Selling Like Hotcakes

According to Ford, sales of their optional Brembo brake package for the 2011 Mustang GT 5.0 have exceeded expectations by outpacing sales of the Track Pack last year (no numbers released).

The $1,695 Brembo package includes front 14-inch Brembo vented rotors and 4-piston calipers along with 11.8-inch vented rotors and 2-piston calipers out back. This package also includes unique electronic stability control (ESC) tuning and a gorgeous set of 19-inch’ Dark Stainless painted aluminum wheels that provided added style and the added caliper clearance needed for the big front Brembo calipers.

With the 2011 GT you also get the 2010 Track Pack for free, which includes parts from the 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT-500 and the 2008 Mustang Bullitt. This means upgraded lower rear control arms, thicker front and rear anti-sway bars, revised shocks/struts, stiffer springs and more aggressive front and rear brake pads. These parts combined to give the 2010 Mustang an impressive 0.93G skidpad rating, a number Car & Driver improved on by 0.01G with the 2011 Mustang GT (perhaps thanks to the sticky factory-equipped Pirelli P Zero rubber). Not too shabby for a $30k pony car!

With the popularity of the Brembo package, we can only conclude that the 2011 Ford Mustang GT is attracting a more performance-minded buyer, perhaps because of the great bang for the buck this muscle car represents or perhaps because of the popularity of the Mustang Challenge racing series, or even the sideways antics of pro drifters like Vaughn Gittin Jr. Whatever the case may be, we’re seeing more and more new gen Mustangs at the track. Time to make the Camaro turn and brake a little (ok, a lot) better, GM.​

Source: AutoGuide.com - 2011 Ford Mustang GT Optional Brembo Package Selling Like Hotcakes


i'll be the first to admit that i was wrong about the demographic of the mustang. i REALLY underestimated how many buyers were actually enthusiasts.
figured some of you guys might find this interesting.

 

[Driver72]

Yup, the 5.0 engine, the Brembo brakes and the improved handling is what FINALLY got me to get a Mustang GT again after all these years.

This is now an enthusiast car rather than just a Mustang fan car.

My car gets ordered tomorrow and yup, manual tranny and Brembo brake package.

 

[Bob Cosby]

I still won't get the Brembos, but there is no doubt that the 5.0 - along with the new transmission(s), have me SERIOUSLY considering a new Mustang for the first time in a very long time.

 

[csledd]

Brembo's were just icing to the cake

 

[stang1971]

i dont have brembos on my 11' and the stock brakes are great.... my car goes to the strip and is mainly a street dd car. so there is no need for the brembo's for me. but i feel that the stock brakes are great and work very well.

 

[Kn38ms]

Its about time Dearborn created a true Mustang and not a Falcon/ Fairmont.
Is the 135i really worth the extra $$$?

I love this car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[assasinator]

theres more to the brembo package than front brakes, and for the record mashing them will pull your retina's out. and they simply dont fade.

 

[chrisheltra]

i dont have brembos on my 11' and the stock brakes are great.... My car goes to the strip and is mainly a street dd car. So there is no need for the brembo's for me. But i feel that the stock brakes are great and work very well.

+1

This thing already stops way better than the L. lol

 

[Driver72]

theres more to the brembo package than front brakes, and for the record mashing them will pull your retina's out. and they simply dont fade.

+1

You get the more aggressive ECU tuning
You get wider, better looking and lighter wheels along with better and lighter tires.
You get the strut tower brace as well. (the only other way to get that is pay for the optional 19" wheels which are heavier and skinnier and don't look as good, plus don't get as good as tires).

Lastly, I don't plan on tracking my car either, but getting the Brembos, even if it stops the car 3-5 feet quicker from speed, it can make the difference of an accident or not. Plus if you are canyon carving you don't have to worry about fade.
It's an upgrade that you don't have to do yourself and therefore it's factory warrantied. The wheels and tires alone are worth nearly the entire $1695 charge. The brakes themselves are essentially a bonus for two hundred bucks.

 

[cobra mike]

i got them and i love it, plus the wheels look killer

 

[wazslow]

+1

You get the more aggressive ECU tuning
You get wider, better looking and lighter wheels along with better and lighter tires.
You get the strut tower brace as well. (the only other way to get that is pay for the optional 19" wheels which are heavier and skinnier and don't look as good, plus don't get as good as tires).

Lastly, I don't plan on tracking my car either, but getting the Brembos, even if it stops the car 3-5 feet quicker from speed, it can make the difference of an accident or not. Plus if you are canyon carving you don't have to worry about fade.
It's an upgrade that you don't have to do yourself and therefore it's factory warrantied. The wheels and tires alone are worth nearly the entire $1695 charge. The brakes themselves are essentially a bonus for two hundred bucks.

CA special comes with the stut tower brace too. I had no need for the brembo's and wouldnt have gotten them even if I had ordered my car.

 

[Driver72]

CA special comes with the stut tower brace too. I had no need for the brembo's and wouldnt have gotten them even if I had ordered my car.

yeah, that's because the CS comes with the heaviest 19" wheels and tires.
I like the CS but wish it was offered with the Brembo brake package wheels/tires/ecu tuning, etc as well.

 

[Bob Cosby]

What "more aggressive ECU tuning" is there? Can you please elaborate?

- I prefer the look of the stock wheels.
- The stock wheels and tires won't last long on a car I'd buy anyway
- The Brembo's main advantage over stock brakes is in reducing fade over multiple stops. Not an issue in an accident (unless you're being incredibly stupid and racing along a curvy road).
- I don't need nor do I want a strut tower brace.
- I can do other things with the $1695, and neither the Brembos nor the "upgraded" tires and wheels are worth it to me.

The point: To each their own. What one believes is better may not be so to another.

 

[Ry_Trapp0]

it's not ECU tuning, but traction/stability control tuning. basically, if you option the brembos then you get TSC tuning that's a little more lenient, allows you to kick the ass out a few degrees further before the electronic nannies save you from sliding into a pole or whatever.

on a semi-related note, there has been quite a bit of shade tree research and testing done by some guys at corner-carvers.com that shows that strut tower braces don't do anything on cars with a solid chassis(I.E., the S197 chassis). the strut towers actually move forward a bit during hard braking, while showing almost no movement inwards/side to side while cornering like is believed. and that's not mentiong that a lot of "high end" STBs from the aftermarket are actually connected with rod ends, which would still allow the strut towers to 'paralellogram' if there was any movement(imagine pushing on one corner of a square). now, the "monte carlo" bar things actually do help with some stiffness, since they connect the strut towers to the cowl.

 

[Driver72]

What "more aggressive ECU tuning" is there? Can you please elaborate?

- I prefer the look of the stock wheels.
- The stock wheels and tires won't last long on a car I'd buy anyway
- The Brembo's main advantage over stock brakes is in reducing fade over multiple stops. Not an issue in an accident (unless you're being incredibly stupid and racing along a curvy road).
- I don't need nor do I want a strut tower brace.
- I can do other things with the $1695, and neither the Brembos nor the "upgraded" tires and wheels are worth it to me.

The point: To each their own. What one believes is better may not be so to another.

As Ry pointed out the more aggressive ECU tuning I was referring too was it allowing more fun driving before intervening.

I know it has yet to be tested side by side, but I'm pretty sure if on the same day same testing track you took a non brembo brake car and a Brembo brake car and did even 60-0 stopping, you'd see the Brembo brake car stops shorter consistently and probably by 4-8 feet.
It has bigger rotors, bigger brake pads and more evenly pressured brake application from the additional pistons.
Further it has grippier tires.

Just adding the higher performance tires should decrease stopping distance by a couple feet.

That is how it's an issue in potentially saving you from an accident.

To me, there is almost nothing more important on a car than it's tires and brakes. Acceleration speed is great and all, but it's the braking and handling that can save your life (or at least keep you from an accident) some day. And to that end, I don't skimp, and to that degree, $1695 is a bargain.
Sure, one could argue then why don't you go out and get the highest rated tires and biggest, best brake kit you can find.
Well, of course there is a degree of overkill and sane expectations. If the Brembo Package was $5000 (or like Ceramic brakes $10-15k) that's too rich for me for the difference in performance, but when it's offered from the factory for $1695 that include better brakes, better tires, and nicer looking/lighter wheels, that's within the range of acceptability and even as stated a bargain even if it stopped me only 2-3 feet shorter, offered 5% less fade issues on hot summer days during spirited driving, and has a better more progressive brake feel.

 

[Bob Cosby]

As I said, the point I was trying to make was 'to each their own' (note the smiley at the end of my post). I'm not going to change your preferences and biases, and you're not going to change mine (no matter how much you type). And that's ok.

Enjoy your car.
Bob

PS...appreciate the explanation of the change in TC/SC. That make a lot more sense. Another thing that's not a big deal to me, but good to know anyway.

 

[Ry_Trapp0]

hey now, you never know when you might get the urge to go drifting on drag radials

 

[351inside]

i didnt get the brembos, but those wheels are nice though

 

[Black Talon]

I never really had the urge to buy a new mustang since I got my 03, but the 5.0 has got my attention. I really want to DD one.

 

[Timeless]

Does anyone know the maintenance difference between the two? Is the Brembo upgrade going to be tremendously more expensive later to repalce rotors/pads?