Brake upgrade

[SnakeBit]

My 98 felt MUCH better when I added S/S lines up front (Russell) and flushed the brake fluid. Now I flush every 6 months. Brake fluid WILL absorb water and that's not good. A Myty Vac is a great investment for this. Speedbleeders are a cheap alternative (but not that much cheaper). For the record, I used stock pads and Ford HD brake fluid.

Here's my "One-Man Bleed" I wrote up for the other board:

I took an old jar, large enough to hold at least one can of brake fluid. It's best to start with an empty can. Fill it with water and dump it into the jar. Now mark the fluid level. Throw out the water and connect your bleeder hose to bleeder screw (I use speedbleeders).

Take a full can of brake fluid, wipe off the top good so there is no dirt that can get into the system, and carefully invert it onto your master cylinder (be careful you don't spill it on the paint! I use my thumb over the opening until the bottle is inverted). Now duct tape it in place so it doesn't tip over. At this point, it looks like an inverted water bottle sitting on top of the water cooler.

Now go bleed your brakes. Watch the fluid level in the jar, cause when it's close to the line you marked, then the brake fluid can is nearly empty. If you're still bleeding, then put another can on.

Another tip. Brake fluid WILL absorb water, so don't bother storing an open can. If you need to add just a little bit of fluid, might as well do a little flushing and use up the entire can. It's cheaper than replacing calipers because of internal corrosion. Pull your stock bleeder valve all the way out and you'll see what I mean.

 

[Bingo13]

Originally posted by GordsFord
Great information from everyone! Thank you all!

Bingo13 did you secure the ducts to the inner dust shields ( with holes in the shields) or just blw straight onto the back , or front and remove the shields?

Gord

I removed the shields. Pictures are worth a thousand words so here is a good article on how to do it. http://www.tcmotorsports.net/Mustangs/01brakeducts.htm

:-D

 

[Slide It]

Hey people I'm new to SVT Performance.com and I'm not sure how these threads work. Forgive me if I am covering any previous replies. I just wanted to chime in on the brake discussion and share a personal Brake Rotor experience. I did the "Bling Bling" cross drilled rotors thing without doing detailed research. To make a long story short, if you do HPDE or other track events, these rotors will not handle the job. My rotors cracked severely and my brakes failed at the end of the front straight of Summit Point Raceway. Thank god for the turn 1 access road.
I wish I would have got on this sight sooner because there is some very good information here which would have saved me ALOT of money!
I have gone back to the stock rotors, and I already had stainless braided lines, Super Blue fluid, Hawk HPS plus and brake cooling ducts. I will find out in August if that combo works on the track.

Thanks.

 

[94SVT Coupe]

Slide It, you still may have ended up with cross drilled rotors even if you had been here longer.

Seems alot of people here think it's a GOOD idea to run crossdrilled rotors. Witness this thread..

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30326

You can lead a horse to water...

 

[Slide It]

You are probably right 94SVT Coupe. But most of the time I am stubborn fool who thinks he knows everything. At least that's what my wife says. I did however get an expensive education, or you can say a CRASH course, in braking physics.
I did not notice any improvement after the drilled rotors were installed with stock pads. I did the upgrades in stages to see which made the most improvements and the biggest gains in my braking were felt when I ran R-compound tires.

 

[94SVT Coupe]

Slide It, Oh yea baby. Just what I wanted to hear.

READ THIS LINE GUYS!! THINK ABOUT IT.

"the biggest gains in my braking were felt when I ran R-compound tires"

Word.

Sticky tires and good rotor cooling will do way more than bigger calipers, I guarantee it.

 

[13 Cobra Toy]

Brake cooling ducts.....from Sean Hyland

 

[13 Cobra Toy]

Pic2

 

[Bingo13]

Slide It,

Whose rotors were those? I do not run my Baer Claws at the track on this car but I did on my M3 and never once had a failure. A lot of the failures are due to "cheap" suppliers or not properly seasoning the pads/rotors upon installation. I can show a cracked Brembo slotted rotor off my Saleen but that does not mean all slotted rotors are bad.
I like the bling bling on the street and I did upsize the front rotors to compensate for the reduced surface area caused by the slotting/drilling. Even with the stock pads these brakes stop quicker than the stock rotors and run cooler. There are some small benefits but in a car this nose heavy I would probably not try them at the track.

 

[GordsFord]

Bingo13 and 03 Cobra toy, thanks for the brake duct info. The article and photo's are very good.

The Sean Hyland 2000R setup looks really good but is quite expensive. Especially when I convert the cost to Canadian Dollars! The other interesting factor with the 2000R setup is that it uses brake shields, with a nozzle to direct the air flow into the rotors, whereas most people are recommending to remove the shields and just blow directly onto the back of the rotor. ??

Gord

 

[Slide It]

The rotors are Ford Racing.
I'm pretty confident the pads (Hawk HPS+ )and rotors were installed and seasoned propery. I believe I just pushed the system extremely hard and these rotors were not as good as I expected them to be. You are probably right, not all slotted or even drilled rotors are bad. I know that what I had wasn't the proper rotor for the job. Take my input for what it's worth, but for right now I will steer clear of the slotted and/or drilled rotors at least for the track. That is what I bought the 03 Cobra for in the first place. I should have left well enough alone and just built around what is already there. I am learning as I go and luckily my car is still in one piece and I can still enjoy it.
This is great. I can finally get good feedback about issues with my car. I like this sight.
Thanks folks

 

[j card]

Originally posted by Slide It
The rotors are Ford Racing.
I'm pretty confident the pads (Hawk HPS+ )and rotors were installed and seasoned propery. I believe I just pushed the system extremely hard and these rotors were not as good as I expected them to be.

Those rotors say right in the Ford catalog - "not for open track use"

 

[Slide It]

Wo, I was lead to believe these would handle what I was getting them for. I am going to pursue the place where I purchased them.
Thanks for that info jcard.

 

[Bingo13]

Originally posted by GordsFord
Bingo13 and 03 Cobra toy, thanks for the brake duct info. The article and photo's are very good.

The Sean Hyland 2000R setup looks really good but is quite expensive. Especially when I convert the cost to Canadian Dollars! The other interesting factor with the 2000R setup is that it uses brake shields, with a nozzle to direct the air flow into the rotors, whereas most people are recommending to remove the shields and just blow directly onto the back of the rotor. ??

Gord

I like the '00R setup better and would do it if not for the cost and my constant street or track setup each weekend. My ghetto setup cost about $12 and doubles as a ram air system for the CAI when not cooling the brakes. :idea:

 

[13 Cobra Toy]

Originally posted by GordsFord
Bingo13 and 03 Cobra toy, thanks for the brake duct info. The article and photo's are very good.

The Sean Hyland 2000R setup looks really good but is quite expensive. Especially when I convert the cost to Canadian Dollars! The other interesting factor with the 2000R setup is that it uses brake shields, with a nozzle to direct the air flow into the rotors, whereas most people are recommending to remove the shields and just blow directly onto the back of the rotor. ??

Gord

GordsFord,

Yes $395 for the cooling duct...Bingo13 setup will work just fine! I have done that in the past and it works great. The shields are carbon fiber and are on the inside part of the rotor (see pic). I would remove the brake backing plates to help cool the rotors down but you should be careful when driving in the rain. There may be some problems with water on the rotors??:beer: