Our long-term 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 is equipped with Brembo brakes. They're part of the $1695 Brembo Brake Package that includes 14-inch Brembo ventilated discs with four-piston fixed calipers on the front, and 11.8-inch Brembo ventilated discs with single-piston sliding calipers in the back. Included are 19 x 9 inch wheels (with a design I don't care for) mounted with 19-inch tires.
When we tested our long-term 5.0, we got braking distances for 30-0 mph of 27 feet and for 60-0, 109 ft. Within a week we also tested a Mustang GT with the California Special Package. This car was not equipped with Brembos (13.2 inch front and 11.8 rear discs) and produced 30-0 braking distances of 30 ft and 60-0 of 117 ft.
So we got 27 vs. 30 ft for 30-0 and 109 vs. 117 ft for 60-0, from our GT and the C/S, respectively. The Brembos must be the difference, right?
Hold up.
(Photo by Kurt Niebuhr)
There was a confounding variable in our somewhat-scientific experiment: the tires.
Our long-term Mustang was fitted at the time of the test with Pirelli PZero 255/40R19 Summer tires. The Mustang C/S we tested had slightly narrower P245/45R19 M+S PZero Nero tires.
I discussed with our test driver and he thinks the tires are a greater factor in those longer braking distances than the Brembos.
So what do you think? Are the Brembos worth it?
They do look cool though...
Albert Austria, Senior VE Engineer @ 20,520 miles
ed124c says:
11:29 AM, 02/ 3/12
No, they are not worth it. At least not at $1,695, with no guarantee that you will benefit from it.
boobylortez says:
11:31 AM, 02/ 3/12
I don't know but that red Stang in the picture with those wheels looks WAAAAAAAY cooler than your black GT. Me want!
langjie says:
11:32 AM, 02/ 3/12
how about you swap the wheels from your LT to the non-brembo mustang and retest?
sharpend says:
11:33 AM, 02/ 3/12
It's not just about braking distance. There's fade and feel to consider.
cantdrive92 says:
11:37 AM, 02/ 3/12
The brakes can only slow the wheels so much before locking them. The tires can change this. Brakes cannot. What the Brembo packages DOES do, is significantly reduce fade during track sessions. The Brembo package comes not only with larger brakes, but also retuned (slightly more aggressive) stability control parameters, and stiffer springs and shocks/struts, and the aforementioned 255 summer tires.
mckman says:
11:42 AM, 02/ 3/12
A well designed sliding caliper isn't necessarily inferior to a fixed caliper design. Your test driver is correct, the larger summer tires are likely responsible for the better stopping distance.
The main benefit of a brembo system (fixed calipers and larger rotors) is more consistent performance across multiple full effort stops from high speed (60mph+). The standard system would likely provide similar performance on the street, but the brembo brakes should shine on a racetrack where you repeatedly use the brakes at full force.
Anyways, the larger brake setup still looks cool even if you never need the full performance. Might still be enough for me to check the box, although leaving the rear with sliding calipers is kind of lame even if it is the right decision from a performance standpoint.
wjtinatl says:
11:43 AM, 02/ 3/12
$1695 is a lot for brakes but it's also the only way you can get those bigger, summer only Pirelli's. And the Brembo package is not available on the California Special, which is a shame since that red one in the picture screams American pony car!
csubowtie says:
11:51 AM, 02/ 3/12
If you track your Mustang, drive in the mountains or agressively through long canyon runs, or you are a little, um, short, then yes the Brembo package is worth it. Otherwise, no. You can always buy different tires either way, and for most of us, we would need to if we DID get the package. I'm guessing the average Mustang owner couldn't overheat the brakes on a Grand Caravan, let alone a regular Mustang. But aftermarket brakes and a good set of summer tires would cost much more than $1700 and can pay huge handling dividends.
texases says:
11:58 AM, 02/ 3/12
Anyone who thinks $1695 is a lot for a wheels/tires/brakes package needs to price those kind of options over at Porsche!
ptcdawg says:
12:03 PM, 02/ 3/12
What about at replacement time? What is the cost difference in the pads/rotors?
throwback says:
12:11 PM, 02/ 3/12
The Brembos are worth it if you will be using the car on a track. The benefit of the Brembos are fade free, solid stops time after time. I'm willing to bet a brembo equiped car will be quicker on a road course starting on lap 2 and up. Yes, you may use my challenge for a future feature. No, you don't have to pay me, but a Tee shirt would be nice.
stovt001 says:
12:35 PM, 02/ 3/12
It isn't just the track. I've experienced some fade even on GMR runs. So Brembos could help there too.
lowmilelude says:
01:29 PM, 02/ 3/12
Test them with the same tires, and you'll see benefit with the Brembos in a track setting. If you take two cars and run them round and round the same track for an hour or so, the larger rotor and pistons on the Brembos will really shine through. Not sure if stopping distance test would show that.
saunupe1911 says:
01:56 PM, 02/ 3/12
Yes it's worth it if you track your car or want a little more stopping power. The Brembo wheels are lighter than CS wheels, it has GT500 control arms, slightly stiffer springs and sway bar, and bigger tires.
Have you guys priced a set of Brembo brakes or any other aftermarket big break kit? They all cost over $1000 by themselves. The Ford track package as whole is a steal. It's a very nice starting point for a base suspension on a brand new car.
gslippy says:
02:01 PM, 02/ 3/12
You can't know until you compare with the same tires.
But if you buy Brembos just to say you have them, then it doesn't really matter.
clarkma5 says:
02:07 PM, 02/ 3/12
It's not about distance with brakes like these, it's about fade and feel!
How is the feel difference and how is the fade brembos vs. non-brembos? That's what I want to know!
saunupe1911 says:
02:11 PM, 02/ 3/12
@clarkma5,
+100
Please do this test IL
awbmw6spd1 says:
04:27 PM, 02/ 3/12
Worth every penny and wheels are nicer than the CS wheels and lighter.
ldoan says:
04:44 PM, 02/ 3/12
I'd have to agree, they are worth every penny considering they aren't painted an obnoxious red/yellow car as can be seen on some cars with brembo options.
As a car guy, i'd definitely say it gives me a cooler look at my brakes sense.
kyolml says:
05:48 PM, 02/ 3/12
For the price, u get a set of tires that cost $1k, 19 inches rims that cost $1k if buy separately, and better tuned suspension, plus different traction control. OH, FORGOT THE BREMBO. What r u talking about? It's a bargain! Must have if getting the GT. If u don't get the package I don't know why
gaiakai says:
07:52 PM, 02/ 3/12
Please keep the car a couple of months more, while I save up more moolah. Thanks.
firstwagon says:
07:53 PM, 02/ 3/12
Agree with those who say it's only worthwhile if you track your car.
Otherwise it's just a "look what I spent a pile of money on" status symbol... and just wait to you see the bill for a normal brake job.
bimmerjay says:
09:11 PM, 02/ 3/12
Worth it. Your brakes can never be too good.
falchon says:
05:37 PM, 02/ 4/12
Honda wants to charge you $2100 for 18" rims on a Civic Si, and you're questioning the price of this set, that's not only bigger, but better looking (IMO), AND comes with Brembo's?
And yeah, just to reiterate the comments above, Brembo's are about fade resistance. Do 10 hard laps with both cars and see which car's lap times decline.
scottkag says:
01:34 PM, 02/ 6/12
According to TireRack.com, the Pirelli summer tires are $1412. So Brembo Brakes AND 19" wheels net cost to you is $283.