Brake Components

Every day I receive calls from motorsport enthusiasts keen to get back out on the track this summer season. Although wheels, tires, horsepower and suspension components are very important (and often times more fun), it is important to remember what is stopping your vehicle.

Paying close attention to your brakes will not only improve your lap times but more importantly keep you out of the grass. 

Using the one of the most sophisticated manufacturing processes available, Hawk Performance produces some of the finest brake pads on the market. In addition to their very popular line of Performance Ceramic and HPS Street Pads, Hawk carries several different ranges of race pads for every race and skill level. Considering ceramic brake pads for your vehicle? Read "Why Ceramic Brake Pads" to learn important characteristics about ceramic pads and how they can improve your vehicle's stopping power.

Shop by vehicle to see which brake components are best for your vehicle.

Since their inception into the market, the 2011 Mustang GT and the 5th Generation 2010+ Camaro have attracted much attention, and I must note I too fell prey to their new designs.

In February, I took ownership of a 2011 Mustang GT 5.0 6-speed. The only options on my car were the Brembo performance brake and wheel package and the 3.73 rear gears. I wanted the fastest base Mustang GT I could buy, but yet even that was not without room for improvement.

My first step toward correcting the lackluster steering response and turn-in feel was to replace the spring and strut / shock assemblies. My components of choice were the off-the-shelf 2011 Mustang GT Eibach Pro-Kit Spring Set and a set of 2010 Mustang GT model Bilstein struts and shocks. Although Bilstein does not yet have a 2011 Mustang GT specific fitment at this time, the use of 2005-2010 Ford Racing strut mounts and the 2010 model Bilstein struts allowed me to successfully use the components. For a more plug and play application and a user friendly guaranteed fitment, consumers can purchase the matching Eibach Pro-Damper Kit which is specifically tuned for Eibach springs on the 2011 models and bolts up without any modification to the strut mount units.

Although the Eibach springs are not the stiffest available, their progressive rate is far beyond the factory rate of 150lbs/in. For that reason, it is important to increase the compression and rebound rates of the shock assemblies, not only to increase the life of the shock, but also to increase performance while cornering, and reduce unfavorable motion on transitions and rough surfaces.

At left is a picture of the factory 2011 Mustang GT front strut and its Bilstein rival. The differences in shaft size should be obvious. Upon installing this aftermarket suspension package, my 2011 GT feels like an entirely new car. It doesn't exhibit the floating feeling associated with the stock pieces, and generally feels firmer and more responsive. The steering inputs are met with crisp turn-in and the car behaves very neutral at the limit, which left me quite surprised.

For questions on suspension and more, contact one of our sales specialists.

Brembo Big Brake Kits upgrade the look and performance of your vehicle's braking system. The brake systems combine fixed 4-piston aluminum calipers and high performance brake pads, with 1- and 2- piece vented discs and Goodridge® steel braided brake lines. These race inspired Brembo Big Brake kits are designed to offer superior stopping power for drivers that are serious about getting their sports cars, sedans, sporty coupes, light trucks and SUVs to slow down in a hurry.

In most cases,the Brembo Big Brake Kit's massive aluminum calipers and large diameter brake discs require an aftermarket wheel with the necessary brake clearance. Take a look at the chart below to see the full line of Brembo Grand Turismo Big Brake kits.

Contact one of our sales specialists to ensure product compatibility as they have developed a list of appropriate wheel options per vehicle based on exact brake kit options.

Brembo Gran Turismo Brake Systems
Caliper Styles	Style 1	Style 2	Style 3	Style 4
	4-Piston Black	4-Piston Black	4-Piston Red	4-Piston Red
Rotor Styles	Style A	Style B	Style C	Style D
	1-Piece Drilled Vented	2-Piece Drilled Vented	2-Piece Drilled Vented	2-Piece Slotted Vented

Style 1A	Style 2B	Style 3C	Style 4D

Shop by vehicle to see which braking options work best for your vehicle.

Additional Information:

• Producing Brembo Brake Components and Systems
• Brembo Product Description

Here are a few steps to help prevent squeaking in your brakes:

1. Grease the slide pins and use appropriate lubricants on all brake components.

2. Do your brake pads have noise abatement? Good brake pads have pre-installed shims to defend against vibration in the pad. Tapered leading and trailing edges on the surface of the pad also prevent chattering against the rotor.

3. There is a sequence that must be completed after installing new brake pads that beds/brandishes the pad to the rotor properly. It involves laying down a thin layer of brake pad material into the rotor to help with proper adhesion. It is important to remember that you must replace or turn your rotors after replacing brake pads to help ensure there is no more squeaking.

4. Reinstall the spring clips, as they are designed to prevent resonance and vibration. Without the spring clips you may experience excessive vibration that leads to brake noise. 

To see our complete selection of brake pads, shop by vehicle. Product information includes stopping power, noise and dust ratings.

Tire Rack and Grassroots Motorsports are excited to announce our drivers/test team will be returning in the 2010 Mazda MX-5 for another season of SCCA Solo competition and STR vehicle development. 2010’s competition success exceeded our expectations as the car and drivers scored:

• Three divisional championships
• Two ProSolo class wins
• Second place overall in the year-end ProSolo class standings
• Two Tire Rack SCCA National Championship trophy positions (6th and 9th of 51)
• STRL Tire Rack SCCA National Championship

The results were accomplished by resisting the temptation to throw all the go-fast parts at the car at the beginning of the season. Instead, we followed a systematic approach of installing and testing the major component changes so we could share the real world gains with readers along the way.

Plans are already in place for more car development and product testing -- a wet and dry extreme performance tire shootout, a brake pad comparison, further suspension changes and by popular demand, a heavy versus light weight wheel track test.

Do you have additional SCCA Solo-related comparisons you would like to see tested? Myths to bust or confirm? Give us your ideas below.

Here's an easy project that increases the bling appeal of your brakes and makes your calipers easier to keep clean.

G-2 Manufacturing Brake Caliper PaintSystem Set shows off a vehicle’s brake components through open-spoke style alloy wheels like Borbet rims. It can be used to give a vehicle’s stock brake calipers or rear brake drums the look of expensive, painted, high performance calipers. It applies easily and is engineered for universal application on all automotive brake calipers and drums.

If you are as busy as I am, it is hard enough to sit down to eat dinner with your family once a month, let alone try to research what product best suits my needs when shopping for the best value.

At Tire Rack, we do the product research to shorten your time spent selecting tires, wheels, suspension or brake components. You are just a click away from enough information, consumer reviews and test results to make choosing products simpler.

Please take the time to visit our website. You can specify your vehicle and the kind of product you are looking for and we pretty much do the rest by just showing you only the products that will fit your vehicle.

As always, you can call and speak to a sales specialist and get good old fashioned recommendations.

Enjoy the ride.

If you're looking to spice up a Ford Mustang with some aftermarket wheels, consider KMC wheels—they're "like no other." Point proven in the image at right, where we've chosen to install the Nova style. They feature a machined finish with black accents, and they're mounted on a set of Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500 tires. These Ultra High Performance Summer tires promote excellent steering on dry roads. Together with the KMC Nova wheels, they make one pretty (literally) impressive tire and wheel package.

Click here to start building one for your Mustang. Or, you can start by shopping our entire collection of KMC aftermarket wheels. And if you're feeling really adventurous, enter our Upgrade Garage and find an entire list of aftermarket products—like Mustang brake pads and Mustang suspension components, even Mustang shocks—for your vehicle.

All aftermarket brake products are not suitable for the high speeds associated with track use. For example, stay clear of drilled or dimpled rotors. They may look high-performance and they can resist some of the gasses that tend to build up between the brake pad and the rotor, but they can't handle the temperatures that result from track speeds and repetitive stops. If you do choose to use these types of rotors on your race vehicle, which we do not recommend, we suggest you carefully inspect your brake components before each and every use—and definitely stop driving on them if you see any sign of deterioration.

It is probably best to just stay away from racing with drilled and dimpled brake rotors since improper use will negate their warranty. And you never know if or when you'll need to call upon that warranty for help. Instead, consider the following:



Centric Premium Rotors







Brembo Sport Slotted Rotors








DBA 4000 Series Rotors







DBA 5000 Series Rotors




This, of course, is not the complete list of race capable rotors. Click here for a complete list of rotors and then filter your search to view track-appropriate options.

A question we often get from our customers is, “Do I need to break in my new tires?" The answer is yes! It is highly recommended that you follow a break-in procedure whenever you purchase a new set of tires.

Easy cornering, braking, and acceleration for the first five hundred miles usually works best. Braking in your new tires this way allows the various components (rubber, steel, and fabric) used in the construction of the tire to slowly work together and to perform their duties within the tire to deliver maximum performance and ride quality.

In addition, it allows the lubricants used to release tires from their molds to wear off the surface of the new tire. Until this lubricant wears away, your new tires will have a reduced level of traction, especially in wet conditions.

By following the tire break-in procedure outlined above, you will set your new tires up for the best possible performance and to deliver results to meet your expectations! For more information on tire break-in and other related tire topics, please visit our web site.

Shock absorbers can be complicated if you're not precisely sure about your individual needs. There are a variety of shock options, and each option directly affects ride comfort and stability—even safety. Take a look at the following force velocity graph:

Visually speaking, the answer to that question is fairly obvious. But there's more to an aftermarket wheel than simply the good looks. Aftermarket alloy wheels produce a number of performance benefits for your vehicle, starting with reduced unsprung weight compared to steel wheels. What is unsprung weight? Any portion of your vehicle not supported by the suspension system. Without that support, those components get hit with road shock and cornering forces. To combat that, wheels make steering precise and improve "turning in" characteristics.

Aftermarket rims are also lighter than steel rims, which helps reduce the overall weight of your car. Clearly a lighter car handles much easier than one with significant weight to it. In addition, alloy wheels are quite strong. And strong wheels support your tires in the corner.

Finally, alloy wheels are made with metals that conduct heat most excellently. Heat is moved away from the brakes, which reduces brake fade. And often, alloy wheels are designed in a way that allows air to flow away from the brakes a little easier.

Still wonder why aftermarket wheels are so great? Let's go back to that visual note. Play around in the Upgrade Garage to see what some of Tire Rack's best aftermarket wheels look like on your vehicle. You just might find yourself sold on a particular set from one of our manufacturers. A list that includes BBS, moda, MSW and more.

Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Tires. Check.

Hawk Blue 9012 Track Only Brake Pads. Check.

Forged Racing Wheels. Check.

A day booked at the track. Ahhhhhhhh. Bliss. The smell of hot brakes, tires and engines. Old, bald men going through their midlife crises and standing around their new Porsches and BMWs comparing the size of their tires and scratching their bellies at the price they paid for the wheels that will no DOUBT take valuable seconds off their lap times. Seconds that will make them KING of the water cooler on Monday morning. As they are removed from the trailer and installed one by one, how many of them are inspected for cracks? You'd be surprised.

"These wheels are FORGED, and they won't break!" I hear it more than you'd think. Thing is, what most people don't realize is that while lightweight and strong, any wheel , even forged wheels, can crack due to stress or impact. There may not be an obvious bend in the wheel. Where there is a crack, there is a break waiting to happen.

While it's fun to tease (out of jealousy, really), it is important to remember that regardless of what you are racing on, it's imperative that you periodically check your wheels for cracks.

Modern performance cars with high output engines, huge brakes and well tuned susspensions put as much force and stress on wheels as many dedicated race cars. Race teams go through great trouble to inspect wheels for signs of trouble. You should inspect yours, too. The intense extended heat and stress caused on the entire vehicle requires that drivers take extra time and care to ensure there is no hidden damage to any vehicle component.

We have a great tech article that track drivers find useful.

Being king of a Monday morning water cooler means you have to be able to get to it first.

Ceramic disc brake pads tend to lessen excess brake noise and dust, which is a common side effect of semi-metallic brake pads. In addition, ceramic pads handle high brake temperatures with less heat fade while promoting a speedy recovery after harsh stopping. Ceramic disc brake pads certainly are among the best of the best brake components out there, which is why Tire Rack stocks a number of options from reputable brands like Akebono, Hawk and Satisfied. We could go on and on about how much we like them, but we'll let our happy customers speak for themselves:

Akebono ProACT Ceramic Pads
"Installed these about 3 weeks ago. Absolutely no dust, and stopping power seems to be the same as the OEM dust-makers. No noise. Changing the pads was a snap, everything fit." — Tire Rack Consumer Review, Chevrolet Trailblazer, LA


Hawk Performance Ceramic Pads
"I was a little hesitant about purchasing a brake pad that promised less dust yet was quieter than OE. I'm hard on brakes and have extremely high expectations. These ceramic Hawk pads combined with the PowerSlot rotors have great responsiveness, stopping power, but have great control especially for such a heavy vehicle. 100% better than OE." — Tire Rack Consumer Review, Ford Expedition, CA

Satisfied Pro Ceramic VS Pads
"These pads do just what they say. No noise, dust is very minimum, and the pads perform very good stopping from 160 mph to 0. The 300c SRT8 425 HP has no mercy on tires or break pads. Bottom line these pads are great. Thanks to Tire Rack for the great price." — Tire Rack Consumer Review, Chrysler 300C, AR


Shop Tire Rack's inventory of brake components by vehicle to see if these fit yours.

When we think about our vehicle's brakes, we often jump to the brake pads or the rotors—but brake fluid is just as critical. It take the pressure we apply to the brake pedal and transmits it to the brake components, which then stops your vehicle. As proven experts in all things brakes, ATE delivers an excellent selection of premium brake fluids for a variety of different applications. You'll find the following in the Tire Rack inventory of aftermarket brake products:




ATE Super Blue Racing Brake Fluid
• Blue tint makes bleeding brakes easier
• Ideal for race vehicles, but works in street cars
• Designed to last up to three years
• NOTE: This fluid is not DOT-approved in Florida





ATE Typ 200 Amber Brake Fluid
• Excels within extreme demands made on race vehicles
• Exceeds all DOT 4 standards
• Outstanding water binding properties
• Designed to last up to three years

 

 

 

Just remember that brake fluid, like all of the fluids in your vehicle, should be changed according to your vehicle's specifications. Especially if you're driving a race vehicle, where routine brake fluid changes are critical.
 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that each gallon of gas saved also means that 19.4 fewer pounds of CO2 emissions are released into the Earth’s atmosphere, so every gallon of gasoline saved helps reduce fuel costs, and in turn, helps to reduce the nation’s dependence on oil. As consumers we are all very interested in how to save money and be more energy and environmentally friendly.

Continental has introduced its ProContact with EcoPlus Technology. Their objective was to create a tire that responds to the need for an environmentally friendly, low rolling resistance tire without compromising other performances, like wet braking and mileage, that are the typical trade-offs of other ‘eco’ tires. The premium all season tire was developed to deliver improved fuel economy and treadwear and reduce harmful CO2 emissions while surpassing competing tire lines.

The ProContact with EcoPlus Technology goes beyond other premium touring tires and makes groundbreaking advances in rolling resistance, which saves fuel and helps reduce driving costs.l

With the ProContact with EcoPlus Technology – Continental engineers have been able to deliver wet traction and lowered rolling resistance without compromising either characteristic. ”The ProContact with EcoPlus Technology has proved to deliver more controlled braking and significantly shorter stopping distances.”

Available in a T-speed rating with a UTQG rating of 600 AB, it is available in a variety of 15- to 18-inch sizes to fit a wide range of vehicles for fuel-conscious motorists.

The EcoPlus Technology consists of two main components: Tg-F Polymers and Plus Silane. Tg-F polymers are temperature-activated functional polymers that increase compound bonding, improving the wear and fuel efficiency of the tire. Plus Silane is an additive that works to enhance the tire’s grip on slippery roads to reduce stopping distances. The compound is molded into a symmetric design that blends dry road steering response and handling with wide circumferential grooves that promote hydroplaning resistance and wet traction. Continental's PROactive Edge Technology brings more active edges into the contact patch to promote foul-weather traction while minimizing on-road noise. The tire's internal structure includes twin steel belts that stabilize the tread area to promote strength and treadwear.

These technologies work together to enhance the driving experience for a long tire life when conditions are normal, plus provide excellent wet braking on slippery roads.

The tire comes with a 72-month manufacturer’s workmanship warranty and 12 months free Replacement; 12 months of road hazard coverage; a 60-day customer satisfaction warranty and an 80,000-mile limited tread wear warranty.

We all know how important your brake components are to the overall safety of your vehicle. But when it comes time to purchase new brake components, the correct choice can be painfully unobvious. At Tire Rack, we do everything we can to help you through the process.

You can search our inventory according to your vehicle, after which we'll create a customized list of products.

When it comes time to replace brakes, we suggest you start by looking at the type of brakes that are currently on your vehicle. What can be improved upon? What are you willing to trade to make that happen? Then check out our Performance Categories. You may find yourself gravitating toward one in particular.

Think about combining brake pad replacements with new rotors, too. Sport slotted and/or drilled rotors will make your car look like it belongs on the track, and can also enhance your brake system. In fact, there are a number of tweaks you can make to improve your brake system beyond just changing the performance brake pads.

Shop by vehicle to see a list of suitable products for yours, from which you can pick according to your individual needs.

If you seek the ultimate in brake components, then you'll want a Goodrich G-Stop Brakeline Kit from Tire Rack. For well over 20 years, Goodrich has been supplying high performance hose and hose fittings to some of the world's best racing teams. And with a little extra research and development, they've figured out a way to convert that power to products suitable for serious streetcars.

The G-Stop Brakeline Kit provides three to six stainless steel braided hoses (depending on your vehicle) that promote a more responsive brake pedal. The stainless steel leaves your brakes feeling firm, not "spongy" which is a term commonly associated with rubber brake lines. And since the hose is stainless steel, you can rest assured that the line will resist corrosion for a long time.

"I tow a 16-inch car trailer or 14-inch enclosed landscaping trailer almost every day. Installed the Goodridge lines to replace the OEM brake lines, outstanding pedal feel. Much more solid than stock hoses. No fade rotor warping or any adverse problems." — Tire Rack Consumer Review, Chevrolet Blazer, FL

Shop all brake components by vehicle to see this and other aftermarket brake components for yours.

I often get asked why our website requires you to shop for a wheel by vehicle. Why can't you select a bolt pattern to see what wheels are available? Quite simply, the correct bolt pattern is a small piece in the wheel fitment puzzle and alone, does not guarantee a fit.

Other items we measure or verify:

• Bolt Pattern
• Centerbore Diameter
• Hub Diameter
• Load Capacity
• Lug Hardware
• Suspension Components Clearance

Below is a diagram showing the relative position of the main suspension and brake components and the potential points of contact with the wheel.

   

If your OEM rotors have seen better days, then it's high-time you purchase replacement brake rotors. Not exactly sure what "better days" means? Technically speaking, every brake rotor has a "Worn Rotor Minimum Thickness" limit. You can find this information engraved on the edge of the brake disc, and you'll have to measure accordingly. But if you're using your vehicle on the track, it's a completely different story as brake components on a race car undergo extreme heat and pressure. They'll wear faster and should be replaced well before their wear limits (read more).

And since brake rotors are a major component of your brake system, you'll want to make sure that only a trained mechanic does the swap out. Incorrectly installing any new brake component can seriously curb your safety.

Read more about brake rotors, then search Tire Rack's inventory. We'll give you a list of appropriate rotors that might include ATE, Power Slot and Brembo rotors.