Brake question

[OB6]

Putting costs aside... what's the better performing setup, if anyone has experience with both?

1) Power brakes with mustang calipers (SN95 pedal box)
2) Manual brakes with Wilwood calipers (Wilwood pedal box)

[edwardb]

I've had both. My first build, a Mk3, had a Mustang pedal box, Mustang calipers and rotors, and Whitby vacuum power brakes. Worked OK. Have done several builds since with the Wilwood pedal box, Wilwood calipers and rotors, non-powered. Works very well also. For street driving, the main difference was pedal pressure. Not surprising since one is boosted the other not. But overall, I prefer the Wilwood setup. Even with the heavier pedal. Also depends on how you're going to use the car. For track use, Wilwood is going to be the preferred choice.

[OB6]

Thanks Paul, that's helpful. I guess the two big variables are cost and hydraulic vs cable clutch.

[edwardb]

Thanks Paul, that's helpful. I guess the two big variables are cost and hydraulic vs cable clutch.

Cost is always a consideration of course. Although your original question said "cost aside..." Anything Wilwood comes at a premium. Certainly understand that. There are multiple variations on how this can be done. First you need to decide whether to commit to power or manual brakes. While the Wilwood pedal box can be modified to allow power, a Mustang pedal box is more straightforward. But in either case, difficult to change your mind once the build is complete. So need to settle that up front IMO. You'll get lots of opinions about the manual vs. power decision. I still come back to what I said in the first post -- if you are OK with the heavier pedal of manual, they perform just fine. A cost effective approach, IMO, would be start with a manual setup using the Wilwood pedal box. The Mustang calipers and rotors can be very effective for street driving. Might have to experiment with different pads. You could change to Wilwood calipers and rotors in the future relatively easily. Just $$$. Hydraulic vs. cable clutch is another wildcard. The Mustang pedal box does cable very easily (what it's designed for) but not so much hydraulic. The Wilwood pedal box is designed for hydraulic. But with the FF supplied parts, converts relatively easily to cable. With the Wilwood box, you could start with cable and convert to hydraulic in the future (external slave setup). Although would be easier to install hydraulic during the build.

[OB6]

So you've brought up a consideration I hadn't really accounted for... i.e. creating room for future changes. Both pedal boxes have their advantages, but maybe the WW box allows for more flexibility (albeit not trivial to switch to power once the car is built).

[Fman]

I was considering power brakes and went manual with the Mustang GT brakes + Powerstop drilled and slotted rotor/pad kit. The roadster only weighs in at 2400 lbs on a heavy day and a Mustang is around 3500-3800 lbs. The GT brakes have been working fine for driving around town, I even have a beginner track day with them and I never experienced any type of fading or issues. If I slam the brakes on the car stops immediately. It does take a little time to get used to manual brake feel but after a few hundred miles it becomes the norm.

Would definitely recommend the hydraulic clutch, it is nice to not have to go to war with the clutch when driving.

I would really like to see a brake test between the GT brakes and Wilwood and what the stopping distance difference would be.

[CraigS]

For me the Wilwood setup is much better. W/ it you can get the front to rear brake balance perfect which makes a huge difference. W/ Mustang stuff you always have too much front brake because it was designed for a car w/ about 55% front weight bias. An FFR is about 47% front weight balance. One exception to this is if you go w/ IRS and get the brakes along w/ the other parts from a salvage yard suspension take-out. The 2015+ rear brakes are much more effective than prior versions. The only other way to get more rear brake w/ early Mustang parts is to stagger the pad compounds. I ran for many years using Hawk HPS pads in the front and Hawk HP+ pads in the rear. The HP+ have more grip per # of pedal pressure than the HPS.