Find My Brake Upgrade - Ford Mustang GT

Considered the first of the “pony cars” the Ford Mustang goes back to 1964 when under the leadership of Lee Iacocca, Ford tasked Gale Halderman with designing a car that could boost the struggling automaker's sales, and ultimately its profits.

An immediate success, the nameplate has become one of the most evocative and best-known marques in automotive history, and the decision to relaunch the sixth generation in Australia in late 2015 – coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Mustang brand – has proven to be a boon for Ford Australia. It went on to sell more than 6000 units in its first 18 months in the market.

Although also offered with a 2.3-litre, 4-cylinder Eco-boost engine, it’s the rumbling V8-powered GT 5.0 mated to Ford’s automatic transmission that has been by far the most popular with performance-hungry Australians.

Assembled in Ontario, Canada, originally the all-aluminium 5.0-litre 303kW V8 Coyote engine was available with either a six-speed Getrag MT82 manual transmissions or six-speed Ford 6R80 ‘SelectShift’ automatic, driving the wheels through a limited-slip differential. With this package under the hood, the GT 5.0 was capable of sprinting from zero to 100km/h in just over 4 seconds before topping out at about 250km/h.

To get the beast stopped from that speed Ford fitted the V8 Mustang an upgraded front braking package consisting of 380 mm by 34 mm vented front brake discs with Brembo six-piston 36 mm fixed aluminium calipers. For the rear, the 330 mm by 25 mm vented discs with single-piston 45 mm floating iron calipers, were carried over from the 4-cylinder.

In V8 guise the 5.0-litre, rear-wheel drive, Mustang has been available from launch as a four-seat fastback or convertible, both packed with a seemingly endless list of features such as 19-inch ebony black-painted alloy wheels, a nine-speaker sound system, iPod and USB integration, Ford's 'SYNC2' connectivity system with an eight-inch colour touch-screen, satellite navigation and cruise control, and High-Intensity Discharge (HID) headlights with automatic operation, amongst many others.

The facelifted Ford Mustang muscle car range launched in June 2018 with the V8 gaining 33kW to lift the power to 339kW, thanks to small, but substantial, tweaks to the free-breathing engine. The GT’s six-speed automatic was also replaced with a 10-speed unit, while three-pedal versions picked up a few mechanical tweaks. And to commemorate the Steve McQueen box-office buster, “Bullit”, Ford released the Mustang Bullit that upped the ante to 345kW, transferring all those extra horses through a 6-speed manual transmission.

Included in the update was a Drag Strip launch control mode, 19-inch alloy wheels, bigger brakes and a bi-modal exhaust to let loose the glorious growl of the V8 under wide-open throttle. Inside, Mustang GTs gained new soft-touch materials and an all-digital instrumentation display to lift in-cabin ambience, while receiving several updated active-safety features. The most important of which were: Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection that could detect vehicles or people that were on or around the road ahead, or who could cross the vehicle's path; Adaptive Cruise Control which could maintain a set distance from the vehicle ahead; and, Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist that alerted the driver if the vehicle unintentionally drifted out of its lane. Furthermore, the Lane Keeping Aid would actively guide the Mustang back into its lane.

With the Mustang GT500 not headed to these shores, in 2019 Ford Australia decided to commission its own high-performance version and market it under the “R-Spec” badge with a limited run of 500 supercharged Mustangs. Co-developed with Herrod Performance the R-Spec supercharged Mustang, only offered as a 6-speed manual coupe, puts out a mind-numbing 522kW (at 12 psi boos)t, which is far in excess of the 345kW produced by the special-edition Bullitt, which was previously the most powerful factory Mustang sold in Australia.

And of course, this is exactly what the “True Blue” army of Mustang supporters thrive on. After 50 years of the Ford Mustang, Australians still love the pony car – and the V8’s popularity proves that performance will always be in vogue.

To meet the exacting demands a high-performance sportscar places on the braking system, Bendix offers Australian Ford Mustang V8 owners a range of quality brake upgrade products that enhance the vehicle’s braking performance under all driving conditions.

Bendix Ultimate+ Performance Brake Upgrade Kit for the Ford Mustang GT 5.0

The key to the best performing brake system is matching your brake pads to the type of driving you’ll be doing with your car.

For high-performance muscle cars, such as the Mustang GT 5.0, Bendix recommends its Ultimate+ brake pad range. These brake pads maintain a high friction coefficient - even at high temperatures - to resist brake fade and prevent a spongy brake pedal. This makes the Ultimate+ the perfect solution for high-performance cars used for street or track. Of course, you will also want to upgrade your GT’s brake rotors to Ultimate components.

And for added peace of mind, Bendix also supplies upgrade kits such as the Ultimate+ Performance Brake Upgrade Kit available for both front and rear brakes.

The comprehensive front brake kit includes a set of Ultimate+ Braided Brake Hoses, Ultimate Sports & Performance Disc Brake Rotors and Bendix Ultimate+ Disc Brake Pads – specially compounded high-performance ceramic material brake pads for increased stopping power – designed and developed specifically for performance vehicles. And to make the job easier Bendix even includes 1 litre of brake fluid, a can of Bendix Cleanup, and one tube of Ceramasil Brake Parts Lubricant.

Fitted to a standard Mustang GT 5.0 the upgrade kit offers improved brake performance and pedal-feel whilst also reducing the accumulation of brake dust. And if like so many Mustang owners, you’ve chosen to up the pony car’s performance with one of the many performance kits available you simply cannot do without the Ultimate+ Performance Brake Upgrade Kit.

The Ultimate+ Performance Brake Upgrade Kit is designed to deal with the increased braking demands that high-performance vehicles place on the braking system. By fitting the kit you not only improve the stopping distance but on steep descents and hard braking, heat build-up and the related brake fade are reduced. Additionally, the easy to fit braided brake lines, designed and manufactured to SAE 1401 specifications, maintain pedal-feel under all conditions – whether winding down your favourite mountain pass, braking at the end of the drag-strip, or negotiating dense city traffic.

To take braking performance to the next level Bendix has developed an Ultimate+ Performance Brake Upgrade Kit for the rear brakes as well. This easy-to-fit kit gives you absolute control when braking in extreme conditions with instant response and constant friction across a wide operating range

Fully interchangeable with your Mustang’s OEM system, Bendix’s comprehensive kit comes complete with 2 x Ultimate Sports & Performance Disc Brake Rotors and a set of Ultimate+ Disc Brake Pads.

Designed to meet Australia’s demanding driving conditions, Bendix’s Ultimate+ Performance Rear Brake Upgrade Kit delivers increased stopping power when you need it most. Both front and rear Bendix Ultimate+ brake pads provide exceptional stopping power utilising an advanced ceramic formulation. The high friction formulation’s advantages include low dust generation, low braking noise and even greater resistance to brake fade at higher temperatures that performance cars are likely to encounter.

And to complement the performance of the Ultimate+ brake pads, Bendix has developed the Bendix Ultimate disc brake rotor.

Manufactured to the highest level of precision engineering based on OEM specifications, the Bendix Ultimate disc brake rotors incorporate the latest innovative technology and precision engineering. Safe in the knowledge that behind every Bendix Ultimate disc brake rotor lies OE expertise, leading technology and precision engineering you can confidently put your foot down.

Although the front and rear Ultimate+ Performance Brake Upgrade Kits are sold and can be fitted separately, upgrading your Ford Mustang GT 5.0 with both kits gives you peace of mind that, not only do you have safe, reliable braking under all conditions on any road surface, but with the systems complementing each other, performance and reliability are optimized – even more so, when the vehicle is being driven hard.

Never get caught out by brakes that aren’t quite up to the job. Fitting a Ultimate+ Performance Brake Upgrade Kit to your Ford Mustang means you can confidently and safely go anywhere, anytime, in all conditions.

Find out more about the Ultimate+ Performance Brake Upgrade Kit for front brakes click HERE, and for the Ultimate+ Performance Brake Upgrade Kit for rear brakes visit Bendix over HERE.

To find your nearest Bendix stockist, click HERE.

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