About the Video
How To Change Mustang Brake Pads & Rotors (2015-2023)
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Published on 2018-03-06
Upgrade the factory brake rotors on your 2015-2023 S550 Mustang with a set of drilled or slotted rotors. With a slotted or cross-drilled pattern, these performance brake rotors dissipate heat quicker, giving you more stopping power and shorter stopping distances. This improved design also helps with overall pad bite.
Transcript
What’s up everybody? Landan with lmr.com! In this video I’m going to be upgrading the brake rotors and pads on our 2015 Mustang GT equipped with the performance pack.
I’ll be talking about the particular parts that we use, as well as showing you how to install them.
Like most of our cars here at LMR; we drive them and we drive them hard! After three and a half years of high performance open driving events with our 2015 GT, it’s time to upgrade the brakes.
For the brake rotors, I’m going with Centric’s drilled and slotted offering for both the front and the rear.
The drilled and slotted design will provide better pad bite and faster heat dissipation.
Each rotor features a CNC-machined surface and a corrosion resistant coating.
Centric currently offers this brake rotor for the V6, Ecoboost, and GT models with standard issue brakes or the Ecoboost and GT models with the performance pack option.
They will not fit the GT350 or the GT350R.
The brake pad of choice is going to be Hawk Performance’s street/race pad.
This pad incorporates their street/race compound which is perfect for street cars that see a lot of track time.
It has a great operating temperature range of one-hundred to twelve hundred degrees Fahrenheit which will help maintain great pedal feel.
Because of the aggressive compound, expect to an increase in brake dust.
Now with all the ins and outs covered on the rotors and pads, let get them on the car.
For this particular install, we’ll be installing these rotors and pads on a GT model equipped with the performance package.
The removal and installation steps shown may differ between other brake setups.
To begin the install, support the car via a lift or jack stands.
Remove all four wheels.
Starting at the front of the car, located the two pad pins.
Use a small drift and hammer to carefully drive out the pins.
Fully remove the bottom pin to release tension.
Lift up on the cross spring.
Remove the top pin followed by the cross spring.
On the back side of the caliper, loosen but do not fully remove the 13mm retaining bolt.
Tap the head of the bolt to release the support pin.
Now you can fully remove the bolt and slide out the support pin.
Carefully pry the pads away from the rotor.
We used a set of snap ring pliers and a flat head screwdriver.
Remove each pad and make note of which side had the wear tab.
Reinstall a lug nut to prevent the rotor from moving.
Before removing the caliper, take this time to tie it off with some zip ties.
Remove the two 15mm caliper to spindle retaining nuts.
Remove the caliper from the rotor position it out of the way.
Remove the lug nut, and then tap the brake rotor with a dead blow to free it from the hub.
Now you can remove the brake rotor from the hub.
Clean the mounting surface on the hub assembly and apply anti-seize.
Before installing the new rotor, make sure you have the correct side.
Thoroughly clean both surfaces to remove any machine oils.
Install the new rotor and then reinstall one of the lugs.
Reposition the brake caliper over the rotor.
Reinstall the caliper to spindle retaining nuts and fully tighten.
Cut and remove the zip ties.
Use the supplied grease from Hawk and apply a thin film to the outer edge of each brake pad.
Install each pad into the caliper.
Make note of the wear tab and install it the same way the factory pad was.
Slide the support pin through the caliper and reinstall the bolt.
Fully tighten the 13mm bolt.
Slide the top pad pin into place and position the cross spring into place.
Push down on the cross spring to slide the bottom pin all the way through.
Carefully tap each pin to fully seat them.
Remove the lug nut and apply anti-seize to the hat of the rotor as shown.
Repeat these steps for the other side.
Moving to the rear of the car.
Remove the 10mm bolt securing the emergency brake cable retaining clip to the knuckle.
Loosen and remove the 10mm bolt securing the brake hose bracket to the sway bar.
Loosen and remove the two 14mm bolts securing caliper to the slide pins.
Remove the caliper and hang it by the emergency brake cable.
Remove the inner and outer pads; make a note of pad orientation.
Install a lug nut to keep the rotor from moving.
Loosen and remove the two 18mm bolts securing the caliper bracket to the knuckle.
Remove the lug nut and strike the rotor with a dead blow to free the rotor from the hub.
Take this time to clean the hub.
Apply anti-seize to the hub where the brake rotor will sit.
Clean the front and back side of the rotor with brake clean to remove any machine oil.
Install the correct rotor over the hub and reinstall the lug nut.
Clean the anti-rattle clips.
Apply a thin film of the provided grease from Hawk to the anti-rattle clips.
Reposition the caliper bracket and start the two bolts by hand.
Fully tighten them down.
Install the brake pads into the bracket in the correct orientation.
Before reinstalling the caliper, use a brake caliper piston compressor tool to properly compress the rear piston.
We currently sell the one shown at lmr.com.
Compress the piston until the triangular notches in the piston are even with the opening in the top of the caliper.
This will ensure proper emergency brake functionality.
Position the caliper over the pads and align the flat on the slide pin with the caliper.
Thread the two bolts in by hand and then fully tighten.
Reinstall the two 10mm bolts removed previously.
Remove the lug nut.
Apply anti-seize to the rotor hat near the hub.
Do the same for the other side.
Reinstall the wheels, get the car on the ground and torque the lug nuts to spec.
Hop inside the car and lightly pump the brake pedal a few times until the pedal becomes firm.
After that, you’re all finished.
Wrapping things up here guys; replacing brake rotors and pads is quite satisfying on the S550 cars.
The process is pretty straightforward and should only take a few hours from start to finish.
When you finish installing your new rotors and pads, be sure and follow Hawk Performance’s bed-in or burnishing procedure to properly break-in the both components.
Failure to do this or not doing it the correct way could potentially lead to premature pad or rotor wear.
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