New Product: Radi-CAL Heavy Duty Competition Brake Kits for Mustang S650 Dark Horse and GT

New AP Racing by Essex Heavy Duty Radi-CAL Competition Brake Kits for the S650 Mustang Dark Horse, GT Performance Package (front / rear) and GT (front only)

High performance road cars seem to be gaining weight with each passing year and the S650 Mustang Dark Horse is certainly no exception. With a 500 hp V8, extra powertrain cooling, chassis bracing, and no shortage of electronics, Ford's latest hi-po pony car tips the scales at nearly 4000 pounds! Needless to say, reining in such a dense and powerful beast requires some serious hardware. In typical fashion for an OEM, Ford employed the "bigger is better" approach with the braking system. The stock front calipers are quite literally massive at 16 lbs. each, and the 390mm front discs basically double that figure at roughly 32 lbs. each. By most accounts, they perform well on the street and admirably on the track.

However, our customers are serious track drivers who demand more durability, capability, and even less weight. With access to the finest brake hardware on the market courtesy of AP Racing, we knew we could do better! Enter our expanded line of Heavy Duty Competition Brake Kits, featuring competition-proven Radi-CAL Pro5000R calipers. We debuted this concept previously with great success on the Gen.6 Camaro, which presented similar challenges from a weight and power perspective.

Massive Weight Savings

As is generally the case with our Radi-CAL Competition Brake Kits, the Heavy Duty D62 setup delivers an impressive weight reduction over the OEM brakes. The forged aluminum AP Racing calipers weigh just under 7 lbs. (less than half the weight of stock...) and floating 2-piece discs tip the scales at 26.3 lbs. (over 5 lbs. less than stock). Our CP9668 front kit removes approximately 25 lbs. from the front axle on a Dark Horse (and slightly more on the GT w/Performance Pack). But that's not all...when combined on either of those two models with our matching CP9451 rear kits (info / links at bottom), you can drop another 15 lbs., for a total weight savings of 40 lbs!

Removing such a significant chunk of unsprung mass provides a host of benefits, improving steering response, ride quality, and overall handling precision. Reducing rotational weight can also help your Mustang accelerate and change directions more eagerly, potentially making every lap just a bit quicker. Note: these front kits should also fit the regular GT without Performance Pack. For rear kit compatibility, please see notes at bottom.

See all the details and purchase the new D62 Heavy Duty Front Kits here:

Front Heavy Duty 390mm Brake Kit with Electroless Nickel Plated finish (shown above)

Front Heavy Duty 390mm CP9668 Brake Kit with Anodized finish (shown below)

High Surface Area and Endurance-Level Pad Thickness

Our Heavy Duty kits combine the wide-format AP Racing CP9668 caliper with special 2-piece discs that offer 62mm of radial depth—substantially larger than the 54mm found in our typical Radi-CAL kits (difference shown below). That extra depth means more friction material in contact with the disc, providing even better fade resistance, durability and extended pad life under the most punishing track conditions. They're designed to be paired with Essex-designed D62 brake pads from our friends at Ferodo Racing that are 25mm (1 inch) thick, similar to an endurance racing pad. Factory pads for the Dark Horse are only 15mm thick by comparison.

Matching Rear Axle Kits for Dark Horse and GT PP

The 390mm Heavy Duty front kits work best with our matching 365mm Pro5000R rear kits below, which are designed to retain functionality of the OE Electronic Parking Brake (EPB). They utilize the well-proven CP9451 rear caliper from AP Racing, along with a 365mm 2-piece J Hook disc that is 10mm larger and adds full-floating capability as a significant upgrade over the factory 355mm 1-piece rotor.

Note: at this time, rear kits are only available for the GT with optional Performance Package and the Dark Horse, both of which use an electronic parking brake from the factory. Regular GT and lower Mustang trims have a different rear brake configuration that we have not yet measured and test-fitted at Essex.

Here are the detailed listings for rear kits applicable to the Dark Horse and GT PP cars only:

Rear CP9451 365mm Brake Kit with Anodized finish

Rear CP9451 365mm Brake Kit ENP finish (shown below)