1994-2004 Saleen Brake Guide
The powerful S351 cars demanded a
top-notch braking system, and Saleen responded in a big way with an optional
Alcon braking system. Yes, surprisingly, the barely adequate Ford Mustang GT
brakes were standard! There were several optional brake systems used up thru
2004, including Alcon, Brembo, and AP Racing. There were also "Saleen Cobra's"
produced during this time - they all used the "standard" SVT Cobra
braking 13" / 11.65" system. In fact, the Cobra/Mach/Bullitt brake
system is a popular owner upgrade for standard brake equipped Saleen, including
my own car!
While I do attempt to keep this site
non-commercial, if you have a 1994-2004 Saleen with one of the optional brake
setups, you'll probably want to become familiar with
Streetwise
LLC and/or
Livermore
Performance - they are both great sources for some of these parts, as well
as more familiar Saleen parts sites like
Performance
Autosport and
Chicane
Sport Tuning.
So, which brakes were used on YOUR car,
and how do you know what replacement parts to get? Follow along, we'll try to explore
the details!
Alcon 13"
Saleen used Alcon brakes exclusively from
1994 to 1999, and intermittently from 2000 to 2002, including the 2002 Extreme. There were actually two different Alcon brake kits
used by Saleen. The early 94-95 S351 (approx 70 cars) had a different rotor and caliper offset
than the later cars. Alcons were also used on some 1993 Saleens as well as the
Explorer XP8. The 1993 & XP8 Alcons do have slightly different mounts and
calipers, which does lead to confusion! Also, Roush used Alcons on some of their
cars - some of those parts may be advertised as "Saleen" parts as
well.
Alcons are "extremely
hi-performance" brakes, and when equipped with the proper pads for their
intended use, are "the best" braking system used under a Mustang. Cost
would be about the only downside, as they were originally a $2200 - $2600
option. Replacement rotors currently run over
$1000, and replacement calipers can approach that cost! Alcon does have a brake catalog available online at
http://alconusa.com/pdfs/alconBrakes.pdf.
ALCON ROTORS
As mentioned,
replacement slotted Alcon rotors are VERY expensive! The easiest way to tell if the
rotors are past minimum specs is to look at the slots cut into the rotors. If
they are faint or gone you need to replace the rotors. Streetwise
does carry the
proper Alcon Saleen rotors:
Driver’s side Saleen/Alcon rotor part # : Alcon# DIV2148X007GL
($603 ea)
Passenger’s side Saleen/Alcon rotor part # : Alcon# DIV2148X007GR
($603 ea)
Baer currently is making a replacement 13.25" two-piece
rotor than CAN work on an Alcon setup, when combined with a machined adaptor and
their bumpsteer kit. Contact Streetwise or Chicane for more info. Cost was rumored to be in the $600 range.
In addition, they do have matching rear rotors available.
Alcon
rotors are a different thickness and mount with slightly
different offsets from more readily available Brembo or Cobra rotors. Others
have mentioned sending rotors to Coleman Racing to be duplicated - certainly
possible, and at least this is another option.
ALCON
CALIPERS
The Alcon calipers
have "SALEEN" engraved in their face, and filled with yellow paint.
They are Alcon's "Type B" caliper. Alcon part numbers are listed
below. As previously mentioned, different Alcon calipers are also used on
the XP8:
S351 RIGHT caliper # : CAR7450H21ASRT
S351 LEFT caliper # : CAR7450H21ASLT
XP8 RIGHT caliper # : CAR7450H28ASRT
XP8 LEFT caliper # : CAR7450H28ASLT
Wilwood makes a similar caliper called a GT4000 and Baer offers one as well.
ALCON PADS
The original equipment Alcon pads were
made by PAGID and were extremely effective. However, they have a bad reputation
for producing huge amounts of brake dust! Porterfield and Hawk HPS seem to be
two of the favorite replacement pads for both low dust and great performance. A big thing
to watch is the thickness of the pad, as they are available in a variety of thickness. The correct one for the
calipers is 16mm or .63 inch.
The
pad part numbers for
Type B Alcons include:
Alcon 4441
AP
FRP302
Carbone Lorraine 5005W50
Ferodo FRP302 or 1077
Hawk HB105
Mintex MDB1697
Pagid U1595 or U1607RS
Hawk HB
105
PFC 7700.200
Porterfield FRP302.630
Raybestos R2000
SBS 3002
Wilwood 9216 or 9220
AP Racing 13"
AP Racing supplied
an upgraded 13" front brake package used by Saleen on a FEW 2000
and 2001 S281 Mustangs. The caliper appears similar to the Alcon, with SALEEN
engraved in yellow across the middle, leading to some confusion. If you look
closely at the pictures and pad shapes for both, the differences do become
obvious. One easy identifier is that AP calipers have a raised "MM"
cast on each end of the caliper and say
146c on the left side as well below the MM. While the AP Racing brake upgrade is
very nice, the Alcon is generally regarded as being slightly better.
Replacement AP Racing rotors are
available from Streetwise.
The HB110 pad was listed as the most
common replacement pad, but HB102 & HB109 were also listed... Be sure to
check your pads against those listed!
AP Racing replacement
pads list:
Ferodo FRP216
Hawk HB110.654 / HB102
/ HB109
Mintex MTX-1292
PFC 7767**17.4
Wilwood 8517
Brembo 13"
& 14"
The Brembo brake option became available around 2001-2002, at
a much lower cost than either Alcon or AP Racing. In fact, Saleen cut the
13" brake option price in half! The Brembo brake setup is called their
"Gran-Turismo" kit, with a 1-piece rotor and
4-piston calipers, just like the
2000 Cobra R set up. The Brembo calipers are painted gloss black, with the
yellow Saleen logo applied over the top of the paint - they are not engraved
like AP or Alcon calipers.
The Ford & Saleen Brembo calipers
are a direct bolt-on to the 94-04 spindles. They require no special adaptor
brackets as the calipers are made with integral mounting ears to bolt directly
to the spindle.
The OE Brembo pads were pretty good.
Porterfield and Hawk HPS are both favorites for replacement, offering less noise
and dust, with similar performance. In fact, Saleen even offered the Hawk HPS
HB194F.665 pads under Saleen part # 092-120. There are two commonly available types of
Brembo brake pad - one (4.32" length) is for the Cobra R/92-02 Viper caliper
as found on most Saleens, while the other is for the larger F40/F50 caliper
(5.18" length), which is mainly used on the Extreme models. As with other
pads, watch the thickness of the pad, as numerous options exist.
For
the 4.32" length, replacement pads are:
AP
AP592
Ferodo
FCP721
Hawk
HB194.665
PFC
0592
Porterfield
AP592
Raybestos
R592
For the 5.18"
length (F40/F50 caliper):
Hawk HB193
Porterfield AP810
SCOA
BRAKE GUIDE 1994-2004
