Any one done a Baer 6S front brake conversion off a Shelby F150?

[rugedraw]

So I picked up a front pair of brake calipers for really cheap off of a wrecked 2023 with under 1k miles on it.. I want to upgrade my stopping power for when I am towing.

I've called Baer to get the part numbers for the rotors. My plan is to get matching Baer rotors for the rear to match the OEM size out back, but I want to get 15" rotors for the front. And, I'll go with the Baer brake pads all around.

Does anyone know if I will need any other hardware for this? Brackets, bolts, nuts, washers......anything? What I don't want to to is take things apart to realize I am missing something for the install and have to put it back to together.

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[Eighthtry]

First, it wouldn't be fun if you took it apart, then reassembled it and everything worked. Your language skills would begin to fade away. We can't have that.

Second, keep us posted. I would like to upgrade my brakes and Baer has options to get that done. I don't want a drilled rotor. Slotted yes. Those drilled ones are prone to cracking around the holes. Makes no sense to me, but it can happen over time. Always the front. I can testify that the air circulation slots solved my problem. Those trucks were underbraked from the factory' courtesy of GM.

Both sets were slotted on one of those big machines like I do not have in my garage, would not know how to operate, don't remember what to call it, and couldn't afford it anyway. That was before performance brakes were available to the general public. Brakes are much better these days, thank goodness.

My mechanic has since died. It was brain cancer. It occurs more frequently to those that use solvents/grease without gloves.

He turned down a full ride to MIT to go racing. He admitted it was the dumbest decision of his life. Second was his first wife.

He was around the corner from a Christian Brothers automotive repair shop. They subbed out to him what they could not diagnose and fix. He upcharged for that work. It was in the late 80's and early 90's. Like Patton, he read the books/manuals/tech papers and actually understood the engineering.

Brakes brought out some sad memories.

 

[Dakar09]

If we focus purely on your question of "will these just bolt on", the answer is "no".

Those are a different caliper design altogether, a 6 piston stationary design vs the single piston sliding caliper factory unit. They mount differently to the front wheel knuckle and will require the appropriate bracket and all the related hardware for that.

Are you sure a 15" rotor will fit under your wheels. These would not fit under anything less than 20" diameter and you'll want to confirm even those will clear the caliper.

Drilled rotors are almost always junk, slotted is better if you feel you need better heat dissipation. But honestly, a QUALITY solid rotor would be really good under those calipers, unless you want the visual appeal of the slotted rotors and red calipers (I totally get it, btw) or are planning on running the vehicle on a track. Pads matter more than rotor design, imo.

Check to see where they source their rotors from. I don't think you need to stick with their brand of rotor (or even brake pads) unless you want the name. There are probably better options out there.

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

I would call the salvage yard where you bought the calipers and ask about the mounting hardware. If it wasn't damaged in the accident, they shouldn't mind selling it to you as a complete package. Otherwise, Baer will proabably be happy to sell you anything you need at FULL MSRP.

As for the rotors, slotted will work, but the best choice for a daily driver is really a plain, vented rotor with no slotting or drilling added. Directionally vented (meaning dedicated L and R fitments) are preferred to keep temps consistent due to the way both rotors force air through the vents. Slotting is more abrasive to the pads, even though they do allow gases to escape, but unless you are tracking a vehicle, there really isn't a need for it. Pad compound is the area where you will notice the most difference in your choice of brakes.....choose wisely.

I upgraded from a flashy big brake kit on a VW GTI to a set of Girodisc rotors and Ferodo pads, there was a night and day difference between the flashy stuff and the best engineered parts that were made for a dual duty track car. I don't think Girodisc has any fitments for the F150 but Akebono would be a good place to start if you don't want to pay the price on the pads and rotors from Baer.

 

[Dakar09]

The brackets should definitely have been included with those calipers, provided they weren't damaged.

 

[Fox146]

Here is the Shelby manual that shows the brackets . Their site says from 09-20 . If it helps any

 

[rugedraw]

Thanks for the responses so far. First, I cannot anything else off of the truck these came from. I bought them off OfferUp for $700 and the guy I bought them from just goes to salvage yards and pulls parts off of cars he feels he can sell on OfferUp and eBay. By the time I bought them from him, he had been sitting on them for months. All that came with the calipers themselves. The complete 6S brake kit is almost $4k; the most expensive part by far being the calipers, so whatever else I have to spend to make this work will be minimal compared to what the kit actually costs.

Some initial research I shows I'm looking at about $1,200 for front 15" slotted rotors and pads, bracket and bolts, and this figure also includes rear slotted rotors to replace the OEM ones and pads for the rear. So under $2k all-in which is less than half including the rear brake upgrade.

As far as fitment: These came off of a 2022 F150 Shelby, so for sure it has to fit mine. I have aftermarket 22" wheels, so clearance is not a concern. I was hoping to find someone that had done this already just to confirm what I think I will need to get these bad boys put in.

I just bought a set of Bilsteins for the front and rear as well as new front upper control arms to re-do my level the right way as right now, all I have is 2.5" pucks up front. I cut corners when I bought the truck since it was a lease, but since I ended up buying it at lease end, I want to do things right now. My front tires wear unevenly, so I bought two new tires and plan on doing everything in one shot. Worse case scenario, I'll just have to put everything back together with the OEM front brakes and just get it aligned after I figure out the brakes issue. I will be doing this sooner than later, so hopefully someone with first hand knowledge can chime in. This is what Baer says I need. I was chatting with someone in the F150 Facebook group who wanted to do the same thing. When he called Baer, they told him this is what he would need to make the front calipers work:

Bracket 6600554
93$
Radial Studs 6280007
19$
Nuts 6160037
9$
Washers 6310018
4$
Rotor 2261043
695$

However, when I put that bracket part number into the Baer website, nothing comes up. I'm going to call them tomorrow and get some insight from them to see what I can find out.

 

[rugedraw]

Confirmed from Baer that the part numbers above are correct. For now, I ordered the mounting hardware and front brake pads from Baer. I am going to source out the rotors from different vendors to see if I can get a better deal than what Baer sells them for.

 

[rugedraw]

Ok, so everything is ordered. Parts will arrive next week, so I will try to install everything before the end of the month or the beginning of next month when I have the time. I was not able to source anyone making a 15" front rotor for less than Baer. So total cost:

Baer 6S calipers (used) $700

Mounting hardware from Baer listed above and Baer front brake pads for the 6S calipers: $403

Two Baer 15" front rotors (p/n's 6910871 & 6920871): $586 (On sale in Walmart....believe it or not)

PowerStop 336mm rear slotted/drilled Z23 Evo rotors and pads: $158 (also on sale in Walmart)

So $1850 all-in including rear brakes/pads when the front kit by itself is almost $4k. I was not able to find any vendor who makes only slotted rear brakes in 336mm, so it was either smooth surface brake out back, or slotted/drilled. I chose the later. I'll come back and post pics when everything is done. It should feel like a brand new truck!

 

[My 2ND Ford]

The brackets should definitely have been included with those calipers, provided they weren't damaged.

If the calipers were undamaged, most likely the brackets are ok.

 

[Dakar09]

Sounds like a plan. I will say again, I would have gone solid vented rotors on this setup. I do NOT like the idea of slotted & drilled rotors on a tow vehicle (or even a track car, for that matter). Slotted is one thing, and does have it's benefits. You start drilling holes in these things, and they become weaker overall. The fact that they're in the rear may help prevent warping or cracking, since most of the heat will be in the front brakes.

Personally I would have gone with a different pad, but that's only based on personal preference. I don't know what Baer makes for a pad or which ones you got, so I'll guess we'll see how it all performs down the road.

Sounds like an exciting upgrade, though! Looking forward to seeing the install pics.

 

[rugedraw]

If the calipers were undamaged, most likely the brackets are ok.

The calipers came without the brackets.

Sounds like a plan. I will say again, I would have gone solid vented rotors on this setup. I do NOT like the idea of slotted & drilled rotors on a tow vehicle (or even a track car, for that matter). Slotted is one thing, and does have it's benefits. You start drilling holes in these things, and they become weaker overall. The fact that they're in the rear may help prevent warping or cracking, since most of the heat will be in the front brakes.

Personally I would have gone with a different pad, but that's only based on personal preference. I don't know what Baer makes for a pad or which ones you got, so I'll guess we'll see how it all performs down the road.

Sounds like an exciting upgrade, though! Looking forward to seeing the install pics.

These are front brake pads:

https://www.baer.com/products/brake_pads/baer_replacement_pads/parts/D1247R

If you know if a vendor that makes 336mm rotors only slotted, lmk and I will cancel the ones I ordered. I've been looking for days, and they are either drilled/slotted or none of the above. Like you said, they are out back and I tow maybe once or twice a month for mostly short distances. Also, my truck has $22k miles in 3.5 years I've owned it, so I should get a decent amount of life out of them. This is what I went with:

https://www.powerstop.com/product/p...D&mo=F-150 PICKUP 4WD&ss=w/ 336mm Rear Rotors

 

[TrueBlue_09]

I saw this video recently and it might be helpful on your install:

 

[Dakar09]

I don't necessarily think you need the vented rotors on the rear, as most factory applications don't have them back there and most braking is done by the front of the vehicle. (Sorry if you know all this....) This is mostly due to the weight transfer to the front under harder braking leading to an increased contact patch of the tires on the pavement, thus providing more overall surface area for those tires to slow the vehicle faster. Conversely, that weight transfer also causes the rear to unload and reduce the contact patch of those tires, and can lead to locking up the rear wheel (pre-ABS) or at least causing the rear to lose control, particularly under hard breaking going around a corner. Then there are the proportioning valves that modify the fluid pressures going front and rear to maximize the braking system with this entire process in mind.

That said, when towing, you obviously have more weight over the rear of the vehicle and this weight transfer gets completely screwed up (hence the trailer brake being an incredibly helpful and almost necessary part of the total braking system of the vehicle). So will you get more heat in the rears? Probably. That's why they still use drum brakes on big rigs and heavy duty tow vehicles...they dissipate heat better.

Long story long, I'm concerned you won't get much life out of those rear rotors with towing applications. You may be better off going with just plain old solid rotors in the rear (as the factory intended it). They'll be just fine for this truck when you aren't towing and may last longer or hurt less when you have to replace them if you tow a lot.

I've used these on a few of my cars. Not the absolute best quality, but they work well for rear rotor applications (in my experience). They are likely china sourced but at least they do the QC in the US (supposedly). I haven't had an issue with these on Jaguar SUVs, a Jetta I did, or my daughter's Mazda:
Dynamic Friction rear rotors

 

[JohnMcClane]

The calipers came without the brackets.



These are front brake pads:

https://www.baer.com/products/brake_pads/baer_replacement_pads/parts/D1247R

If you know if a vendor that makes 336mm rotors only slotted, lmk and I will cancel the ones I ordered. I've been looking for days, and they are either drilled/slotted or none of the above. Like you said, they are out back and I tow maybe once or twice a month for mostly short distances. Also, my truck has $22k miles in 3.5 years I've owned it, so I should get a decent amount of life out of them. This is what I went with:

https://www.powerstop.com/product/power-stop-z23-brake-kit/#y=2021&mk=FORD&mo=F-150 PICKUP 4WD&ss=w/ 336mm Rear Rotors

https://www.buybrakes.com/2022-ford-f-150/brake-rotors/ebc-slotted-brake-rotors

You have to go through the options, but there is a slotted 336mm. I am strongly considering the slotted 350mm for mine and then getting the slotted rotors with the big claw on the stock calipers for the front, but I'll have to order directly from Baer I think.

Interested in everything happening here.

I understand the arguments against drilled in any application, but unfortunately vendors aren't leaving us many options.

Edit: and that’s frustrating because you would think with the refresh pushed out until 2027 I think, we’d see options flooding the market.

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