2002 ‘SHS’ Thunderbird
Why do I need performance brakes for my 2002-2005 Thunderbird? The 2002-2005 Thunderbird isn’t a sports car. It’s more of a ‘Boulevard Cruiser,’ or as Ford itself said, built for ‘Relaxed sportiness.’ So why bother with the expense of high-cost performance brakes? … There are a number of good reasons.
First, factory original brake pads are made of metallic compounds featuring a large percentage of steel wool. As they grip steel rotors to create the friction that allows your vehicle to stop, abrasive wear is significant. Rotors wear down faster and the metal scraping from steel fibers can cause loud squealing that varies with temperature variations and weather conditions. When driven hard, metallic brake pads can generate excess heat buildup to cause the formation of grip-reducing hot spots on brake rotors. Many automakers that develop high performance models capable of high speeds will attempt to offset these disadvantages by reducing the metal content in brake pads, creating a softer material that grips better at fast speeds with less noise. However, these soft brake pads wear out faster and produce large amounts of visible black dust that soils aluminum wheels and ultimately becomes corrosive to finishes applied on them. Performance brakes use ceramic-based pads which wear slower and last longer than standard OEM brake pads.
Ceramic brake pads are far quieter than standard brake pads due to their higher resonant frequency undetectable by human ears, so squealing is not an issue. And finally, ceramic compounds last longer and produce finer, less obtrusive dust that does not stick to most wheel surfaces.
Most Performance brakes also utilize drilled rotors instead of solid rotors like the OEM Thunderbird factory rotors. Drilled rotors create an escape route for debris, dust, gases and water, as well as improving the appearance of your wheels and reducing rotor weight. Drilled holes also help keep rotor temperatures down during extreme braking performance, reducing ‘brake fade’ which can be a common problem with standard factory brakes.
Many performance brakes also have slots which help increase pad ‘bite’ and improve air circulation, by maintaining a clear contact patch between the pad and clean and de-glaze the pad surface for optimum pad coefficient of friction.
It’s unlikely that you race your Thunderbird or engage in any type of performance driving. However, even under normal driving conditions, performance brakes offer benefits over stock OEM brakes by providing longer wear, greater efficiency and improved appearance. And performance brakes may actually cost less than Ford OEM brake replacements.
Powersport/Thunderbird Specialties offers affordable performance brake packages that are loaded with features and very reasonably priced. Click here for more details: https://www.thunderbirdspecialties.com/shop/thunderbird-performance-brake-kits-02-05-thunderbird/
