04 Gt Front Pads Larger Than 04 Cobra?

Nemethjames1 · Jan 25, 2018

I upgraded my front calipers, pads and rotors. From my 04 gt to 04 cobra. All fits fine, cobra rotors much larger.

But should the cobra pads be smaller and cover less surface area?

Pads on the bottom are cobra, both are fronts and part numbers correct. Both Duralast gt (not best but what I got)

Mattstang04 · Jan 25, 2018

It's true. Didn't seem to make sense to me either when i first noticed it. Guess the real stopping power of the cobra brakes is in the 2 piston calipers and the extra diameter of the rotor.

Neuron · Jan 26, 2018

That is weird? Isn't the GT 2 piston also? Just iron not aluminum?

Nemethjames1 · Jan 26, 2018

Yes my 04 gt had 2 piston calipers as well.

From research a large rotor (keeping pads and rotors same) would brake better. Something to do with torque, and larger rotor acts as better heatsink. Also saw something about smaller pad and the pistons on cobra are a little bigger, make more brake pad pressure, meaning more pounds per square inch.

So they will wear out faster but work better. So far so good, stop a lot better and no brake fade. Passenger side running about 100 or more degrees hotter. Going to bleed system again sometime this week.

It's a must to bleed the master cylinder when replacing calipers, I started with rear bleeder on caliper assuming it's for rear because you always start furthest from master.

Hope this helps anyone

Nemethjames1 · Jan 26, 2018

Gt vs cobra front rotor pads

Nemethjames1 · Jan 26, 2018

delete this double post

Mustang5L5 · Jan 30, 2018

The Pistons on the GT caliper are larger too. 44.5mm vs 38mm and 40mm on the two cobra variants. On paper the GT caliper is superior due to larger pad swept area and evenly spread clamping force. The main difference is mechanical advantage due to the rotors.

The GT brakes aren't weak by any means, but the larger rotor on the Cobras allows for more heat to be absorbed during repeated stops. The cobra brakes really shine there.

The small pad area is a complaint on the cobra setup as it doesn't sweep the entire face of the rotor causing uneven heat distribution during road racing type events. PBR ( the manufacturer that made both calipers) addressed this in their revision to the design which appeared on the C5 and c6 vette.

I actually have the C5 style caliper on my car.

04 Gt Front Pads Larger Than 04 Cobra?

Nemethjames1

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Mattstang04

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04 Gt Front Pads Larger Than 04 Cobra?

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Nemethjames1

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That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

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