99-04 Gt Cheap Brake Upgrade.

cbanakis · Mar 20, 2017

Does anyone know if there are any Ford trucks or vans with bigger brakes that will fit on a 99-04 Mustang GT?

I know it sounds crazy, but I have a 92 Chrysler Lebaron with calipers, pads, and rotors off a Town And Country minivan.

Made a huge difference in stopping power, and only costed me like $100.
(Everything fit perfect, like it was made to fit)

Just trying to figure out if I really need to pay ~$1,000+ or if there are cheaper alternatives.

Thanks.

IIGood · Mar 20, 2017

I had to do some digging for these, and it's probably even harder now, but I have the Mach 1 front brakes on my GT. The calipers, pads, and rotors all came as a set and it cost me $300 for everything. It's essentially the same setup as the Cobras except the calipers are plain instead of having "COBRA" emblazoned on them.

I can't say I'm familiar with interchangeability from the truck or van line though. Pretty sure there would've been something posted on here (or elsewhere) by now indicating as such if that were the case.

cbanakis · Mar 20, 2017

IIGood said:
I had to do some digging for these, and it's probably even harder now, but I have the Mach 1 front brakes on my GT. The calipers, pads, and rotors all came as a set and it cost me $300 for everything. It's essentially the same setup as the Cobras except the calipers are plain instead of having "COBRA" emblazoned on them.

I can't say I'm familiar with interchangeability from the truck or van line though. Pretty sure there would've been something posted on here (or elsewhere) by now indicating as such if that were the case.

Not bad.

Definitely worth looking in to.

Thanks a lot.

I agree that anything else is a long shot.

If there were truck brakes that fit, I would probably have been able to figure that out without starting a thread.

How much bigger are the Mach 1 brakes?
(Noticeable improvement?)

Just buy Mack 1 pads, rotors, and calipers, and it will just fit?

Or did you have to modify anything and/or get bigger rims too?

Thanks again.

IIGood · Mar 20, 2017

cbanakis said:
How much bigger are the Mach 1 brakes?
(Noticeable improvement?)

Just buy Mack 1 pads, rotors, and calipers, and it will just fit?

Or did you have to modify anything and/or get bigger rims too?

Thanks again.

The Mach 1 rotors are 13"; noticeable difference to the GT's stock 11" rotors. This is just for the fronts...I'm not sure if the rears are bigger on the Mach, but I do know they are bigger on the Cobra. I opted not to do the rear brake conversion as it is a little more involved than the fronts.

And yes, everything from the Mach 1 front brake setup (pads, rotors, calipers) will easily swap over to the GT and still fit behind the GT's 17" wheels. The Mach 1 and Cobra wheels are 17" from the factory as well. While I was at it, I did get the braided brake hoses.

Going forward, you'd be able to buy brake pads for the Cobra since they're the same thing. I've found it a bit difficult finding anything labeled as "Mach 1 pads" but as stated, the Cobra is the same size.

One thing you'll have to be aware of is that if you still have the factory spare tire in your GT, it will NOT clear the larger brakes. Kinda stupid. I found this out the hard way. Why Ford used 2 different sized spares is beyond me. So you might want to also grab the spare tire from that Mach 1 or a Cobra.

cbanakis · Mar 20, 2017

Awesome!

Thank you very much.

As for the spare situation...

I've had this car for 15 years, and haven't used the spare yet.

But if it comes up, and and I get a flat in the front, I guess I'll just have to put the spare on the rear, and put a tire from the rear up front.

Definitely good to know about that problem in advance though.

So I'm guessing that the only difference between the Cobra, and Mach 1 front brakes, is that the Cobra calipers say Cobra then?

If so, I'll probably just get the Cobra pads, calipers, and rotors for the front, and just paint over the "Cobra" or something.
Cause the Cobra stuff will be way easier to find.

cbanakis · Mar 20, 2017

Awesome!

Thank you very much.

As for the spare situation...

I've had this car for 15 years, and haven't used the spare yet.

But if it comes up, and and I get a flat in the front, I guess I'll just have to put the spare on the rear, and put a tire from the rear up front.

Definitely good to know about that problem in advance though.

So I'm guessing that the only difference between the Cobra, and Mach 1 front brakes, is that the Cobra calipers say Cobra then?

If so, I'll probably just get the Cobra pads, calipers, and rotors for the front, and just paint over the "Cobra" or something.
Cause the Cobra stuff will be way easier to find.

IIGood · Mar 20, 2017

cbanakis said:
Awesome!

Thank you very much.

As for the spare situation...

I've had this car for 15 years, and haven't used the spare yet.

But if it comes up, and and I get a flat in the front, I guess I'll just have to put the spare on the rear, and put a tire from the rear up front.

Definitely good to know about that problem in advance though.

Yes, certainly better than finding out the hard way, while on the side of the road at 11:00 at night wondering "Why isn't the wheel turning up front?!?"

So I'm guessing that the only difference between the Cobra, and Mach 1 front brakes, is that the Cobra calipers say Cobra then?

Right...the Cobra calipers are painted black and do have "COBRA" imprinted in them. The Mach 1 calipers are just the bare metal finish. No wording imprinted, no paint.

If so, I'll probably just get the Cobra pads, calipers, and rotors for the front, and just paint over the "Cobra" or something.
Cause the Cobra stuff will be way easier to find.

Good luck!

Mustang5L5 · Mar 20, 2017

Cobra 13" front rotors, and any of the associated calipers will work. Mach 1, bullitt, Cobra. Just be aware the 16" spare tire in your well will no longer fit over these brakes.

Out back, the cobra got larger, vented rotors. This kit has everything you need, but you need to pull the axles to install. Sadly, this used to be a $190 kit

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fms-m-2300-m

You'll also need two of these out back as the caliper brackets are different to clear the wider, larger rotor. The actual caliper piston setup is the same though.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/94-04-Musta...g-Slide-Bracket-for-11-65-Rotor-/351263057248

Sadly the rear conversion may come out to be more expensive than the front

cbanakis said:
I know it sounds crazy, but I have a 92 Chrysler Lebaron with calipers, pads, and rotors off a Town And Country minivan.
.

Not crazy. I've got Corvette C5 calipers on the front of my '88...and it was all bolt-on.

Carsondavis · Mar 9, 2019

Hey guys I was wondering if this would work for the base v6? I’m putting a much bigger engine in and I’m gonna need more braking power for it.

Mustang5L5 · Mar 10, 2019

Carsondavis said:
Hey guys I was wondering if this would work for the base v6? I’m putting a much bigger engine in and I’m gonna need more braking power for it.

Yes, you can install the cobra brakes. Only difference is vacuum assist vs hydroboost

Noobz347 · Mar 10, 2019

Mustang5L5 said:
Only difference is vacuum assist vs hydroboost

...which makes no physical difference when referring to rotors and calipers and bolting it all up etc...

I wonder though, if master cylinders in these late model cars need to also be modified to accommodate the larger brake and caliper? There seems to be some pretty specific formulas for Fox folk at least.

What are system pressure differences between conventional vacuum and hydroboost systems? Was hydroboost intended to mimic?

Mustang5L5 · Mar 10, 2019

Hydroboost is really for clearance on that massive valve cover, it offers much more assist than vacuim

IIRC there's only one master cylinder size for hydroboost....1"

Carsondavis · Mar 10, 2019

Mustang5L5 said:
Yes, you can install the cobra brakes. Only difference is vacuum assist vs hydroboost

Cool! Thanks so much!

99-04 Gt Cheap Brake Upgrade.

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