Cobra brake upgrade question

joserw · Sep 4, 2009

I eventually want to upgrade to the Cobra brakes all around, however my rear brakes are starting to wear down, and I just replaced my front brakes a few months ago with hawk pads and slotted rotors. So I am wondering can I do the cobra brake upgrade in the rear only for now and get to the front when the pads wear down? Will this negatively affect braking performance?

Also, what is the consensus with switching to a cobra master cylinder? I hear people say that the GT one will cause ABS malfuctions and the pedal will be too firm. Thanks.

hotdog71 · Sep 5, 2009

Hi,

I don't know why you couldn't do that, but i don't think it will give you any gains since the cobra rears are basically the same as the GT anyway.

I did the front upgrade on mine since the rear were the same and loved it.

As for the ABS question I just bled the master cylinder after the upgrade and the peddel firmness is fine and ABS is fine.

hope this helps.

Regards

96SCstang · Sep 5, 2009

dont bother with the rear cobra upgrade....it only gives you a .5in bigger rotor that is vetalated instead of solid. the rear only does at max 30% of braking force at one time. IMO just go to buyfordracing.com and buy the red cobra caliper kit they sell(if its still there) and buy yourself some nice slotted cobra rotors for the front and some slotted gt rotors for the back. you can use the red cobra calipers on the rear with the gt rotors because they are the same caliper. this way you get the cool red calipers, and you dont have to buy the new rear backing plates and the hassle of removing your axle shafts to install them. this is what i did and it looks and brakes awsome!! make sure you get some steel braided brake lines for the front as well. they make a huge improvement themselves.

scupking · Sep 5, 2009

I would stay away from buyfordracing.com I just bought the break kit from them and one of the calipers are bad. Come to find out buyfordracing does not have a contact number and there contact email does not work. Now I'm screwed out of money. I then went to American muscle and ordered the same thing and the calipers are perfect. AM my be much more expensive for the kit but it's worth it. Also my builder believes the reason buyfordracing is cheaper is because they use re-manufactured calipers. I will never order from buyfordracing again.

joserw · Sep 5, 2009

The rear cobra calipers are the same as the GT? So basically all that work is only for a spaced rotor that is .5" bigger?

CobraRed_96_GT · Sep 5, 2009

scupking said:
I would stay away from buyfordracing.com I just bought the break kit from them and one of the calipers are bad. Come to find out buyfordracing does not have a contact number and there contact email does not work. Now I'm screwed out of money. I then went to American muscle and ordered the same thing and the calipers are perfect. AM my be much more expensive for the kit but it's worth it. Also my builder believes the reason buyfordracing is cheaper is because they use re-manufactured calipers. I will never order from buyfordracing again.

That's really suprising. I've worked with them and talked to them before and they seem on the up and up to me. Never got anything from them that wasn't bran new.

Mustang5L5 · Sep 5, 2009

joserw said:
The rear cobra calipers are the same as the GT? So basically all that work is only for a spaced rotor that is .5" bigger?

The Cobra rotor is 11.65" in diameter and vented. The GT rotor is 10" and solid. The difference is really between the solid and vented rotor. The vented rotor will resist fade MUCH more than the solid rotor.

The M-2300-M kit is $175. That alone makes it worth it to me, plus when you do the fronts, it won't look out of place having puny rotors.

You will need to pull the rear axles to do the install however. It's pretty easy though

Chad's 2000 Mustang GT American Racer -- Cobra Rear Brakes

As for buyfordracing.com...yes, they customer service blows. However, i did buy my kit from them.

My calipers were brand new. They came in FORD boxes unopened and in FORD packaging. The rotors were Brembo and the SS lines were new too. If they were reman calipers...there is nothing to indicate it.

Also, the GT MC and Cobra MC are the same. They both use a 1 1/16" MC on the 99+ GT. Mach1 and Cobra. The V6 uses a 1" bore, but it uses a vacuum booster. No need to change the MC. you just need to make sure you bleed the Master Cylinder bleeder screws on the side. Most of the time, it's needed. A lot of guys don't do it and the brakes are a little spongy.

I installed the Mach 1 kit on my GT and it would such your eyes out. I loved it. I left my stock GT brakes in the rear however.

I transfered the brakes to my Fox when i traded my GT in, but i did the Cobra rear brakes to match. Now with the cobra rears, and a car 300 pounds lighter..it REALLY sucks your eyes out!

joserw · Sep 6, 2009

96SCstang said:
dont bother with the rear cobra upgrade....it only gives you a .5in bigger rotor that is vetalated instead of solid. the rear only does at max 30% of braking force at one time. IMO just go to buyfordracing.com and buy the red cobra caliper kit they sell(if its still there) and buy yourself some nice slotted cobra rotors for the front and some slotted gt rotors for the back. you can use the red cobra calipers on the rear with the gt rotors because they are the same caliper. this way you get the cool red calipers, and you dont have to buy the new rear backing plates and the hassle of removing your axle shafts to install them. this is what i did and it looks and brakes awsome!! make sure you get some steel braided brake lines for the front as well. they make a huge improvement themselves.

Is this true? Are the red cobra rear calipers the same as the GT? Why would you need to buy the rear brake upgrade kit then?

96SCstang · Sep 6, 2009

you have to pull the axles for the cobra rotors. they are a little bigger and require new backing plates and such which means pulling the axles to get them off. you will NEVER EVER notice a difference in the stopping quality if you dont road race really hard...i have had multiple mustangs with this upgrade, some with cobra rears and some without and there is no difference. save yourself the money and time and just use the red calipers and nothing else for the rear. as for buyfordracing.com. i actually live right by them. they work out of a warehouse. they just get stock from dealers around here and sell it for very low prices. they dont even have reman stuff.

Mustang5L5 · Sep 6, 2009

joserw said:
Is this true? Are the red cobra rear calipers the same as the GT? Why would you need to buy the rear brake upgrade kit then?

Yes and no.

The clamping portion is the same on all SN95 mustangs, but the brackets and pads are different.

The thinner pads are for the wider cobra rotor and the pad brackets are different as shown above. The cobra, mach 1 and bullitt calipers have the extra reinforcement as shown for strenght, and the groove in which the rotor fits is wider.

You can modify your GT caliper brackets with a grinder to widen it. Many have done so, others just go to ford and buy the cobra specific braces. They are $40 each.

The rear Cobra kit consists of everything you need except the calipers. You can buy the new cobra calipers, or mod your GT ones.

The M-2300-M kit can be had for under $200 from Summit, and comes with what is pictured below

There is more to just braking than the calipers. Leverage and Mass play a roll as well. The cobra rotors have more leverage and more mass so they resist fade better. I will admit, unless you are road racing or maybe even autoXing you'll never notice the different.

You will notice the difference when you put some nice open wheels on your Mustang and have a big 13" rotor up front and a puny 10" rotor out back.

joserw · Sep 6, 2009

Thanks for all the input! I think I am going to go ahead and just do the brake upgrade. I'm sure you're all right in saying it won't make a hell of a difference, but when it comes to looks and just the satisfaction of knowing I did the job right, I think I'll be much more pleased.

I see it like this: Hawk pads are about $100 and a set of slotted rotors are about another $175. For another $100 from buyfordracing.com I can upgrade to cobra rears.

Thanks again for all of the input!

Mustang5L5 · Sep 6, 2009

Install write-ups for Front and Rear

Front
Chad's 2000 Mustang GT American Racer -- Bullitt Brake Upgrade

Rear
Chad's 2000 Mustang GT American Racer -- Cobra Rear Brakes

twogts4us · Sep 6, 2009

I'd do just the fronts. Most of your braking power is up front anyway. All this crap about resisting fade is great if you are endurance racing on a weekly basis. If this is your daily driver, you wont notice whether your rear discs are solid or vented.

joserw · Sep 7, 2009

I'm not denying that, but like I said, it will look better once the fronts are done (more proportional) and for just over $100 more than if I bought Hawk pads and slotted rotors I can upgrade.

steve_stang2003 · Sep 8, 2009

joserw said:
I eventually want to upgrade to the Cobra brakes all around, however my rear brakes are starting to wear down, and I just replaced my front brakes a few months ago with hawk pads and slotted rotors. So I am wondering can I do the cobra brake upgrade in the rear only for now and get to the front when the pads wear down? Will this negatively affect braking performance?

Also, what is the consensus with switching to a cobra master cylinder? I hear people say that the GT one will cause ABS malfuctions and the pedal will be too firm. Thanks.

Just did the front upgrade on a 2003 GT....
Awesome difference.

I'll be honest, I thought people were FOS when they said this makes a huge difference in normal driving.
I was totally wrong.

You can easily feel the idfference just driving around town.

I went buyfordracing.com and got the SS lines (Goodridge) as well.
I went for the Bullitt upgrade. Red with the pony logo.
Boxes were Ford factory sealed.
I had a couple of red paint nicks on one caliper and BFR offered to exchange them.
Since I had some leftover red paint from my OEM paint job on the stocks, I just touched them up and BFR gave me a discount coupon for my next order.
They did right by me....

Personally, I wouldn't waste my money on the rears...

You will notice a HUGE difference....Seriously....

Only advice I can offer is to paint the hats on the rotors.
They rust and look bad, at least on my balck car.
That's my next project.

joserw · Sep 30, 2009

Just had the rear cobra's put in (and turns out my axle seals were leaking so I replaced those as well) with Russell stainless steel lines, and I actually do feel a difference. The fronts will be going in next week.

347_cobra · Mar 20, 2010

sorry to bring up an old post but i have a question that i cannot get answered!

I have a 94 cobra and i want to swap the rear brakes to gt size. what do i need to get to fit a gt rotor on my cobra calipers? New pads, new rotors and what else?? what brackets do i need?

thanks!

Tripoli · Mar 22, 2010

I did what everyone always says, and just did the fronts (Bullitts, in my case). The braking was dramatically improved, but the car bucked forward a little more than I expected because of the imbalance between the Bullitt fronts and the GT rears. I finally upgraded the rears as well, and it made a surprisingly big difference. The car didn't buck forward nearly as much, and there was another noticable improvement in braking power.

The size of the caliper/pad is only one thing that makes your brakes work better. Since it's the same in this case, the real difference is in how far out from the center of rotation the pad is applied. That extra 1.65" diameter moves the pads another 0.825" further from the center, increasing the brake's torque relative to the axle by 16.5%.

Cobra brake upgrade question

joserw

New Member

hotdog71

Member

96SCstang

New Member

scupking

Active Member

joserw

New Member

CobraRed_96_GT

Active Member

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

joserw

New Member

96SCstang

New Member

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

joserw

New Member

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

twogts4us

joserw

New Member

steve_stang2003

New Member

joserw

New Member

347_cobra

New Member

Tripoli

Member

Similar threads

Cobra brake upgrade question

New Member

Member

New Member

Active Member

New Member

Active Member

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

New Member

New Member

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

New Member

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

New Member

New Member

New Member

New Member

Member

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency