Cobra Calipers Vs. Dual Piston PBR's..Which is better?

5LugFoxFanatic · Jan 13, 2004

I have a couple questions concerning the 99 and up PBR dual piston calipers and the Cobra calipers. I have 99 dual pots on my 86 in the front. Obviously the rotors are stock at 11 inches. Since 1994 I believe, the Cobra’s have gotten a dual piston caliper also. It is closed so you cannot see the pad, unlike the dual pots. The Cobra rides on a 13 inch rotor. Now. Since they are both dual pistons, are they the same as far as effectiveness? Or is the only difference that the Cobra has 13 inches to grab to instead of 11? I was wondering if the difference is substantial enough to step it up to the Cobra front brake conversion. Basically, am I going to stop a whole lot sooner with the Cobra setup up front or is the difference so small it is not even worth it?

Also, is there a better brake upgrade in the back? I have SN95 rear disc brakes and the caliper seems so tiny. Is the rear cobra setup bigger? Thanks

sleeper89 · Jan 13, 2004

is it going to stop you faster? maybe, depends on other factors too. what it will do is dramatically reduce brake fade and look better.

the rear sn95 disc is almost identical to the rear cobra disc. both use the same calipers but the cobra uses a thicker vented rotor with thinner pads. it will also be an improvement over your current setup but mostly for fade resistance again.

here's a bump for you, maybe an expert will help you out..

-steve

Matt90GT · Jan 13, 2004

Wow. Do some research into how brakes work first.

Brakes work on 2 principles -- friction and leverage.

now how the caliper looks on the pad has NOTHING to do with either one of those.

The GT PBRs use larger pistons than the cobras. But the cobras use larger rotors for more leverage. The cobras are FAR superior in terms of braking performance than the GTs. Why? leverage!

N8Miller · Jan 21, 2004

Matt90GT said:
Wow. Do some research into how brakes work first.

Brakes work on 2 principles -- friction and leverage.

now how the caliper looks on the pad has NOTHING to do with either one of those.

The GT PBRs use larger pistons than the cobras. But the cobras use larger rotors for more leverage. The cobras are FAR superior in terms of braking performance than the GTs. Why? leverage!

well, just a thought, but can you use the larger cobra rotors with the PBR calipers? or can you get a larger cross drilled rotor to work with the PBR pistons?

GroverDill · Jan 21, 2004

No, cant use a 13" rotor with stock PBR calipers.

again no, for a larger rotor, you would need to change calipers to accomdate any larger rotors.

flgants · Jun 8, 2005

I am really shocked someone hasnt come out with a bracket that would allow the 99-04 PBR's to be used with 13" rotors. I am far from that crafty, but you would think someone out there could do it.

Gary

Mavrick · Jun 8, 2005

Matt90GT said:
Wow. Do some research into how brakes work first.

What is with you and posting these rude and (what i see as) insulting comments? The poster IS doing research on "how brakes work" by starting this thread.

Daggar · Jun 8, 2005

Mavrick said:
What is with you and posting these rude and (what i see as) insulting comments? The poster IS doing research on "how brakes work" by starting this thread.

Ditto... that's what the forum is here for.

Matt90GT · Jun 8, 2005

flgants said:
I am really shocked someone hasnt come out with a bracket that would allow the 99-04 PBR's to be used with 13" rotors. I am far from that crafty, but you would think someone out there could do it.

Gary

again, do some research. People have tried this, but the curvature on the GT PBRs will not clear the larger diameter 13" rotors.

IF you want to learn how brakes work, a place like www.howthingswork.com is a great start.

Mavrick · Jun 8, 2005

All posts in this thread have been specifically related to Mustangs... i thought this was the best place to start looking for this information.

Matt the info you've given up here is awesome, but posts telling people to "do some research" is pretty lame.

flgants · Jun 8, 2005

Matt- I have always gave a sly grin when you insulted others, but insulting me now? I thought we was tight. If everyone researched as it seems you do, there would be no posts and no forums. Then what would we do at night?

Gary

Mustang5L5 · Jun 8, 2005

5LugFoxFanatic said:
I have a couple questions concerning the 99 and up PBR dual piston calipers and the Cobra calipers.

The GT PBR's stop good the first few initial times but after that heat begins to build up and they loose their effectiveness. The GT PBR pistons are 44.5mm i beleive

The Cobra uses 38mm pistons (94-98) and 40mm pistons (99-04). However, they ride on a larger rotor which gives it greater mechanical advantage. Also, the mass of the larger 13" rotor absorbs heat better so the brakes tend to hold out longer and not fade as quickly as the GT brakes. This means more repeat stops and still good performance.

flgants · Jun 8, 2005

Mike- If you would have done some research, you would know that that was good info and I greatly appreciate it.

Gary

Mustang5L5 · Jun 8, 2005

flgants said:
I am really shocked someone hasnt come out with a bracket that would allow the 99-04 PBR's to be used with 13" rotors. I am far from that crafty, but you would think someone out there could do it.

Gary

There are issues when it comes to do this.

First one is liability. If you design a bracket for this, you better be sure it's gonna work otherwise you could get sued.

Secondly, the curvature of the calipers is slightly different. The GT's caliper is slight more curved and won't sit right on the cobra rotor. The pad face won't be fully in contact with the rotor. I beleive the very top portion would be riding empty air.

Also, there really isn't much to gain. The GT's PBR isn't that much bigger. It's also ugly as hell
View attachment 512642

I have the GT PBR's on my '03 and the Cobra PBR's on my Fox. There is a 300 pound weight difference but the issues i discussed before are pretty apparent. The GT brakes are good in a one time full out panic stop. I'd say they rank up there with the Cobra brakes on my Fox. But if i'm on a windy road and start really heating them up with quick hard decelleration, they begin to fade quickly. On my Fox, the fade is far less noticable.

Mustang Yawie · Jun 8, 2005

well im in the process of adding the pbr stuff up front with 95 spindels, and all i hope is that it is better than the stock caliper setup, it is scary when doing a panic stop

Mustang5L5 · Jun 8, 2005

Mustang Yawie said:
well im in the process of adding the pbr stuff up front with 95 spindels, and all i hope is that it is better than the stock caliper setup, it is scary when doing a panic stop

They are good brakes, you won't be disappointed.

Mustang Yawie · Jun 8, 2005

Mustang5L5 said:
They are good brakes, you won't be disappointed.

Good to hear that

Cobra Calipers Vs. Dual Piston PBR's..Which is better?

5LugFoxFanatic

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I need NOS....make it 2 of the big ones

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Cobra Calipers Vs. Dual Piston PBR's..Which is better?

LOVE AND PEACE!

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