How much better are Cobra 13" front brakes compared to 99-04 PBR brakes?

RacEoHolic330 · Dec 24, 2005

I'm looking to get a set of cobra front rotors and calipers to replace my PBR setup from a 99 GT. My car brakes decently, but not super great. It's not anything impressive. It's kind of annoying now because my Subie has freaking awesome brakes and when I drive the stang it seems like the brakes on it suck a lot. I'm just wondering how much of an improvement the cobras would make. I have an sn95 booster and MC, btw. Also, does anyone have pics of stock Cobra brakes on a fox? I'm not talking about fancy zinc plated or drilled rotors and stuff, can't afford that now, heh.

trbkrb · Dec 24, 2005

You will not get a magical reduction in the stopping distance with the Cobra brakes vs the stock 99-04 PBRs, but they are an improvement of about 10% or so, maybe more. 5.0 Mustang mag just did a comparison test in the Feb 2006 issue on a 2002 GT and they had 132 feet from 60 stock, and 120 feet with the Cobra/ Bullitt/ Mach 1 13" brakes. The great advantage with the Cobras is the fade resistance with repeated use of the brakes.

I have the basic Cobra style brakes on my LX. I haven't tested mine too much, but then again I still have the Fox booster and the brakes are pretty hard when you get on them. I have a SN95 booster sitting around waiting for installation. I had the PBRs and they were fine, but since I got the new loaded plain Cobra calipers for $150 and used 26,000 mile Brembo rotors for $40, I couldn't pass it up. Sold my PBRs for $80. Since I got the parts for about $110 after the PBR sale, I sprung for the Maximum Motorsports SS lines and still have less then $200 in the brake upgrade.

Here are a few pics of mine:

With previous wheels:

Current wheels:

payupsucka · Dec 25, 2005

why dont you just buy a nice pair of powerslot rotors ? those are cheap enough. unless iam wrong isnt the caliper of the pbr and teh cobra pretty much the same? they are both twin piston. i know my calipers on my baer brakes are pbr

RacEoHolic330 · Dec 25, 2005

They are both dual piston but the Cobra is a better caliper. I don't know the physics behind it too well, but as said above the cobras are much more resistant to brake fade and obviously the larger rotors improve stopping distance. Not to mention they fill the wheels much better than the GT rotors.

thanks for the reply trbkrb, that's exactly the info I was looking for. Now I just need to find a killer deal on some brakes

tomustang · Dec 25, 2005

stock GT calipers aren't twin pistons

RacEoHolic330 · Dec 25, 2005

the 99+ PBR's are

tomustang · Dec 25, 2005

RacEoHolic330 said:
the 99+ PBR's are

didn't know that, if you went over to the 4.6 Tech side you'd see how many 99+ GT owners upgraded the stock brakes to the cobra kits, and seen a very big improvment

2000xp8 · Dec 25, 2005

They'll stop better, but likely not enough for your body or mind to feel the difference.

Mavrick · Dec 25, 2005

RacEoHolic330 said:
They are both dual piston but the Cobra is a better caliper.

I don't think the caliper is much "better" - it is just different... the biggest factor would be the larger 13" rotor.

Mustang5L5 · Dec 25, 2005

RacEoHolic330 said:
They are both dual piston but the Cobra is a better caliper. I don't know the physics behind it too well, but as said above the cobras are much more resistant to brake fade and obviously the larger rotors improve stopping distance. Not to mention they fill the wheels much better than the GT rotors.

Actually, the GT PBR is a better caliper. It's significantly larger with it's 44.5mm pistons. The CObra calipers has 40mm pistons in it's latest version. Also the GT PBR has better cooling vanes on it.

The reason the Cobra setup brakes better is the rotor. It's larger (13" vs 10.9" and thicker as well. All that mass absorbs heat better and leads to less brake fade. Brade fade depends mostly on the rotor. The more mass, the more heat the rotors absorb and the less fade. Also the Cobra rotor offers more mechanical advantage in stopping

On a single 60-0 stop comparison, you may not notice a difference between the GT setup and the Cobra setup. But get on the highway at high speed and press on the brakes and you'll notice the GT's brakes start to fade near the end of the stop. I notice this on my '03 GT all the time. The CObra brakes will hold all the way to the end and offer repeat performance.

Someone on the 4.6 board a few years back had a good idea of making a bracket to bolt the GT PBR to a Cobra rotor. As good of an idea as it was, it can't be done. The curvature isn't right and the caliper sits up to high. Only half the piston would push against the rotor face.

TrophyHead · Dec 25, 2005

Where do we find/buy cobra caliper brackets? Sorry for the hijack Scott.....still piecing my parts together.

2000xp8 · Dec 25, 2005

Brackets are very hard to come by, they should of just came attached to the cobra calipers.

TrophyHead · Dec 25, 2005

2000xp8 said:
Brackets are very hard to come by, they should of just came attached to the cobra calipers.

My bad your right they do come with the calipers. Just ordered the calipers yesterday.

PPI does sell them seperatley cost 170 bucks for both sides.

American_Muscle · Dec 25, 2005

It's probably just the bling-factor.

People want the "cobra" on their calipers.

I picked up a set of 10th anniversary cobra calipers with brackets.

But that's only because I got a heckuva deal.

RacEoHolic330 · Dec 25, 2005

acutally, I'd rather find a pair of plain mach 1 calipers because I'm just going to sand them down and polish them up myself for the ultimate bling factor

4G-KDMP · Dec 25, 2005

RacEoHolic330 said:
acutally, I'd rather find a pair of plain mach 1 calipers because I'm just going to sand them down and polish them up myself for the ultimate bling factor

please post some pics when you get that ultimate bling factor, id really like to see them .
you can polish and sand calipers without messing then up ?

trbkrb · Dec 25, 2005

If they are aluminum, you can polish them up nicely, Here is a thread with some of the stock PBRs polished. I know there are some polished Cobras out there also.

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=463248&highlight=polished+PBR

Mustang5L5 · Dec 25, 2005

Yeah, aluminum polishes right up.

Silly me decided to paint them red afterwards (pics above)

RacEoHolic330 · Dec 25, 2005

^^ yupp, that's exactly the look i'm going for, just without the cobra lettering

larrendeuce · Dec 25, 2005

You could sand down the cobra lettering if you wanted to. If you find a good deal on them I wouldn't pass it up.

How much better are Cobra 13" front brakes compared to 99-04 PBR brakes?

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