Stock GT brakes draging......

[Yellow2002GT]

Well, I just wanted to share some info for all of you........I have been doing some research on other forums after reading about a brake problem on racer was having........Draging front brakes........I have been running my car at the track for years now and been gettin inconsistant times and drastic MPH changes through the 1/4.........Well It seems that the stock PBR calipers on the GT tend to drag alot.......I have changed brake pads....rebled my system and lubed everything that could be lubed for the system......only to have my brakes still draging in the front.......One member....GT.....lost .3 tenths with just one front caliper draging in the front......I even tried different rotors twice to no prevail.......at the time I was getting frusterated with it.......so I ended up getting a set of 04 Cobra front calipers, rotors for free and tried them out.........I could not believe how much of a difference it made.......not only did it free it up but my 1/4 times and MPH improved drastically.........With the stock PBR brakes I would spin both tires and they would maybe go around one full rotation......with the Cobras it didn't stop spinning.......My car at the time was running 13.00 consistantly and hitting 12.9's ocasionally at 102-103mph........the very first run after the Cobra brake install it went 12.68@ 105MPH and went from running 8.2's and 8.3's to 8.0's consistantly......and even hit a 12.59@ 105 and 7.99@85 .............The stock brakes were slowing me down by .4 tenths.........I was shocked.......granted my car is heavily bolton vehicle but run 17x9 rims all around with MT DR's out back..............no change in the race weight was made at that time and the runs were at the same track..........the 60fts were almost identicle but noticed a slight inprovement and actually hit high 1.69's now.......I just wanted to share this information will all of you because after reading alot about front brakes dragging it seems that the stock calipers are quite insufficient..........Sorry so long but wanted to explain the result....

"ED"

 

[justinschmidt1]

Well, I just wanted to share some info for all of you........I have been doing some research on other forums after reading about a brake problem on racer was having........Draging front brakes........I have been running my car at the track for years now and been gettin inconsistant times and drastic MPH changes through the 1/4.........Well It seems that the stock PBR calipers on the GT tend to drag alot.......I have changed brake pads....rebled my system and lubed everything that could be lubed for the system......only to have my brakes still draging in the front.......One member....GT.....lost .3 tenths with just one front caliper draging in the front......I even tried different rotors twice to no prevail.......at the time I was getting frusterated with it.......so I ended up getting a set of 04 Cobra front calipers, rotors for free and tried them out.........I could not believe how much of a difference it made.......not only did it free it up but my 1/4 times and MPH improved drastically.........With the stock PBR brakes I would spin both tires and they would maybe go around one full rotation......with the Cobras it didn't stop spinning.......My car at the time was running 13.00 consistantly and hitting 12.9's ocasionally at 102-103mph........the very first run after the Cobra brake install it went 12.68@ 105MPH and went from running 8.2's and 8.3's to 8.0's consistantly......and even hit a 12.59@ 105 and 7.99@85 .............The stock brakes were slowing me down by .4 tenths.........I was shocked.......granted my car is heavily bolton vehicle but run 17x9 rims all around with MT DR's out back..............no change in the race weight was made at that time and the runs were at the same track..........the 60fts were almost identicle but noticed a slight inprovement and actually hit high 1.69's now.......I just wanted to share this information will all of you because after reading alot about front brakes dragging it seems that the stock calipers are quite insufficient..........Sorry so long but wanted to explain the result....

"ED"

but will everyone have this improvement?...Im not trying to spend lot of money for nothing..haha im gonna lift my car and see how freely they spin

 

[crzyhrse99]

are the cobra calipers a direct replacement, or are they designed for larger rotors?

 

[Yellow2002GT]

I just put on brand new rotors and pads today.......car stops on a dime and has no binding at all........the rotors were 26 dollars a piece from pep boys and the pads were 69 bucks..........the calipers I didn't price but should be around 150-200 bucks.........overall they stop better and don't bind at all..........take it for what its worth.....check your caliper and spin those tires.......you will see what I am talking about.........

"ED"

 

[justinschmidt1]

I lifted my car and tryed spinning the front wheels..they definately dont feel like bicycle tires like you said yours did with cobra brakes..the front right would spin about 2-3 times but the front left would spin like 1-2 ...

 

[squares98]

I lifted my car and tryed spinning the front wheels..they definately dont feel like bicycle tires like you said yours did with cobra brakes..the front right would spin about 2-3 times but the front left would spin like 1-2 ...[/Q

you are right, it have some resistance when you spin the wheel. Dunno why the original poster poster said his brakes spin freely. Maybe he forgot the brake pads.

 

[Yellow2002GT]

I lifted my car and tryed spinning the front wheels..they definately dont feel like bicycle tires like you said yours did with cobra brakes..the front right would spin about 2-3 times but the front left would spin like 1-2 ...[/Q

you are right, it have some resistance when you spin the wheel. Dunno why the original poster poster said his brakes spin freely. Maybe he forgot the brake pads.

Nope.....there on there........ The Cobra brakes havn't dragged at all so far and feel much better................thats why I am sharing this info.......they are not supposed to have resistance.....if the brake pads aren't pulling away from the rotors...they are robbing performance....

"ED"

 

[Brute03]

is there a way to "fix" the stockers? mine drag so bad they hold the car still when i'm off the brakes

 

[BennyBlown2v]

I know I went from a 12.9 to a 12.7 when I changed brakes (before current powerlevels).

 

[Yellow2002GT]

is there a way to "fix" the stockers? mine drag so bad they hold the car still when i'm off the brakes

The design of the stock GT calipers ain't really that great....the pads really don't stay seated tight with the calipers.....the Cobra's pads fit really tight with the calipers and the design is alot more efficient.......I tried everything to fix the stockers and one was free moving for about a week but the other would always grab..........brand new rotors, pads, rebled system....nothing seemed to work...not even braided lines............the pads just float between the calipers and the rotors.....and won't pull away completely.............

"ED"

 

[RedDaemon]

i thought i was bad with elipses

nice info!

 

[joshheat25]

This sounds logical, but I guess this is only one some gt's. because if I can go out there and spin my wheel freely then I am assuming that my brakes aren't grabbing alot.. also what about the rears??? .4 seconds in the 1/4 mile seems alot! I know when I run my car my 1/4mile times differ about .1 seconds either way.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Wheels almost never spin freely. Do not raise you wheel and spin it and draw any conclusions from the way it spins (unless you hear severe grinding).

The amount of force generated by your hands is such a small fraction of the force generated by the engine that nothing meaningful can possibly be drawn by how freely your wheels spin.

Also, to the thread starter did you test spin them before or after you bedded your brakes? I suspect you spun them while the car was still up from the install and before the brakes had ever been applied.

IMHO this thread is not "good info" its just

The brake pads do not EVER "pull away" from the rotors, they always ride against each other.