What disc brake set up?

pacesco

New Member
Jan 21, 2004
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i have a 95 GT convertable and i want to upgrade the front and rear brakes to something larger. what is the best bang for the buck? from what little research i have done it appears that the cobra would be the cheapest but does this increase the stopping power by much over what i have now?

just wondering what everyone else has changed to and how you like it?
 
I only did the Cobra brakes on the front and it was a night and day difference, both in stopping power, and pedal feel. This year has Cobra rears on the agenda as well. Waiting to do those when I swap to a 31 spline rear.
 
Upgraded brakes are the best. I have SSBC 3 Pistons and it grabs hard! Cobras are the best bang for the buck though, great upgrade.


I only did the Cobra brakes on the front and it was a night and day difference, both in stopping power, and pedal feel. This year has Cobra rears on the agenda as well. Waiting to do those when I swap to a 31 spline rear.

what are you doing for a rear end set up? I just upgraded my rear end this past summer.
 
Redline 351R said:
what are you doing for a rear end set up? I just upgraded my rear end this past summer.


Nothing drastic. More than likely, 31 spline Tracloc and some aftermarket axles. I'm more concerned with losing an axle than the Tracloc at my current power level. 03-04 Cobras are making a lot more power than me using that differential, so I hope I'm safe.
 
Nothing drastic. More than likely, 31 spline Tracloc and some aftermarket axles. I'm more concerned with losing an axle than the Tracloc at my current power level. 03-04 Cobras are making a lot more power than me using that differential, so I hope I'm safe.

Im sure it will be fine, I just threw in the FMS 31 limited slip. So far so good, nothings blown up at the track as of this past fall.
 
i definitely need to do this.... my brakes are horrible. Driving everyday in rush hour traffic makes you realize the need for good brakes. lol

Are you guys leaving the rear brakes stock? What are the options for the rear upgrades? I believe baer has a kit that reuses the stock rear calipers but allows for 13" rotors.
 
The cobra brake kit is a good upgrade from stock and adds a lot of confidence for daily driving. It's definitely worth your time, effort, and money. If you can cough of the extra dough, go for the Brembo kit or better.
 
Unless you are building a track car, the cobra's front and rear should be all you need.

The difference is night and day... Well worth the money... takes some time but not too bad if you have a helper at least for bleeding the brakes...
 
brake upgrade is definitely worth it. doesn't take but an hour and half or so to swap everything out and maybe another half-hour or so to bleed them.

just did this a day before a 4-hour cruise we had and i'm glad i had the security of extra stopping power.
 
brake upgrade is definitely worth it. doesn't take but an hour and half or so to swap everything out and maybe another half-hour or so to bleed them.

just did this a day before a 4-hour cruise we had and i'm glad i had the security of extra stopping power.

Not every car is that easy....

My front bolts were frozen in there and I spent hours on them before finally grining off the heads and buying new bolts. Even after that it took me and a bud close to 6 hours to do all of it. that includes a few breaks and it was darn cold out so we were working slow but still took the better part of a day... The rear brakes took longer than the fronts.
 
found this from the corral ... if it is worth it :shrug:

Cobra Brake Upgrade for 94-98 cars cheap

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I don’t know if anyone has done a write-up on Cobra brake conversion for 94-98 cars. I just finished the conversion on my 1995 Gt and it can be done for about $200. Advance is the only place I could find re-man loaded calipers that come with brackets. I purchased the hoses with bolts and rotors through AcDelco. I don’t know what part stores you have locally. The only down side to buying re-man calipers is you may end up with one caliper with COBRA and one smooth, I did. On the plus side you have a lifetime warranty. Here is a break-down of the parts:

Calipers with brackets and pads (Advance Auto Parts) Part numbers: 164654 & 164655 $67.29 EA

AcDelco Brake Hoses/bolts Part numbers: 18J1182 Left & 18J1181 Right $11.49 & $12.62

AcDelco Brake Rotors Part number: 18A964 $32.00 EA


I don’t know if your area if you can find the same prices. I work in the auto field and have some good connections. As far as the swap goes it is straight forward. The caliper mounting bolts are the same. The only note I have is you have to check the clearance between the bracket and the rotor. I had to shim the right side 1/32”. The bracket rubbed the rotor on the outside. Also there is a core charge on the calipers, I returned my GT calipers in the place of the Cobra ones with no issues. I will say there is a big difference in the braking.
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found this from the corral ... if it is worth it :shrug:

Cobra Brake Upgrade for 94-98 cars cheap

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don’t know if anyone has done a write-up on Cobra brake conversion for 94-98 cars. I just finished the conversion on my 1995 Gt and it can be done for about $200. Advance is the only place I could find re-man loaded calipers that come with brackets. I purchased the hoses with bolts and rotors through AcDelco. I don’t know what part stores you have locally. The only down side to buying re-man calipers is you may end up with one caliper with COBRA and one smooth, I did. On the plus side you have a lifetime warranty. Here is a break-down of the parts:

Calipers with brackets and pads (Advance Auto Parts) Part numbers: 164654 & 164655 $67.29 EA

AcDelco Brake Hoses/bolts Part numbers: 18J1182 Left & 18J1181 Right $11.49 & $12.62

AcDelco Brake Rotors Part number: 18A964 $32.00 EA


I don’t know if your area if you can find the same prices. I work in the auto field and have some good connections. As far as the swap goes it is straight forward. The caliper mounting bolts are the same. The only note I have is you have to check the clearance between the bracket and the rotor. I had to shim the right side 1/32”. The bracket rubbed the rotor on the outside. Also there is a core charge on the calipers, I returned my GT calipers in the place of the Cobra ones with no issues. I will say there is a big difference in the braking.
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thanks for the info!!! i am going to check that out and see what i come up with. i did find a roucsh set up using baer calipers up front and rotors for front and rear with new brackets for the rear to use the stock calipers that i have for $700. this is what i was going to buy until i read your thread... now i am going to call the local parts store to see what i come up with there....