What the difference between a 93 Cobra rearend and a regular mustang 8.8 rearend?

[stangboy]

Hey guys, a friend of mine is thinking about buying a 93 Cobra rearend from someone but neither one of us is sure if the 93 Cobra rearend is longer than a regular mustang 8.8. He said he already had to roll the lip of the back fenders to clear the 275s he has on 17x9" Cobra Rs. So he didn't want to get the Cobra rearend and have the back wheels stick out even more. So can someone explain to me the exact difference(measurements if you have them) between the 93 Cobra rearend and the regular mustang 8.8s?

 

[drgn5.0]

correct me if i'm wrong, but i've never heard of a difference in the rear ends for the cobra vs a lx or gt. i'd love to hear different though if it were true.

 

[jrichker]

The 93 Cobra is the pretty much the same rear end as the 87-88 T-Bird Turbo Coupe. It has 10" disk brakes and the axles are 3/4" longer on each side. That means the wheels need a greater offset to keep the tires from rubbing the inner fender lip when larger size tires are used.

I have a 3.55 geared Turbo Coupe rear end in my 89 GT and it works very good.

 

[Stang8URMPRT]

I didn't think there was a difference. I know the Turbo Coupe has a wider 8.8, but I doubt the Cobra did.

Nick

 

[stangbear427]

Not to mention five lugs.

 

[Legendary]

I don't think cobra rearends have 5 lugs but I could be wrong. The Cobra is longer just like the tubro coupe and come with disc brakes. The only advantage of the tubro coupe over the cobra is they come with 3.55 and 3.73 gears. Can't beat that.

 

[stangbear427]

I believe they are, one of the plethora of five lug conversions for our foxes includes '93 spindles. I know that the '93 Cobra R was five lug, and it also debuted the three way/six spoke rims that would show up in '94 on the GT, also five lug, only on the R they were black w/ chrome hubs. I believe the non R model was five lug too though...

 

[PIMTOUT]

cobra r .... 5 lug
cobra ...... 4 lug and is the same as 87-88 turbo coupe.only has 327 gears
turbo coupe 5 speed has 355 gears and auto has 373....
and im looking for one!!!

 

[88stangmangt]

interesting????????

 

[stangboy]

Ok, so let me get this straight, the turbo coupe rearend is the same as the Cobra's except it came with a bigger gear and 5-lug? Ok, so either way my friend shouldn't get the Cobra rearend because his 17x9 Cobra Rs will rub the inner fender. I'll break the bad news to him later this afternoon. He really wanted those disk brakes.

 

[93Cobra2771]

stangboy - yes, the rearend is 3/4" wider per side, and will cause the wheels to stick out 3/4" further. Trying to find a set of wide wheels with the correct offset is a PITA.

There are a few minor differences between the 93 Cobra rearend and TC rearend:
• The quad shock mount is taller
• The axles have ABS rings
• They came with 3.55's (5sp) and 3.73's (auto)

93 Cobra is 4 lug, with 3.08 gears
93 Cobra R is 5 lug
TC is 4 lug

jrichker pretty much nailed it with his post...

An option for your friend would be to get the rearend and use his stock length fox axles with the north race cars brackets (http://www.northracecars.com/catalog/brakes/brakes.htm)
"4-Lug Rear Disk Brake Conversion (10.125" Rotor)".

This allows him to use the rearend and keep his current offset by relocating the calipers with the brackets (very nice brackets, btw).

 

[Michael Yount]

jrichker - if the axles are longer, why would that cause interference on the inner fender? Wouldn't that move the wheel closer to the outer fender?

 

[93Cobra2771]

Michael - I think he meant his outer fender...

 

[jrichker]

Ok, so let me get this straight, the turbo coupe rearend is the same as the Cobra's except it came with a bigger gear and 5-lug? Ok, so either way my friend shouldn't get the Cobra rearend because his 17x9 Cobra Rs will rub the inner fender. I'll break the bad news to him later this afternoon. He really wanted those disk brakes.

Turbo Coupe Rear ends are all 4 lug stock, and come with disk brakes. They have 3.55 (5 speed) or 3.73 gears (auto)

Converting them to 5 lug requires use of Lincoln rear rotors. There is a 10.5" 5 lug rotor from a Lincoln that will do the job, although I do not have the year or model handy.

 

[stangboy]

Thanks guys. You were a big help.

jrichker and 93Cobra2771, thanks for all the details. That was the biggest help. I will relay this info to my friend. Thanks again!

 

[86lx]

jrichker

you said
"Converting them to 5 lug requires use of Lincoln rear rotors. There is a 10.5" 5 lug rotor from a Lincoln that will do the job, although I do not have the year or model handy."

I'd like the info on what Lincoln rear rotors will work. I have an 86 notchback that i just bought a set of 2000 GT wheels for. I'm planning on doing the sn95 swap for the front, but have a 88 TC rear that i want to put in. If you come up with the answer e-mail me at [email protected] or [email protected]

 

[PhLoBuS]

I thought they were the same until the 94 mustangs

 

[9 Deuce GT]

Somtimes the people on this site really piss me off. Why don't we all just give this ****ing guy the web site to the master, and get the agony over! Matt has obviously researched his ass off to give us guys the correct answers to questions, and all these people do is **** **** up for everyone else. I'll be honest, I used to think Matt was kind of a dick for answering posts with a negative tone, but now I fully understand why he does it. Most people on this site have absolutly no clue what they are talking about, but are not afriad to show thier stupidity and give someone false information.

Stangboy,

do yourself and your friend a favor and check out http://sn95brakes.cjb.net/

This is the information you want to follow when doing anything related to rear ends/brakes.

 

[stangbear427]

Hm. That was appropriate... this thread came back from the dead so you could say that? Thanks for putting us all in our place, mom. We'll all be reeeaal quiet from now on, and wait for Matt to show up. Or you of course, since you have his knowledge all linked up already. :worship:

 

[Matt90GT]

This is pretty simple.

The axle housing on the 93 cobra is the same as any other v8 mustang. length, gears (3.08s) and mounts.

What is different is the axle shaft lengths. They are 3/4" wider per side to use the M2300C disc brake kit that was sourced from the TC rear disc brakes (vented 10.5" rotors). Thus the ebrake cables and hydraulic fittings are different than the Gt/LX v8 mustangs.

And they are 4 lug.