Upgrading brakes

[csledd]

Well.. I think there's about 40% of my brakes left and I have an issue with a heat crack in the rotor. So I just want to do a nice conversion I think, I've always heard the cobra brake kit is the best. I don't want to spend a million dollars on something like the cobra r.. but I really wanted something that is drilled so they cool down quicker and all that goodness. It didn't look like the cobra brake kit rotors were drilled.

What do you think is the best combination to go with? I want to replace all 4.. I think

[bikerjoe]

dont go drilled go slotted...or else ull get more probs with heat cracks

[WaterDR]

Is there not a Bullitt brake kit?

[MattJ]

do the cobra brake kit with the oem brembo blank rotors. slotted and cross drilled eat your pads away in a street setup.
cobra and mach 1 both have 2 piston 13" brakes up front.

[stanger00]

i like bullitts the best but i got the cobras real cheap

[csledd]

so slotted and drilled are both bad and i should just stick to the normal?

[MattJ]

Originally Posted by csledd

so slotted and drilled are both bad and i should just stick to the normal?

Well tey are great if your brakes are glowing red to cool them down, but in your normal street driving setup your brakes dont get like that. They will do nothing but eat your pads alive. Stay with oem blank rotors that the cobra kit comes with which are brembos.

Get yourself some nice street/strip pads and youll be better off.

[r3dn3ck]

Jesus tap dancing christ... so much incomplete information. Tell people why you recommend something, not just that you do. I wouldn't trust any of you as far as I could spit in text without some reasoning to vett your responses against. Sorry but that's the fact of the matter. </rant>

Here comes the big article. Pay attention cuz this comes from EXPERIENCE:

Cobra (not Cobra R those are different), Mach1, Bullit are all the same brake kit for all intents and purposes. They're a twin piston floating caliper with 13" rotors. This is the best balance of power and cost for a street stang. If you want to seriously race you'll want something more intense like the 4piston 2000 R (Brembo) setup. I run a Baer Track Kit which is nothing more than a relabeled Cobra/Bullit/Mach kit. I run hard and they've always served me well. They're not a racing setup, they're a hot street setup and they rock for that purpose.

The cobra/bullit/mach front brakes are great all by themselves. Don't bother with the rear, there's no significant braking force coming from those. Read that again. There's no need to bother with the rear brakes. The balance doesn't change enough with the cobra kit to make a difference. I've tested my stopping distances with every possible combination and the best with 4 wheel cobra kits was not enough better than the front-only setup to justify the effort or cost.

The swap is about 500-650 bucks all in. You'll need rotors (more on rotor choice later), calipers, caliper mounting brackets (usually come with the calipers unless you buy crap off ebay), pads and brake lines. I suggest popping for a set of stainless steel braided lines but, they're not necessary. You'll need cobra lines if you don't get SS braided. Change your brake fluid while you're at it. You should do that periodically anyway. Now's a good opportunity. Racing brake fluids can be had for 15 bucks a quart and have MUCH higher boiling points. If you boil your fluid, your brakes stop working.

Rotors: Plain face rotors are just fine for street cars and less than ideal for track cars. Slotted are my preferred type for all conditions as the slots clean the face of the pads with every pass and don't affect the structural integrity of the rotor itself (powerslot, brembo, baer are my choices no matter what style, probably in the reverse order though haha). MODERN PADS DO NOT OUTGAS! That's a fact. If anyone could get that to happen I would, and I've glazed a lot of sets of pads really really bad but never experienced anything resembling outgassing (you'd notice). Slotted will wear your pads a small bit faster but noone cares because it's not enough of a difference to make a real difference, so if you like the look get them. Drilled rotors are the worst idea ever. They crack, break, shatter, and don't stop as well as plain face or slotted rotors of the same size. There's a simple reason for that.... holes in the surface = less surface area = less friction = less stopping force. Holes give cracks somewhere to start and offer uneven heat dissipation. No bwaynoh.

Pads. The easiest choice. If you're not racing, use something like Hawk HPS or EBC Green. Even stock replacements are fine. I use stock equivalent up front and Hawk HPS or EBC Greens in back (I have all 4 wheels with cobra brakes). That mix gives me the best balance for my driving style. Don't go with the cheapest pad just because it's the cheapest. Pay for good pads and you'll get good pads in most cases. You don't need fancy unobtanium-ceramic-tungsten jobbies.. they're not going to help with street tires and the brake temps you're likely to ever encounter.

Now, go out and buy yourself a 400 dollar cobra kit, a 100 dollar set of SS braided lines, a 15 dollar jug of racing brake fluid, and a 60 dollar set of pads, 1 friend and 2 hours. It's easy to do and you don't really need any special tools.

Remember this is just cars.. not brain surgery. Bigger is usually better but not without a point of diminishing returns. With cobra brakes, your tires are the limiting factor in your braking performance.

Don't worry Napoleon. I'm sure you'll find your soul mate someday. Peece Out.

[Badfish]

Thanks for all that info! That will def help in the future

[Shambles]

If you want more stopping power the 03/04 Cobra calipers are the better calipers to use. They have larger pistons than they older Cobra calipers, but require a special banjo bolt. Not too big of a deal though, as they come with the calipers most times.

For me, for the amount of HP i put out, and the age of my system, I just overhauled the front setup. It took me about 3-4 hours to do the whole change, rotors and all. Only difficulty came in removing the goddamn caliper bracket (whoo breaker bar!). Ive got 03 Cobra Calipers w/ Powerslot rotors, w/ Hawk HPS pads and it makes a HUGE difference. Definately a big change from stock in braking power.

The brembo blank rotors are fine for everyday driving. Their interior venting are actually quite good, but I just like my powerslots better. I get much better stopping distance on those.

Cross drilled is a nono, but dimpled might be something to consider. Instead of being drilled all the way through they are dimpled to provide the same braking effect of cross drilled rotors, without the cracking. Powerslot makes dimpled rotors (Prostop I believe they are called), but unless you are REALLY driving your car hard, you wont need them. Slotted make a world of difference. Just bed your pads w/ a few heat cycles and go about your life.

I'll get some pics of my new setup tomorrow When its not raining out. The new rotors and calipers really make those front wheels look good, although I know the whole car could use a bit of a washing :P.

As far as your rears...I would upgrade to the Cobra-Spec rears, but you really dont need to do much beyond that. No need to slotted or cross drilled there. Increasing rotor size and pad contact surface area cant hurt at all. For those just get the old style cobra calipers. There wasnt a real big difference between the Cobra kits in the rear calipers.

[spike_africa]

up grading the rear isnt needed at all. it uses the same GT and V6 rear calipers like said but it does give a bigger rotor with more pad area but honestly dont bother its not needed.

[stanger00]

if the rear uses the same caliper how do you get more pad coverage. all it is really is a larger rotor. i would only buy them for the look.

[spike_africa]

its a larger rotor so the pad has more area to go over it heats up slower so its a bit better but like someone else said its a waste if you think you will brake any better with it in the real world, unless you race alot then the extra surface would eb nice for the cooling part of it.

[Budstang]

Don't you need new crush washers to prevent leaks when attaching the brake line to the caliper?

[dfroster]

cobra and bullitt offer 13"front 11.65 rear rotors. the dia of the pistons on the calps are the same (48mm)as stock PBRs. the increase comes from the dai of the rotors and design of the calps (have more pad-to-rotor surface contact).Cross drilled rotors, in the past with cheaper brands, had a chance of cracking IF they were ran hot and you hit them with water!!I have three mustangs 2-street driven, 1- track only and i mean track only. I have cross/slot on all.my 04 just got the bullitt upgrade a few weeks ago. make sure,if you use aftermarket rotors they are zink washed. there is about 1" where the pads don't make contact and this area will rust and look like crap in a few weeks if you don't. here's my 04,my wifes in our99 and i'll shot apic of my 93'sbaer setup if you like(14" 4piston setup)