Cobra Brakes.....

ricardoa1

Registered User
Well I did it, it seems that the Cobra Brakes are not immune to warpage with me behing the wheel. I am starting to get warpage vibrations when driving the car to the limits. Pads are not even half worn......:mad:
 
Hopefully he doesn't say KVR.

-Corey

When I purchased my '90 SC, it had KVR cross drilled rotors on the front. They were so problem free that I replaced the OEM rotors on my LX with KVR cross drilled rotors. Haven't had a problem with them warping.

(I used to keep an extra set of OEM rotors handy for the LX and so I could swap the warped set for the set that was turned. Did that about once a year.)

eddie
'90 5-speed SC
'97 LX sport
 
I know I dont drive a cobra, but the family has had plenty of fords. And NEVER has a factory motorcraft rotor warped. I know you don't drive like a granny and motorcraft isnt performance, but whatever they are doing Ive never had one warp. My sc has 140k miles and 2 original rotors, and has had 2 rotors put on. Mainly because the throttle stuck on my mom and she cooked em trying to get it stopped. Other than that it still has original rotors up front that I turned when I put the new back ones on. Motorcraft will probably be expensive, but thats what Id put on, naturally someone makes them for ford so you may be able to figure that out and get them cheaper. Im sure there are some good aftermaket rotors out there though.
 
I know I dont drive a cobra, but the family has had plenty of fords. And NEVER has a factory motorcraft rotor warped. I know you don't drive like a granny and motorcraft isnt performance, but whatever they are doing Ive never had one warp. My sc has 140k miles and 2 original rotors, and has had 2 rotors put on. Mainly because the throttle stuck on my mom and she cooked em trying to get it stopped. Other than that it still has original rotors up front that I turned when I put the new back ones on. Motorcraft will probably be expensive, but thats what Id put on, naturally someone makes them for ford so you may be able to figure that out and get them cheaper. Im sure there are some good aftermaket rotors out there though.

You've been very, very lucky.

'96-'98 Cobra's had such a problem with front rotor warpage, that Ford had to upgrade to a Brembo-made rotor in '99 (identified by the gray paint on the center of the hub).

My '90 SC used to go through a set of rotors every 10K miles.

One of the reasons that I did the bolt circle change and brake upgrade, and wrote the corresponding article in 2000 when I bought my '95.
 
Im suprised the brembos warped. Im not easy on my brakes either and havent even had to change my pads in years...Then again I dont have the massive power you have nor drive my SC nearly as much
 
Im suprised the brembos warped. Im not easy on my brakes either and havent even had to change my pads in years...Then again I dont have the massive power you have nor drive my SC nearly as much

I dont drive this car alot either although I have been forced to lately. starting last summer then it was taken off the road for the winter.

You dont want to get in the car when my adrenaline is going I push it pretty hard. I use them alot upon entry of a turn. But still I though the rotors were going to last alot longer then they did. They are not too bad now and you only feel them warped under hard braking. But the vibes are there.

The more I drive this car the more I feel the chances of getting into trouble increase, I am not sure about some of you but when I get into this thing it takes alot of self control to not mash the pedal, it is simply too tempting. Last night a local 03 Cobra that I raced before with the M112 made a U-turn and I was going straight at an intersection. A little guy popped up on my left shoulder and said- Go ahead make a U-turn too. The other guy on my right shoulder did not even make its prescence. I told my self dont do it, dont do it, the Cobra guy WOT after making the U-turn to make himself known, I told myself next time next time.
 
Ricardo,

I don't drive my car nearly as hard as it sounds like you do, but the KVR slotted and cadium plated rotors I put on my 93 are holding up great. Planning to use the same style and brand on my 91 and to replace the badly worn rotors on my wife's Charger SRT8.

David
 
I agree with Doug about you being VERY lucky. The '95 XR7 I previously had liked to warp rotors. Even my '94 warped rotors. Ever mash the brakes trying to stop from 60mph just so you don't annihilate bambi? It's basically the quickest way to replacing your brakes.

And birdless, try not to hijack threads. This thread is about the Cobra brake swap, not stock calipers. You can find the info if you search, and if you can't find it on here, you can over on http://www.tccoa.com

-Corey
 
My Cobra Powerslots with Porterfield pads are starting to warp again. I had them turned last summer because of the vibes and the left side was out slightly. They were great all fall/winter, but now they are starting to vibrate slightly again. Still almost 3/4 pad left. I'll have to try something different next time... :(
 
On my two cars, at various times, I have had stock brakes, GT calipers, Cobra calipers/rotors and Cobra R calipers. Every single one has warped very quickly.
 
On my two cars, at various times, I have had stock brakes, GT calipers, Cobra calipers/rotors and Cobra R calipers. Every single one has warped very quickly.

Really? I've found that the more even pressure that's applied, over a wider area, by the Brembo calipers has significantly reduced warping. :)

However, I don't cross or road race them. :eek:
 
Anytime you replace or resurface rotors due to heat warpage, be sure to replace the pads too. Most likely you have cooked and crystalized the pads dramatically lowering their coefficient of friction which in turn overheats the rotors again. Also, resurfacing warped rotors is generally a short term fix because the resulting uneven thickness will warp quickly again. Also, rotors that got hot enough to warp will have hard/soft spots on them which will again, lead to warping.

Also, when replacing pads or rotors be sure to properly break in your pads. If you don't let them bed in properly and develop a good wear pattern, you'll just end up back at square one.

If you are warping rotors, generally the thing to do is look for a pad that is more suited to your driving style. Another thing you can do is look for a more aggressive rear pad. Also, anyone with 13" front brakes and not the corresponding rears is asking for warped front rotors.

Corey, I had a terrible time with the original rotors on the XR7. They were replaced on recall from Ford when I first got it and they warped at about 30K miles. I had them surfaced and they warped again right away. Cross drilling the rotors seemed to help, but then they cracked, so that was a short term solution too.

Coincidently, I came across a set of KVR cross drilled rotors and they've been great so far but I am not hard on the brakes either (anymore).
 
I dont drive this car alot either although I have been forced to lately. starting last summer then it was taken off the road for the winter.

You dont want to get in the car when my adrenaline is going I push it pretty hard. I use them alot upon entry of a turn. But still I though the rotors were going to last alot longer then they did. They are not too bad now and you only feel them warped under hard braking. But the vibes are there.

The more I drive this car the more I feel the chances of getting into trouble increase, I am not sure about some of you but when I get into this thing it takes alot of self control to not mash the pedal, it is simply too tempting. Last night a local 03 Cobra that I raced before with the M112 made a U-turn and I was going straight at an intersection. A little guy popped up on my left shoulder and said- Go ahead make a U-turn too. The other guy on my right shoulder did not even make its prescence. I told my self dont do it, dont do it, the Cobra guy WOT after making the U-turn to make himself known, I told myself next time next time.

Dude, You sound like me. I go through these same things. Especially when Im on two wheels....Oh, I will just pop it up for a second. 1/4 mile and triple digits later I am asking myself what is wrong with me.....That being said. The MN12's were notorious for Rotor warpage. There were several TSB's and recall's for the issue. They had a lot to do with Ford going with the on-car brake lathe's back in the mid-90's. But all that did was extend a temporary fix a little further....
 
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I have warped both OEM and Raybestos replacement rotors. My crossdrilled KVR rotors, though, despite getting the brakes hot enough to profusely smoke while running laps at Road Atlanta did not warp. They did develop light cracks at the crossdrill holes even thiough I was told that they wouldn't crack, but if they were going to warp they would have then.
 
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