Cobra vs GT Brake Upgrades

Super XR7

Registered User
Does anyone know the difference between the Cobra and the Mustang GT front brakes in using them as a upgrade on a 89 Cougar with 93 spindles. I have been looking in Ebay and notice that alot of the 13" GT rotors say that they will not work on the Cobra brakes system. If I buy Cobra calipers will I also need to buy Cobra rotors? and will the Cobra combo work on my car??

Thanks
Mike Tuck
Super XR7
 
You need to have the Cobra rotors together ithe Cobra calipers and brackets, or all GT stuff together, can't be mixed. Try the "search" feature, all of the details on this swap have been covered here in the last few months on various threads. :)


cheers
Ed Nicholson
SCCoO
 
SO MIKE, Where is my steering column at??? Am I going to have to contact my attorney and/or police?

You could at least return my emails..........It's truely ashame that you have to screw people over that were giving you a KILLER deal on those parts......but since you screwed me, I wonder who is going to be next!

What part of JUST the dash, center console and door panel, that didn't understand??? We NEVER agreed to the steering column or anything else. I agreed to throw in the head liner, which looking back now, I should have charged you knowing what I know about your character. You wait until I leave to take Paul to New Orleans....then you bolt out with property that WAS NOT part of the deal.......So when should I expect a phone call or email or 200USD for the steering column. Awaiting a response!

Calvin
 
Last edited:
It was my understanding that the GT brakes were just PBR dual piston calipers on standard size rotors. Whereas the Cobra brakes are dual piston calipers on 13 inch rotors.

If you bother with a brake upgrade, get either the Cobra brakes or Bullitt brakes. Both can be had for $399 brand new.......which is hard to beat.

And I think you need at least a cobra/bullitt brakes upgrade in order to make it feel like it was worth the trouble.

Micah
 
The Cobra and 99 -up GT are both PBR aluminum dual piston calipers, but they are different size pieces ... not directly interchangeable. I agree with Micah, if you're going to lay out the money, and have or plan on getting at least 17" diameter wheels anyway, go for the 13" Cobra stuff, you'll be glad you did.

I stress-tested mine last month at Watkins Glen ... over 120 mph down the back straight there, braking past the 300 foot marker for the 60 mph chicane entrance, using Hoosier race tires, in sessions that were usually 15 - 20 minutes long. No fade, no warped rotors. :)



cheers
Ed N.
 
Guys,Thanks for the info! Looks like the Cobra stuff is the way to go.

Calvin, man you are hard to believe! Why don't you tell the rest of the story! You will have email from me this weekend!!

Mike
 
Micahdogg said:

If you bother with a brake upgrade, get either the Cobra brakes or Bullitt brakes. Both can be had for $399 brand new.......which is hard to beat.

When you say they can be obtained for $399, what does that include? I am assuming front rotors and calipers only right? Also, where can they be bought for this price?

Originally posted by JJanney Finding the brackets is the hardest part.

What brackets are you referring to? The only brackets I thought that were required were for the rear to relocate the Cobra calipers.
 
Super XR7 said:

Calvin, man you are hard to believe! Why don't you tell the rest of the story! You will have email from me this weekend!!

Mike
Rest of the story, huh, thats the story I know. What part of DASH, CONSOLE and DOOR Panels, didn't you understand?

Calvin
 
check here

you may also want to check out

www.discbrakesrus.com

Jeff there is a great guy to deal with.

as of yet i don't know if he has the whole front kit set up with brake lines and all yet, but he has a HUGE selection of calipers,
for good prices, especially if you don't want them to say COBRA on them

anyway check it out,
i have the whole setup on my car for 13" fronts and 12 rears, so ask anything you like

jim
 
James, did you change out your brake lines? Which wheels are you using and did you swap out to SN95 hubs?

Also, you have the 12" Cobra rears correct? If so, what did you do in the rear as far as the brackets are concerned. I have heard from some that the Cobra calipers bolt directly onto MN12 93+ Spindles and others say that you need special adapters so what is the deal with that. Hope thats not too many questions!
 
Last edited:
This is where I would have purchased mine (if I didn't get the used set that I have now).

http://www.mustangparts.com/suspension.htm

Scroll halfway down the page and you'll find two brake kits for $399.

2001 Bullitt front 13" brake kit, includes 2 Bullitt brake calipers with mounting brackets, front brake pad set, 2 brake hoses, and 2 Brembo brake rotors, perfect for 1994-04 Mustangs!, limited quantity, new...view $399.99/kit

bullitbrakekit.jpg


1994-04 Cobra front 13" brake kit, includes 2 "COBRA" brake calipers with mounting brackets, front brake pad set, 2 brake hoses, and 2 Brembo brake rotors, perfect for 1994-04 Mustangs!, limited quantity, new...view
$399.99/kit

closecobracaliper.jpg
 
The guy at mustangparts .com is a butthead. I ordered calibers and lines from him, it took 6 days to get here(which is ok) and I waited another 5 or 6 days before I put them on. Well he sent me the wrong lines, I called him and asked for a exchange and he said he has a 7 day return policy. After a little bickering back and forth he told me no and that he has enough buisiness and does not need mine anymore. Real sweet guy. The price is good, but beware
Gary
 
yeah sorry i wasn't very specific about the rear brakes.

I have the rear brake kit which bill evanoff sells through www.supercoupeperformance.com

so no, i didn't change to the mustang hub (bolt pattern). but i could easily if i wanted to, the hubs are interchangable (99 cobra is the only year i know for sure works, 03 have more splines) and the rotors are actually mustangers redrilled for the bird, so both patterens are on there.

so for the rear brakes i got the kit which comes with the "braket" required to offset the "thunderbird" calipers so they will fit with the bigger rotor. as far as i know, you canNOT use the cobra rear calipers, because of the way the ebrake cable attaches, i have not verified or even experimented with this, but i doubt that there would even be any increase in performance.

however if you have the time to make your own caliper braket, i would suggest doing so, that way you save about 200 bucks. you can get some directions and lots of info from doug's website, listed by fastedn.

as far as brake lines go, i replaced my rubber hoses in the front only. i don't have the info with me here at school but i think i can get ahold of it if you need it. basically just a www.russellperformance.com or earls universal braided hose, i would suggest about 22inches minimum, an adapter and a banjo end. i think autozone carries russell stuff, but i think www.summitracing.com has better prices.

for the front brakes, i got my calipers from www.discbrakesrus.com. they came with everything required to intall (on a mustang). so in that sense, yes they will fit right on. i don't have my car at school, and don't remember how the caliper looked, but i suppose if you bought used calipers you could potentially be missing the braket that the calipers rest on.

as for wheels i got knock off cobras 17x9 from a company on ebay. they are located in sarasota florida, i don't remember the name of the company something like OE wheel distributors or something. i got the painted ones delivered, for 660 total and that is with valve stems, chrome lugs and locks and a "snake" cetner cap, and shipped all the way to california. ohh yeah they are made by "detroit wheels"

also i don't recall exactly what the offset was, but i had a problem with them. the inside lip rubbed on my spindle, and i had to make a spacer. I don't know now, but i did hours of calculating and stuff trying to figure out how to put the 03 cobra wheels on my car and resolved that i couldn't, but then i had problems with the wheels i have now, so i'm not sure exactly on what range of offsets is acceptable.
I wish someone could do a geometric comparison of the spindles between 93+ and the earlier models.

only thing is that the original center caps "SVT" from a 2000+ cobra will not fit because the hubs are different sizes. unfortunately now i have a set of center caps waiting until i sign up to be an ebay seller.

i've been writing so long, i don't know what else to include. if something doesn't make sense or you want to know something else, please ask. I spent a lot of hours trying to figure stuff* out. when something goes awry i hate that, but i've gotten used to it.

jim
 
Super XR7 said:
Calvin, man you are hard to believe! Why don't you tell the rest of the story! You will have email from me this weekend!!

Mike
OK Mike, It's Tuesday, and I have NOT recieved an email from you this PAST weekend nor any time I have send one to you since you took property that was not YOURS........and I still want either, my steering column back or pay me, just that simple. Why would you take the steering column, knowing I CAN NOT move or start the vehicle now. When I called you and told you to return the steering column, do you think I was kidding??? Geeze, you came to my house on the 23th of August. I called you and wanted it back on the 24th of August.......so it's been over 7 weeks now and you have yet to sent it back like you said on the phone. FIGURES!

Your character is speaking louder and louder as the days past with no response! Hopefully others reading this.....will be a little smarter than me in dealing with YOU!

Calvin
 
Back
Top