Another Cobra brake upgrade thread

[joemomma]

Looking into brake upgrade for the '94, and it seems the Cobra brakes are going to be the best route for me (I need to clear 17" Cobra Rs). Below is the intel I've gathered, so what am I missing?

'01 Cobra brakes (sourcing parts from rockauto):
Rotor
Caliper (ACDelco looks to have the Cobra logo)
Caliper bracket
Pads
Stainless hoses
Banjo bolts

I've found everything on the list at rockauto with the exception of the banjo bolts. Anybody have a part number/source?

 

[apsmith49921]

It's strongly possible I have 2 banjo bolts in my garage I'll look

 

[Frank.JD.Perez]

just buy a stainless line set from mm

they offer both style banjos for this occasion

 

[Frank.JD.Perez]

MM Stainless Brake Hose Kit, 1994-04 Mustang (V6/GT, Cobra & R), front

 

[cobrajeff96]

It's usually a m10x1.0 banjo, but don't forget to put 10mm copper washers on both sides of the brake line (one under the bolt head and one between the caliper and fluid line). Torque to around 35 ft lb.

It seems like a lot of torque but you gotta put some stank into it to crush those washers.

 

[joemomma]

Thanks for the tips, lads!

 

[joemomma]

And as I'm ready to pull the trigger, rockauto only has one of the ACDelco calipers. Figures.

For about the same price ($200), you can get the PowerStop dual piston calipers from AM/LMR. Any benefit, or difference here to note?

 

[302hobronco]

Does this upgrade require a new brake master cylinder??

 

[Frank.JD.Perez]

If you have a 94/95 gt then yes

 

[302hobronco]

Is it as simple as bolting up up a cobra BMC? After bench bleeding and such.

 

[joemomma]

I didn't think it required a new MC? Seems like I read it would certainly help with pedal feel, but wasn't required. I dunno, it's been a minute since I did all my reading.

 

[ttocs]

it is very rare that I see someone do a brake upgrade and do anything to the mc.

 

[cobrajeff96]

It can come to a point where m/c change is necessary, just depends on overall system volume at the calipers. Too much volume and the m/c won't have enough grunt and the pedal will be soft. Too little and m/c will be very touchy. If you're concerned, email Maximum Motorsports, they seem to understand the equation pretty well.

 

[joemomma]

I'll ping MM and see what they recommend.

 

[Frank.JD.Perez]

@ReplicaR

 

[weendoggy]

And as I'm ready to pull the trigger, rockauto only has one of the ACDelco calipers. Figures.

For about the same price ($200), you can get the PowerStop dual piston calipers from AM/LMR. Any benefit, or difference here to note?

LMR Cobra calipers are the 38mm bore so you may want to hold out and look for the 40mm ones. They work o.k. just letting you know.

 

[ReplicaR]

As for the brake master cylinder, you will need to switch from GT master cylinder (1 1/16" bore) to Cobra master cylinder (15/16" bore). The difference is the pedal pressure and the amount of effort to make the car stop. I've ran my 94 GT with Cobra brakes with and without Cobra master cylinder because my FRPP kit arrived with a faulty brake reservoir, and the pedal with stock GT master cylinder was was SUPER stiff, pretty much no motion range at all, and the car would barely stop. Switching it to Cobra master cylinder a bit later made everything seem much more normal. The pedal was working well, the car stopped really well too.

SIDE NOTE: Switching to Cobra Master Cylinder will require different hard lines that run from Master cylinder to brake fluid distribution block, the fittings are different size. Maximum Motorsports carry the correct lines, so you just have to order those and the job becomes that much easier.

 

[joemomma]

Excellent feedback, thanks guys. I'm just waiting on things to come back in stock.

 

[shovel]

I also did the Cobra front brake upgrade on my 94 GT and just went straight for the Cobra master cylinder at the same time. I can't comment on how it might have been with the stock cylinder, but I can say that going from whatever random old brakes it had to all new everything with the big front brakes was a fantastic upgrade in braking confidence/feel even just for my road tripper that never gets run competitively or (much) over the speed limit.

 

[joemomma]

That's an awesome comparison picture. I had no idea how much bigger the Cobra setup was.