Cobra brakes on a 96GT - just checking my understanding.

sk8erord

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So I've tried to search the forums here and elsewhere, and I just want to make sure I'm on the right page. On my 96GT, Cobra 13" brakes are a direct fit upgrade, right? Grab calipers, brackets, pads, and rotors, and I'm good to go? I assume it's also recommended to go to a Cobra master cylinder? Do I need/want SS brake lines?

Is there any drawback to using a reman caliper like these centric ones from rockauto? https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=4566405&cc=1134212&jsn=522 I'm seeing people asking $400 for used, beat up ones on ebay, etc, and if I can get known good ones for the same or less, seems like a no-brainer. I don't care that it doesn't say "cobra". They have PBR on them like the cobra calipers do. Same question - can I get a centric master cylinder like this from RockAuto, as well: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1611032&cc=1134212&jsn=541?

And finally, I assume these will work fine under my 17x9 Bullitt wheels?
 
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sk8erord

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Also, is it worth doing the rear brakes? Are they any different?

Edit: I think I recall now that the caliper is the same, but the rotors are vented on the cobra, so they are slightly thicker, necessitating thinner pads and a different bracket, is that right?
 

ttocs

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I am sure if you asked ford or any of the major manf they will tell you that they design their stuff to work with the specific pieces that they made and have tested them for and why I paid the extra for the baer master cylinder when I got my kit. With that being said I have seen people mix/match what ever they seem to have around or come across and then brag about how much better it is after.
 

PinkieT

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I just did the swap on my 98 GT, just haven't bled the brakes yet. The rears - the rotors are also bigger diameter. You would need a new plate on the end of the axle to mount the calipers to as it has mounting holes further out. You will also need the Cobra anti-moan bracket as the GT is not tall enough. You will also need new flex lines. Front - Cobra calipers and rotors bolt right up. Again, you will need new hoses. I was able to get the factory Cobra calipers and have them rebuilt just for the cool factor, the aftermarket PBR calipers should be fine. Check a reliable parts vendor to make sure you get calipers compatible with your car, I think earlier cars are different then 99-up. My guess/hope is that using all 98 Cobra rotors, calipers, brackets, hoses, etc. on my GT it should work together. I might change the master cylinder later if there is a need.
 
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sk8erord

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I just did the swap on my 98 GT, just haven't bled the brakes yet. The rears - the rotors are also bigger diameter. You would need a new plate on the end of the axle to mount the calipers to as it has mounting holes further out. You will also need the Cobra anti-moan bracket as the GT is not tall enough. You will also need new flex lines. Front - Cobra calipers and rotors bolt right up. Again, you will need new hoses. I was able to get the factory Cobra calipers and have them rebuilt just for the cool factor, the aftermarket PBR calipers should be fine. Check a reliable parts vendor to make sure you get calipers compatible with your car, I think earlier cars are different then 99-up. My guess/hope is that using all 98 Cobra rotors, calipers, brackets, hoses, etc. on my GT it should work together. I might change the master cylinder later if there is a need.
I might leave the rears alone for now, then. As for the fronts, I know the 99+ are a slightly larger piston diameter vs. the 96-98. I was thinking of grabbing those for that reason, unless there is some reason they wouldn't fit.
 
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sk8erord

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FYI - to swap the mounting plates in the rear you need to remove the axles/differential.
Even more reason to leave them alone for now, and just run a better pad back there.

Any reason why a 99+ cobra caliper wouldn't work like a 96-98 caliper?
 

PinkieT

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FYI - to swap the mounting plates in the rear you need to remove the axles/differential.

Yep! I lucked out - the guy I bought my Cobra brakes from decided to upgrade his rear axle (he was building a 1,000 hp turbo car and was going with a custom 9", IIRC) so I bought his 3.73 Cobra rear with fresh set of slotted rotors. I was doing a control arm upgrade so it was a piece of cake, just dropped my stock axle, installed the control arms, and put the Cobra axle back. If you take off the differential cover, you take out a single bolt and then remove a pin. That gives you access to the C-clips. Pull them out and you can pull the axle shafts. You don't need to remove the entire differential.
 

95opal

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If you swap over front and rears to cobras just make sure you get a master with a 1" bore. If you pic a master and the bore size is to large you are going to have a very stiff pedal and will need to apply more pedal force.
 
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sk8erord

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If you swap over front and rears to cobras just make sure you get a master with a 1" bore. If you pic a master and the bore size is to large you are going to have a very stiff pedal and will need to apply more pedal force.
I think I'm just going to do the fronts for now. Next year, when I get 18" wheels, I want to do the 4-pot s550 brake conversion for the front, and then move the cobras to the rear.
 

lwarrior1016

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99-04 calipers bolt up just fine too. You have to get the hoses and banjo bolts. Not a big deal though.
 

PinkieT

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I think I'm just going to do the fronts for now. Next year, when I get 18" wheels, I want to do the 4-pot s550 brake conversion for the front, and then move the cobras to the rear.

How are you going to move the Cobra brakes from the front to the rear? I can't see how that can be done without a lot of fabrication.
 

ttocs

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don't forget your rear brakes have the E-brake built in to them so if you moved the fronts to the back you would need to figure something out for that.
 
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The pbr upgrade is ok but not much better than 94 98. Go cobra and dont look back. I still use the gt master and dont have any issues and i track the car hard. As for the rears if you want a bigger rotor then pick up the baer eradispeed kit. I think its like 300 bucks but you get the full kit.
 
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Also, your rims will work currently but your spare wont work unless you get the cobra spare. Smallest rim size you can run with 13s is a 17 and 14s with a 18 (if you want 14 inch rotors on all 4 like ill be running with the wilwoods)
 

PinkieT

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The pbr upgrade is ok but not much better than 94 98. Go cobra and dont look back. I still use the gt master and dont have any issues and i track the car hard. As for the rears if you want a bigger rotor then pick up the baer eradispeed kit. I think its like 300 bucks but you get the full kit.

Frank, I think he meant getting a PBR Cobra-spec caliper that doesn't have "Cobra" cast in the front.
 
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Frank, I think he meant getting a PBR Cobra-spec caliper that doesn't have "Cobra" cast in the front.

Why would 99+ be slightly larger though? Doesnt make any sense ford would do that, but they havent made the best decisions so. Based off more obvious facts the 99 04 pbr has 2 pistons rather than the 94 98 single which is what i was assuming he was talking about
 
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sk8erord

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99-04 calipers bolt up just fine too. You have to get the hoses and banjo bolts. Not a big deal though.
Cool, good to know, I'll get those then.

How are you going to move the Cobra brakes from the front to the rear? I can't see how that can be done without a lot of fabrication.
https://www.fullytorquedracing.com/mustang/sn95-13-rear-brake-bracket.html

don't forget your rear brakes have the E-brake built in to them so if you moved the fronts to the back you would need to figure something out for that.
http://www.jamarperformance.com/Online/catalog/products.php?56

Also, your rims will work currently but your spare wont work unless you get the cobra spare. Smallest rim size you can run with 13s is a 17 and 14s with a 18 (if you want 14 inch rotors on all 4 like ill be running with the wilwoods)
Yup. Spare will be gone, track only car. I'm not buying new wheels this year, so I'm not going to get those brakes yet. But since I plan to move the cobras to the rear (see above), it's not a waste to do that this year.

The pbr upgrade is ok but not much better than 94 98. Go cobra and dont look back. I still use the gt master and dont have any issues and i track the car hard. As for the rears if you want a bigger rotor then pick up the baer eradispeed kit. I think its like 300 bucks but you get the full kit.
Frank, I think he meant getting a PBR Cobra-spec caliper that doesn't have "Cobra" cast in the front.
Correct.

Why would 99+ be slightly larger though? Doesnt make any sense ford would do that, but they havent made the best decisions so. Based off more obvious facts the 99 04 pbr has 2 pistons rather than the 94 98 single which is what i was assuming he was talking about
They upgraded the size of the pistons in the cobra calipers for the new edge cobras. 96-98 cobras had a 38mm bore, 99+ was 40.5mm bore. And again, cobra spec PBR calipers, not a single piston caliper.
 

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