Is a 99-04 pbr brake upgrade worth it?

5PointSnow · Mar 5, 2015

I was looking on Craigslist and found a wrecked 04 v6 and asked out of curiosity how much he wanted for the front brakes; turns out he only wants 20$ for the pair. Now condition is questionable obviously but would it be worth it to do the swap since I would want to add ss lines and ceramic pads at the same time.

All I'm thinking is by the time I'm all in is if I would see a noticeable difference in stopping power or if I would be better off and happier with the cobra kits from LMR.

lutter94 · Mar 5, 2015

I swear I just saw a guy selling them for 100/pair. Had one set sold, one set left. I'd jump on it. You can always resell em, make a couple bucks.

slow90coupe · Mar 5, 2015

My opinion is no. I've had a couple of sets of them and every set I have had drags terribly and I noticed no difference in stopping. Also I work on lots of 99-04 cars and 85-90% of them have the same problem i've had with them dragging.

Cobra brakes on the other hand were night and day difference. You can order the calipers from your local auto parts store and save some money. IIRC I had right at $200 in my complete Cobra brake swap.

Ferocious · Mar 5, 2015

For $20 hell yeah it's worth it. I got mine with the banjo bolts and brake lines for $50. Double the piston, double the fun. If you plan on upgrading to cobra calipers in the future then not so much but if you're just looking for a cheap, temporary upgrade I say go for it.

5PointSnow · Mar 5, 2015

Thanks for the input guys, for 20$ I might as well get them now and even if I don't end up using them I could always sell them again anyway after cleaning them up and make some $.
Honestly right now I'm probably going to keep the stock brakes on for a while since sub frames are next in line for mods and I might as well use the practically new ceramic pads the previous owner put on the car.

slow90coupe said:
IIRC I had right at $200 in my complete Cobra brake swap.

may I ask how you got that cheap for a full set???

Cpotts13 · Mar 5, 2015

Check this thread here for the tech specs... http://www.sn95forums.com/showthread.php?68550-So-you-want-a-Big-Brake-Kit-(BBK)

RichV · Mar 6, 2015

Yes, it's worth it.

Braking power from a OEM 94-98 caliper, not sure since I did not track test the 94 stock brakes. But the weight difference is enough to consider it.

Pete@FTR · Mar 7, 2015

The PBR brakes are a bit better, for 20 bucks I guess you can't beat it. I haven't experienced any dragging issues.

If you're going to cobra route, you might also look into and S197 swap, assuming you are running 18 inch wheels

Cpotts13 · Mar 7, 2015

Poxenham said:
The PBR brakes are a bit better, for 20 bucks I guess you can't beat it. I haven't experienced any dragging issues.

If you're going to cobra route, you might also look into and S197 swap, assuming you are running 18 inch wheels

This ^ can be had for cheaper and they are significantly better.. (see link above)

5PointSnow · Mar 8, 2015

I'm running 17's and have no plans to change them so that's out.

I bought the calipers today but the brackets wouldn't come off the car even with wd40 and a huge breaker bar

. So there's something else I would need...

Actual changes on the cars brakes won't be for many months anyway so I'm going to weigh my options.

lutter94 · Mar 9, 2015

Not to hijack, but not worthy of a new thread. Anyone know why some listings have the rear center brake line shown below, and others are called the differential brake line? I seem to have the 2nd one, but have the first in stainless I got as part of a kit.

RichV · Mar 9, 2015

lutter94 said:
Not to hijack, but not worthy of a new thread. Anyone know why some listings have the rear center brake line shown below, and others are called the differential brake line? I seem to have the 2nd one, but have the first in stainless I got as part of a kit.

At some point, instead of 5 lines (2-F, 2-R, and 1 @ diff) they went to 4 lines (2-F and 2-R). My 94 has 5 soft lines that I converted to braided. But a friends 99 has just 4.

In short, if you have a brake line on the axle like this:

mmfp_0903_10_z%2bfox_brake_upgrade%2bbrake_lines.jpg

The you need the 5 line kit. If not, you need the 4 line kit.

lutter94 · Mar 9, 2015

I bought the 5 line kit (cobra). Mine has what you have in the pic, exactly

However, the rear center line I received is the one on the right. Fronts have the angle cut, rears have the brackets, and the other is labeled rear center. I don't understand why it doesn't look like the one in your pic.

DavidBoren · Mar 10, 2015

The hose on the far right, in your picture, looks exactly like the hose attached to the axle in Rich's picture. What is the issue? Did the hose in your kit not fit?

lutter94 · Mar 10, 2015

The hose in the axle photo is connected to the bracket that is bolted on. The hose on the right has a bolt go thru it for mounting. See my previous post with 2 photos, thats the difference.

edit,

DavidBoren said:
The hose on the far right, in your picture, looks exactly like the hose attached to the axle in Rich's picture. What is the issue? Did the hose in your kit not fit?

let me clarify. These two hoses are not the same. They have similar ends, it would bolt to the lines, but the tee on the diff would not be secured.

DavidBoren · Mar 10, 2015

I'm pretty sure you re-use the bracket on the differential for the center hose. The brackets shown on already attached to the hoses in the kit are not tge same shape as the bracket on the pumpkin.

Rallim · Mar 10, 2015

PBR's are light as hell. Between a new edge I've driven an my 94 GT, the new edge I noticed at least wasn't "complete shit" to put it bluntly. I've got a set of PBR's I'm gonna be putting on now. I'm assuming its a straight swap with the brackets and calipers, I havn't looked into it more.....

wmfateam · Mar 11, 2015

There is also a better pad selection for the 99-04 calipers.

5PointSnow · Mar 11, 2015

Rallim said:
PBR's are light as hell. Between a new edge I've driven an my 94 GT, the new edge I noticed at least wasn't "complete shit" to put it bluntly. I've got a set of PBR's I'm gonna be putting on now. I'm assuming its a straight swap with the brackets and calipers, I havn't looked into it more.....

Straight swap with a little grinding on the spindle and the lines are different as well. Here's a how to I found...http://www.allfordmustangs.com/Detailed/2009.shtml

ps I see you're from Bellingham I'm surprised I haven't seen you down there since i go across the line all the time.