pbr caliper upgrade on 94 gt

[whiplash473]

Good info, Win. Thanks for the input.

 

[daltonduree]

if i do cobra front brakes do i need to imediatly do cobra rear?

 

[Win]

if i do cobra front brakes do i need to imediatly do cobra rear?

You don't have to do cobra rear at all.... I was going to do them just bc I had them.

 

[daltonduree]

You don't have to do cobra rear at all.... I was going to do them just bc I had them.

wouldnt the different leverage mess up the brake proportioning?

 

[whiplash473]

wouldnt the different leverage mess up the brake proportioning?

Negative, you're still just pushing fluid to a certain point. There's many out there that have swapped fronts only, a few on this site but I can't remember who right now.

 

[daltonduree]

alright. i can always just do calipers and use my regular 94 gt rotors for now. it would be a nice upgrade. then spend money on cobra rotors and the brackets on rock auto later.

 

[Win]

alright. i can always just do calipers and use my regular 94 gt rotors for now. it would be a nice upgrade. then spend money on cobra rotors and the brackets on rock auto later.

Just a fyi..... Don't spend over roughly 75-80 bucks on calipers rotors and lines.... Otherwise you would be wise just saving up the first time for a 13" rotor and caliper.....

Another FYI

all the aftermarket ones to my knowledge aren't aluminum calipers anymore.. Aftermarket ones are usually double to triple the weight.

for instance these calipers are only 4lbs per caliper...these are what is goi on my car

 

[daltonduree]

yeah i just ordered some for fifty buck total for calipers. gunna get the lines and use my stock
rotors till i get cobra brackets and rotors.


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[RichV]

Like I said, for street use you won't ever really need the 13" brakes versus a well setup GT brakes. The GT master will work just fine, it's not like you won't stop. But if you ever track the car, you'll know exactly what I wrote earlier. There is absolutely no modulation with 13" brakes and a GT m/c. I will say my 13" brake setup is with 4 piston Wilwoods up front, so the 2 piston PBR may feel different, but other track drivers have reported exacly what I felt with the Wilwoods. And if you run 13" fronts with the GT rears, under hard braking you may see some imbalance. Not sure how ABS will handle it, it may do just fine, you may not get as much braking in the rear.

 

[RichV]

Oh and the soft rubber lines just break down over time, may as well go with the braided set since cost is pretty low. Once they start getting spongy, it adds to the mushy feeling.

 

[daltonduree]

Like I said, for street use you won't ever really need the 13" brakes versus a well setup GT brakes. The GT master will work just fine, it's not like you won't stop. But if you ever track the car, you'll know exactly what I wrote earlier. There is absolutely no modulation with 13" brakes and a GT m/c. I will say my 13" brake setup is with 4 piston Wilwoods up front, so the 2 piston PBR may feel different, but other track drivers have reported exacly what I felt with the Wilwoods. And if you run 13" fronts with the GT rears, under hard braking you may see some imbalance. Not sure how ABS will handle it, it may do just fine, you may not get as much braking in the rear.

when i do the cobra thing ill do the rear also

 

[jumbowolfe]

I did fronts only, non-cobra branded calipers on new 13" rotors. I used my old master cylinder, and new braided brake lines. The setup worked great. I left the rear alone, and the car brakes SO much better than it used. This no disproportionate braking going on between the two, its very balanced.

No grinding on my knuckle was necessary to do the install, they literally popped right on. If you look on Amazon or Rock Auto, you can get the Calipers for under $65 each, with no core charge. I got my rotors on ebay from Brake Motive (with pads) for $100. Brake lines were $60-80. Pretty cheap upgrade if you're not worried about cobra logos.

BTW - Cobra branded calipers are PBR's by default. Mine are PBR's, even though they were rebuilts by Raybestos.

Here's mine:

 

[fiveohwblow]

One of the first upgrades I plan on doing when I start my SN build. Good confirmations in this thread to other info I have found. Thanks guys!

 

[daltonduree]

im not going to spring for the braded lines. i have never had a regular rubber line fail. after talking to my automotive instructor he said that braded steel lines really are not any stronger. they just look shiny.

 

[95opal]

im not going to spring for the braded lines. i have never had a regular rubber line fail. after talking to my automotive instructor he said that braded steel lines really are not any stronger. they just look shiny.

Rubber lines expand unlike braided line. Your instructor needs to brush up on his brake tech.

 

[jumbowolfe]

And this is the exact reason I went with braided. I wanted tighter braking that felt more like my 2012. The 94 used to feel like stomping on jello to stop, this whole setup (leaving stock master cylinder and going with braided) made the brakes feel 100% better, and react better.

Plus - the whole conversion took literally 2 hours. Super easy, bleeding the brakes was the most time consuming part. Oh I guess you could ding me on a few hours for painting them last summer too. Stock 94 brakes are total shit, I should have done this years ago. My Dad has a 98 GT and after driving mine, he was convinced he needed to do it too.

The humor in all of this, Foose was putting those "Baer" labeled PBR brakes (same as these) on all of his restorations in the early seasons of Overhaulin. If you go back and watch 2004-2007 parts of the series, you will see him installing these exact same calipers on those cars. (chevys, fords, dodge, etc). Wilwood now supplies him in the more recent series, but thats just how good these calipers are.

Rubber lines expand unlike braided line. Your instructor needs to brush up on his brake tech.

 

[CC'S95GT]

Rubber lines expand unlike braided line. Your instructor needs to brush up on his brake tech.

especially after 15+ years of abuse.

 

[Win]

These pbr are most likely not aluminum like the original castings were. My calipers are only 4 lbs each. Every aftermarket one was (cobra caliper not branded) at least double the weight.

On another note this brake is the same one used on the Corvette C4 models also. Same exact PBR caliper just different bracket. Oh and yes they will fit on our cars with the proper bracket.

 

[daltonduree]

what i bought was not aftermaket. they are pulled off a wrecked car and i have seen the pics of the pbr

 

[mcglsr2]

If it's a street car, get a good set of pads and call it a day. If you want more...

I replaced my 95 GT brakes with the Mach kit (same as Cobra, but has running pony on it instead of "Cobra") - I did the fronts and rear. Also went with SS brake lines, including the one that goes from the trunk to the pumpkin. I did not grind anything. Fitment was perfect. I did not swap my MC. Pedal feels firm, car stops extremely well. I use Hawk HP+ pads. This is a very good setup IMO for not tons of money.