Are rear Cobra brakes worth it?
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mustang50v8
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Niterydr85
Member
The rears require significantly more parts and labor to get things done. The brackets are different, the rotors are obviously different, you will have to pull out the axles, etc. Also consider that in most braking situations that the vast majority of braking power comes from the fronts, and just by refreshing the brake fluid/getting new pads & rotors that things are going to feel much better (as in even if you don't increase the size of your rotors you will still have a significant improvement).
When I swapped out just the fronts I took in the fact that:
1) my car is a DD with rare track use (at least for now....I hope to get back some day when my work schedule lightens up
)2) I was looking for "best bang for buck"- $500 for a complete brake overhaul was worth it for me
3) I simply didn't want to spend that extra time pulling axles and figuring out that whole process when I could get what I saw as perfectly adequate for 1/2 the labor time.
If I had more time and was willing to spend a little more money I would have been more tempted to do the rear brakes also, but you have to weigh it yourself.
I can tell you from my own experience you are misinformed. Swaping over to 11.65in rear brakes does NOT require swaping out the axels. It does however require you to remove the axels to switch out the anchor plates. Also it does NOT cost twice as much as the fronts. All that is required is the anchor plates, anti moan brackets, new rotors, new pads and 2qts of diff fluid. When you really look at the price when compared to just replacing your stock gt brakes the price is not bad by any means. In fact here is a kit from BFR Buy Ford Racing Parts - Rear Brake Bracket Kit that includes rotors. Factor in pads and some diff fluid and your at 250-275 depending on what you buy and where from. Seems to me that you are justifying not adding larger brakes in the rear with bad info.
To the OP doing the rear brakes does make a differance on how the car brakes when you do repeated stops from high speeds due to the increased rotor diameter and the fact that the rotors are not just solid discs like they are on the v6/GT's. You can also buy a bracket kit from steeda that will allow you to just relocate the caliper so you dont have to pull your axels. Keep in mind that ford put 11.65in rotors on the rear of the cobra, mach1, and bullitt for a reason.
2oo3MustangGT
New Member
from a performance standpoint, No it's not worth it. But from an appearance standpoint, Yes it definitely looks better, especially if you have 18" wheels. But unless you just have money burning your pocket I wouldn't do it, I almost did it on mine after upgrading to the cobra front, but decided to save the money instead.
Thanks for pointing out my error. I try to be as spot on as possible but I got to admit a big mistake on this one. I edited my post above as much as I could to make it more accurate. Upon further consideration.... next time I may be looking at the rear upgrade.
http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/828925-how-install-cobra-rear-brake-kit-m-2300-m-pics.html
If any of you do decide on the cobra rear brake upgrade,here is a GUIDE.
If any of you do decide on the cobra rear brake upgrade,here is a GUIDE.
deftsound
Please ask me how much my supercharger cost
13in rear breaks is a horrible idea. You will run the chance of locking up the rear under hard braking and god forbid your are turning a little at that point or your going to go through a corner backwards. Do a search on brakes in the open track forum on svt and you will see what I am talking about.
Because with the large amount of front end dive these cars have the increased stopping power of the rear brakes being due to the larger lever to so speek will allow the rear end to lock up and turn the car around. If anyone is running a 13in rear brake setup they need a manual proportioning valve to dial down the rears even with a 14in setup up front.
Also brembo doesnt make the caliper relocation brackets you speek of steeda and a few others actually make them.
deftsound
Please ask me how much my supercharger cost
On a steet car, not worth it IMHO. However, it does fill the rear wheel gap much better if you have the 13" fronts. On my 03 GT, i ran the 13" fronts with the stock GT rears and autocrossed the car. I would get the front brakes hot enough to bake the paint off, and shooting the rear rotors with a temp gun found they were still cooler than the front. However, looking at the car from side, the rotor size mismatch does look funny.
The kit however is $175, and if you gotta pull the axles anyway...might as well. It's pretty easy.
When i did cobra brakes on my Fox, i did the rears. Hard to offer a comparison though as Cobra brakes on a 3000 car with sticky rubber is pretty damn good
The kit however is $175, and if you gotta pull the axles anyway...might as well. It's pretty easy.
When i did cobra brakes on my Fox, i did the rears. Hard to offer a comparison though as Cobra brakes on a 3000 car with sticky rubber is pretty damn good
SaleenGT2001
Well-Known Member
i have a pair of rear cobra rotors and calipers if you want them. you will need brackets but other than that you are set. they ahve been sitting for years and i sold the 01 so they are useless now. i would do $75 shipped if you want them
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