Pretty 13" Cobra Brakes

[Geek SHO]

I recently bought Lance Cheney's set of Cobra brakes. Wow, are they an improvement over stock '95 brakes! I've never had so much confidence in my brakes. Not that I have tried a lot of different setups. . .
I decided to paint them red, with white lettering for that "lookit my brakes" effect.
Stock '95:


13" Cobras:


I had to compare the differences in rotors:



They have a really nice fit under 18" wheels, like they were meant to be there. I'll take some closeup shots tomorrow and edit them in.

 

[Phoenix]

really nice man! 13s FTW

 

[1993MTXSHO]

i want 13" brakes, and some better calipers but nothing bigger then 12.5 will fit under my winter wheels (slicers) Nice setup though those look great

 

[GeneSHO]

Are these "offshore" 13" rotors ? They seem thin ....

Any brake upgrade is an improvement, but be careful of these rotors warping quickly.

 

[Storm-Chaser]

In Geek SHO's fourth image the Cobra rotor is stamped:

?.635 ?? CHINA A
​

Are these "offshore" 13" rotors ? They seem thin ....

Any brake upgrade is an improvement, but be careful of these rotors warping quickly.

 

[CircleTrackSHO]

Will these fit under a 15" steel wheel ?

 

[SubCool]

Will these fit under a 15" steel wheel ?

i want 13" brakes, and some better calipers but nothing bigger then 12.5 will fit under my winter wheels (slicers) Nice setup though those look great

HELLO?~?

 

[Mr95Gl]

Will these fit under a 15" steel wheel ?

For a 15" wheel, your stuck with 10.9" rotors.

 

[Storm-Chaser]

Can't you run a 16" steel wheel in circle track? Also, are there any restrictions on the calipers?

With 15s, you'ld have to get cut-down/two-piece rotors and then the Cobra caliper brackets may not clear the rotor hat to fit under the rim. So the benefits then become only the larger pad area and broader selection of aftermarket pads, with a large increase in cost.

Some have been able to run Cobra/Mach I calipers under slicers, if 16 inch steel rims are an option. You can definitely run Cobras under slicers, if you restrict yourself to 10.9" rotors, as posted in the following thread:

Welcome me to the cobra's-under-slicers club!
​

 

[K-Dawg]

No, they use the Cobra calipers with 11.6" rotors, not 10.9".

 

[Storm-Chaser]

Yeah, that last sentence was poorly worded . . .

You can use the Mustang GT PBR dual-piston calipers on 10.9s and one forum member from Knoxville has done this on his SHO. Can the Cobra/Mach I caliper and bracket be used on a 10.9, I don't think anyone has tried. Can the Cobra/Mach I calipers be used on the GT caliper bracket - I don't know, but the GT pad can be used on a Cobra/Mach I caliper suggesting the pad and bolt patterns of the two calipers/caliper brackets are the same. But the GT PBRs and GT brackets can be used on 10.9" rotors. I think he posted that the PBR/10.9 combo was comparable to the 11.6 upgrade, but this is all from memory.

 

[SolidState]

Are these "offshore" 13" rotors ? They seem thin ....

Any brake upgrade is an improvement, but be careful of these rotors warping quickly.

I have a set of 'offshore' rotors that were $52 cdn (which is DIIIRTT cheap up here) and haven't warped them yet. And I am not known to be easy on my brakes...

 

[sho_bc]

You can fit 12" rotors with cobra calipers under 16" wheels. Thats what I have. with my slicers, i need a 3-5mm spacer, with my American Racing auto-x wheels, i don't. I believe they are 13" rotors machined down to 12". Got them from SHOsourse, formerly SHOpartsNW.

 

[pjtoledo]

You can fit 12" rotors with cobra calipers under 16" wheels. Thats what I have. with my slicers, i need a 3-5mm spacer, with my American Racing auto-x wheels, i don't. I believe they are 13" rotors machined down to 12". Got them from SHOsourse, formerly SHOpartsNW.

Some steel wheels have much less room inside than aluminum wheels of the same size. Circle Track SHO is restricted to steel wheels per the rules. So he's stuck with 10.9 rotors.

 

[CircleTrackSHO]

Can't you run a 16" steel wheel in circle track? Also, are there any restrictions on the calipers?

With 15s, you'ld have to get cut-down/two-piece rotors and then the Cobra caliper brackets may not clear the rotor hat to fit under the rim. So the benefits then become only the larger pad area and broader selection of aftermarket pads, with a large increase in cost.

Some have been able to run Cobra/Mach I calipers under slicers, if 16 inch steel rims are an option. You can definitely run Cobras under slicers, if you restrict yourself to 10.9" rotors, as posted in the following thread:

Welcome me to the cobra's-under-slicers club!
​

I can run 16" steel wheels, the problem is they mess up my gearing.

The 15" wheels, I'm barely into the power band when I exit the corner and I'm no where near the top when I hit the end of the straight.. with 16" wheels it is worse.

Another problem I have with the 16" wheels is the tires want to rub against the strut. I run about 6* camber and 15" tires squeeze under the spring hat, but 16" (at 225x60) do not. I have to drop down to 205x60 to keep the camber.

If there was a 16" steel rim with better off-set, I could..

 

[K-Dawg]

So run a shorter tire.

 

[1995mtxsho]

I am running the Mustang GT PBR/10.9 setup, they should fit under 15"s. But I have found that the 96 upgrade/11.6" rotor is superior, however 16" wheels are required.

IMO the GT setup is nice especially visually, but lacks the crisp-solid feel of the 96 upgrade.

 

[Mike Kopstain]

The reason for that is the longer pedal travel due to the larger caliper volume of the Mustang caliper. The two setups are probably just about equal as far as braking goes but the 96' upgrade is going to have a better feeling pedal.

 

[gmorrell]

The reason for that is the longer pedal travel due to the larger caliper volume of the Mustang caliper. The two setups are probably just about equal as far as braking goes but the 96' upgrade is going to have a better feeling pedal.

Yeah, I can't recall all the numbers anymore (getting old...), but the Mustang calipers have either 42 or 44mm pistons, while the old Baer-Corvette brake caliper has 38mm pistons. Brake bias and pedal feel tends to be much better with the smaller-piston calipers.

 

[NORMAN]

Yeah, I can't recall all the numbers anymore (getting old...), but the Mustang calipers have either 42 or 44mm pistons, while the old Baer-Corvette brake caliper has 38mm pistons. Brake bias and pedal feel tends to be much better with the smaller-piston calipers.

I thought I understood it elsewhere that '96 - '98 Cobra calipers had the 38mm pistons while the '99 - '04 Cobra calipers had the 40mm pistons. That information may or may not be incorrect. However, if it is indeed correct, then would the '96 - '98 Cobra calipers be the best way to go with on the SHO front brake upgrade for the optimal brake bias and pedal feel, correct? Better feel than the '96 upgrade? Would the bias be ok with stock '89 rear brakes, or should Bias plugs be required for any one of the front brake upgrades?

How much does the brake bias balance and pedal feel differ between the smaller piston calipers verus the larger ones? I have not driven any SHOs with anything brakes upgraded in my 10 years of various SHOs ownership. I know I am sick of the stock 10" rotors so an upgrade of some sort is in the order. I know how my '03 Mustang Cobra brakes feel which is nice and firm. I can't decide between the '96 upgrade, or the Cobra upgrade for my '89 SHO which is mostly my daily driver with no track time. I do have the '95 steering knuckles as well as the '04 Taurus calipers and brackets sitting in my garage.

Thanks for your valuable input!

'89 SHO: 3.2L swap, rod shifter, Tokicos, Eibachs, 17" TD wheels, plus hood
'03 Cobra: 4k mi, chrome wheels, Borla cat-back, Steeda CAI