brake questions

[Jstanding]

I was going to use the donor brakes from my 1994 mustang GT. In everyones opinion is it worth it to upgrade those brakes to Cobra brakes? Spindles and rear mounts are the same right? Should i also go to a cobra master cylinder? I am using the donor pedal box and going manual. Thoughts anyone???????

[Gordon Levy]

If you are going to upgrade, go to my wilwoods. They work far better than the PBR and the rears are 4 pistons systems for the rear which really is needed on these rear weight biased cars.

[Bob Cowan]

Depends on what you're going to do with the car. Stock brakes with a modified pedal will work just fine for street cruising and slightly spirited driving. But if you're thinking about any kind of track use, upgrade to Gordon's Wilwoods at the start and never look back.

With a manual MC, you'll need to modify the stock brake pedal. As per the FFR instructions, you'll want to shorten the pedal, that's very important. But you'll also want to dog leg the pedal as well. This makes a good improvement as well.

http://www.norcal-cobras.com/projects/brakes/brake_pedal.htm

[Jstanding]

No track time planned. This is a driver with a slightly modified 5.0 powerplant.

[CraigS]

I would stay w/ the stock brakes. The rear cobra upgrade is somewhat minimal in my experience. The caliper is exactly the same. The rotor is about an inch larger in diameter and thicker so the pads are the same shape but thinner. We need all the rear brake we can get compared to the Mustang. So one option is Hawk HPS pads for the front and Hawk HP+ or Street/Race pads on the rear. The rears dust like crazy so I keep a small shop vac right next to where I park the car to remove the dust. You can mix pad compounds w/ CarboTech brand also but I haven't used them myself.

[Jstanding]

is it worth it to change to the cobra Master Cylinder? what difference does the bore make?

[Bob Cowan]

Bore size is VERY important. Larger bores will move more fluid, but create less pressure. For a stock manual application, I would stick to the smaller bore.

http://www.markwilliams.com/braketech.aspx

[pfarley11]

I converted my rear drums to a set of '94 Mustang GT rear discs (SN-95), and it made a huge difference. Night and day. Wilwoods or other aftermarket would definitely be preferable for track use, but I'm totally happy with my brake set up for around town/spirited driving.

[accobra66]

I think I have tried about every combination over the last 16 years there was (except the Cobra brakes). Purchased Levy Racing's 4 piston front and rears a few years back but at the time did not purchase the Wilwood master cylinder with it. Converted to it this last winter and brakes feel stronger than they ever have.

My experience has been most of my success has come from purchase "complete" application specific kits. Not piecing things together. Just my take.