brake upgrade

slowmkviii

slowmkviii

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I originally started this project 4 years ago for my 97 then went another route (cobras)
So now my 95 needs brakes so I might as well get them off the shelf.
Can you spot the uncommon difference.
Eric may not answer cause he already knows
And yes they're used rotors I had no money so everything came off the parts shelf.

IMG_20130428_144038_213.jpg


IMG_20130428_151950_136.jpg
 
well you are using GT brakes instead of Cobra brakes. and it looks like you have put the GT dual piston calipers over the Mark rotors.
 
You are correct they are gt brakes over mark rotors
Didn't think it would be noticed so fast.
 
I thought that GT calipers would not fit over the stock Mark rotors, and you had to use a smaller diameter T-bird rotor...? Are you saying that is not the case? I am asking because I have GT calipers in the garage and was thinking that I need to get smaller diameter rotors.
 
Could you please elaborate on how you needed to modify the brackets?

Thanks!
 
I did the modifications almost 4 years ago so I dont recall the numbers.
I will try and find the pictures tonight
First I marked the location of the new holes (should have drilled pilot holes right then)
Second I sent them to my welder to fill the holes and build up extra mounting surface.
Third took them to work milled the faces flat drilled the holes
Tried to tap but they were to hard.
Fourth took them to my dads to use the torch heated them to red hot then buried them in a bucket of sand for a slow cool to anneal them
Fifth tap them
Six back to work to powder coat them
 
First off, awesome work great to see something besides bolt ons :D

Dan, the math says you would need to move the new hole down .35 inches or about 9mm, like slowmkviii mentioned there isn't enough material with without adding on to the bottom of the bracket. This is a cool mod but it will take some effort to get there.

-Alan
 
The real question is how does it feel? Doing it the way you listed, would you do it the same way (with drilled pilot holes)?
 
Thanks lobird
I would have done the annealing prosess right after the welding
As for performance I won't know till the pads are fully beded and I'm off snow tires.
 
so..this is preferable over a Cobra caliper upgrade because:
1) the GT's are more readily avaialble and less $?
2)hub swap is not needed
---
the pad surface area for the GT calp is the same as a Cobra, so is it's stopping potential/ resistance factor the same as Cobra?
 
you don't need a hub swap to run cobra brakes.

these calipers on mark rotors require quite a bit of modification. not a bolt on deal.

pad surface area is not a big factor in stopping power. a bigger pad can help with heat handling, but the diameter of the rotor is what helps with the braking torque, along with the proper pad material for your application.

the smaller mark rotor will still heat faster than the larger cobra rotor, so they will still fade first with all other things being equal.

these should still be an upgrade because of the aluminium dual piston calipers. should improve brake pedal feel. a nice little change up for stock wheels. but i wouldn't compare them to a cobra brake set up.

you could go GT caliper over the smaller thunderbird rotor, but i doubt that would have any advantage.
and i don't like the idea of using a brake set up for a lighter weight car (about 600 lbs less) that was IMO under-braked already...
 
I forgot to say I also ground down the cooling fins to clear the wheel.

Hub swap is not needed for either upgrade
I didn't do cobras cause I wasn't going to buy 17s for my daily driver
And yes mustang base and gt are much cheaper.

I do have cobras and love them on my 97
 
I did the hub swap on my 97 cause I wanted bullitts and I got a set from a mustang on trade.
If you wanted to run cobras on a mark pattern I would redrill the mark pattern onto the cobra rotors.
 
Seems like the cost/time investment for this project for what isn't really much of an upgrade would make it not a viable option. If you watch for them to be in stock on amazon, you can pick up rebuilt cobra/mach 1 calipers with brackets for under $100 for the set.
 
You are correct but not everything I do on my car is based on money and I enjoy actually making things.
Don't forget I'm not out hundreds of dollars for new wheels and tires too.
 
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