Cobra R FrontBrake System

[skullandbones]

Recently, I received some brakes from a friend (Cobra R). The interesting thing I noticed was the scrub pattern on the rotors. Only a pattern of less than 2 inches was shown. On my PBR setup it is about 2 1/4 inches. He mentioned that the pads were "hawks". I don't know if they are designed to utilize the smaller area on the rotor or not. The difference in diameter of the rotors is PBR=11 and Cobra R=13. If anyone has experienced this situation, it would be appreciated if you could clarify. Usually more is better with pad to rotor contact area. It will be a while before I change out the systems. Is there a pad that would be optimal for the Cobra Rs? I also saw an image of brake cooling tubes on a Cobra R but don' t know if it was stock or add on. I've been waiting for an excuse to install the system to utilize the openings in the nose for a while (the adaptors that connect from the nose to use a 3 inch flex tube to the backing plate on the brakes).

Image I found of Cobra R brakes with similar pattern to my PBR setup.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cobr...LJlgPwfQUPdbM:

Thanks in advance,

WEK

[mikeinatlanta]

I have the Cobra R front brakes and recommend that you give careful consideration to the swap. The caliper is very high quality and there are a wide range of pads available. Mine came from Brembo with several sets of pads, so I have never went out to buy any. I custom fabricated my cooling duct brackets.

The caliper is a very high quality caliper, however, it has a difficult time fitting many wheels. I went through three custom wheel manufacturers before I cold find one that could manufacture a vintage looking wheel to fit the caliper and only Bogart was able to get the job done. The ONLY production fronts that I could find were the OE cobra R rims, and the aftermarket copies usually don't fit either. So, pay close attention to the dimensional pic I am attaching and do not believe ANYONE who says their wheels will fit unless they have seen the document and respond in writing. Even then your odds are about 25%. If you are OK with very modern looking race wheels (zero dish) you will have an easier time finding wheels.

Looking at this pic, you will see that it will easily fit pretty much any 16" wheel diameter wise. The issue is the distance the caliper extends out from the hub face. You will need a thick spacer to get just about any wheel to clear at the spokes, but then your wheels will stick out too far.

Here is the pic

Measurements_for_Wheels_copy2-602x822.jpg

Here is mine with custom Bogart three piece race wheel.
radiatorduct_5_-600x450.jpg

Here it is without a wheel.
SP_A0117-345x270.jpg

[skullandbones]

Hi Mike,
I have a little advantage in that I purchased the OEM Cobra R 9x17s from the same guy. So at one time the brakes and wheels were on the same car. I don't know if he had to use spacers but I don't believe so. Can you verify that the normal scrub pattern covers the whole rotor like in the pic I supplied? If so, do you remember any of the pad types you have/had?

I was not aware of the difference in quality from the calipers I have now PBRs. They are 2 pot and say cobra on them.
If true, that is great to know.

Thanks,

WEK

[mikeinatlanta]

The calipers are well beyond the PBRs and IMO far better than the more common Wilwoods, however, If I had it to do over, I would have gone with custom mounting of a radial caliper and a disk with far more hat offset. The cobra R wheels will not require spacers, just be aware that your car is pretty much committed to that wheel or a very expensive alternative forever, and most definitely will not work with any of the vintage styled wheels commonly used on the Cobra. IMO, the wheel choice will hurt resale value more than the brakes would ever help it.

My advice, worth exactly what you paid for it: Sell the brakes and wheels to a Mustang guy and get something different.


My pads are Brembo, but I'll check dimensions and report back.

[skullandbones]

Mike,
I appreciate your candor as you can paint yourself into a corner so to speak if you choose a component with very limited options. I plan on keeping the Cobra R wheels forever! Just to give you an idea how much I like them, my wife was looking at a Camero and I didn't particularly like the base wheels. The salesman offered her an upgrade that included a wheel package (I think Chev stole the Cobra R design). So now I love her car especially the wheels.

Regarding the calipers: after more observation I'm convinced we are not comparing apples to apples. I found a PBR embossed on the top of my new "Cobra" calipers so they are not comparable to your Brembo version from what I read on several stang forums. I should have done a little more research but I didn't know what to ask without a little input from this forum and you. At this point, I believe the upgrade is still worth while as the calipers may be a better 2 pot design than the stock PBRs (a little less massive = less heat) and the larger rotors have more leverage. With a cooling duct mod, it should fade even less. Also, they have that cobra badge! Those PBRs are really not that pretty. The scrub pattern I was complaining about may be a compromise that is peculiar to this caliper. On further inspection, there isn't a lot of room for a wider brake pad on this caliper. That's just a guess but maybe it takes a different caliper with a wider pad to be able to sweep the whole surface of the rotor. This brake component thing is pretty involved not to mention the science associated with it.

Thanks for the input, Mike.

WEK

[mikeinatlanta]

Just to make certain. The Cobra R caliper looks just like in my photo, except they come black. They are four piston non floating calipers labeled Brembo. The Cobra caliper is a two piston floating caliper made by PBR and labeled as Cobra.

The Cobra R caliper is the one I have been talking about. The Cobra caliper has none of the issues I brought up. While no where near the race caliper as the Cobra R Brembo, it is probably a much better choice for your car.

Regarding the pads. Before reading your response I went to the shop and did some measuring. The Brembo pad is .1" narrower than the machined surface on the 13" rotor in my picture. The Cobra R caliper and disk were developed and sold as a matched set, so as expected the sizing is about perfect. I'll have to defer to others on the forum as to the dimensions of the PBR Cobra pads and exactly what 13" disk they match.

EDIT: Don't sweat the mixup. That is why we are here. This is actually a great example of why guys ask such pointed questions before shelling out advice. Sometimes one little detail can change everything.

[skullandbones]

Yeah. The set I have may not be matched components. I really would have to do some serious research to be sure. On the positive side, these have been track tested and have performed well. The guy has increased HP and is anticipating an increased need for stopping power to match that, thus the transfer to me. I'll have to lay my concern to rest and just try this new setup. Now I've already started planning for the cooling ducts. Just a note about Brembo. They must be excellent products. I didn't see a single negative post. One vendor was saying how the subtle differences that make them so good isn't picked up by many. They are pricey!