About The R brakes

[BenD]

Can anyone tell me if the 2000 R Brakes are good enough for Road Race competition against Ferrari's, GT3 Porsches, Vipers, etc. Secondly are they the "Fixed Caliper" design.

They have to be able to go as deep and hard into the corners as the above mentioned competition and the pads have to be available to withstand the 1400 degree heat range.

Appreciate some feed back on the subject. Trying to up grade my brakes on my 03 Cobra for serious competition is becoming extremely frustrating. I have the SSR Comp C 18" x 9.5 wheels on the car.

 

[03gobluecobra]

I would be interested to know this as well, but I don't think it would happen. Most of those cars are lighter than the cobra by hundreds of pounds, so it would take some serious brakes and traction to slow down like those cars. If those cars are stock, and the cobra is set up to race, like with lots of weight loss, and tires, I guess that would be a different story.

 

[toofast4u]

The 00R calipers are the same calipers found on the Viper. They are Brembo Lotus Calipers which are a fixed configuration and almost everybody makes pads for them. Some run Hawk Blues with them which are very aggressive on the rotors. Others use Hawk HT10s which are less aggressive and last longer and suppose to be as good if not better then the Blues from what I have heard it is what I use. The third pad I have heard good things about are Carbotech Panther XP10s which I have heard people describe as throwing an anchor and are used a lot on heavier cars and require R-compound tires or slicks as they will lock up the tires. If you buy pads just tell them it is for a Dodge Viper don't try to explain you will just confuse them and end up getting the wrong pads.

If you have the money and are running 18" rims you might want to seriously consider Stoptechs 14" kit.

 

[toofast4u]

You should read this thread Terry is selling the StopTech 13" kit for 1640.00 shipped which is a great price and wish I say it before I bought my set-up. He can probably get the 14" kit also.

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144433

 

[ac427cobra]

Can anyone tell me if the 2000 R Brakes are good enough for Road Race competition against Ferrari's, GT3 Porsches, Vipers, etc. Secondly are they the "Fixed Caliper" design.

They have to be able to go as deep and hard into the corners as the above mentioned competition and the pads have to be available to withstand the 1400 degree heat range.

Appreciate some feed back on the subject. Trying to up grade my brakes on my 03 Cobra for serious competition is becoming extremely frustrating. I have the SSR Comp C 18" x 9.5 wheels on the car.

If you're serious about road racing against guys that race Ferrari's, GT3 Porsche's and Vipers, I'm pretty sure you're driving the wrong car? Unless you've stripped 1,000 pounds out and modded the bejebbers out of the power plant?

Now, if you're talking about open tracking against a bunch of Lawyer and Dentists/Doctors (excluding our own beloved favorite Doctor, Flying Fred of course!!!) weekend warriors, that might be an entirely different scenario?

How are you doing against the competition now?

:thumbsup: :coolman: :beer:

 

[BAD PNY]

Bruce I agree with you 100%... I would say 400lbs and some serious suspension work, and lots of hp and a great driver etc. Although the GT3 is not a real easy car to drive fast for a novice. The 03-04 unfortunately is a portly pig that understeers like crazy...

 

[Terry Moenich]

The Brembo's on the R are not the same as a Viper (I have had 2 Vipers). It is the same pad as the R. The Viper has the Billet Calipers multi-piece with larger pistons, not the one piece version the 00R has. In any event , not good enough for competition.

I will be offering StopTech brakes systems early in 2005
for about $1600.00 plus shipping. These have the same pad as the 993 Porsche and a much stronger caliper.

Many American Lemans series winners are using these.

 

[Flying Fred]

If you're serious about road racing against guys that race Ferrari's, GT3 Porsche's and Vipers, I'm pretty sure you're driving the wrong car? Unless you've stripped 1,000 pounds out and modded the bejebbers out of the power plant?

Now, if you're talking about open tracking against a bunch of Lawyer and Dentists/Doctors (excluding our own beloved favorite Doctor, Flying Fred of course!!!) weekend warriors, that might be an entirely different scenario?

How are you doing against the competition now?

:thumbsup: :coolman: :beer:

Hmmm... I think Bruce is being awefully nice so I write a good reference to the Bimmers for him! Regardless, thanks for the compliment. :beer: As for the subject at hand, I totally agree with Bruce - the 03 is the WRONG car to go against the initially mentioned group. The "correct choice" would be the Ford GT. :thumbsup:

You need to take a LOT more weight off the 03 than a mere 400 pounds. If you are totally serious about competing, I suggest aiming for 2800-3000 pounds as your car's final weight. That alone will greatly improve your braking issue. But even then the 03 has other serious problems to correct, especially suspension and power wise. Yes, you can crank your car up to 500-700+ horsepower, but if you talk to serious racers, supercharging for road race competition is not the way to go. My good friend Jeremy Behrendt started NASA in 03 with his supercharged Cobra - even won a few races - but didn't finish several others due to unreliability problems from supercharging. When it's 90 degrees and your running full tilt for a half hour (or more) race, that 4.6 engine takes an incredible beating. You will end up facing a myriad of reliability and heat related issues.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but IMHO the 03 is basically a $35K car that wasn't built to seriously compete over the long term against 80-200+K supercars. I suggest either sticking to basic weekend fun as Bruce mentioned or get/build a more serious race car.

 

[kevin]

benD,

i think for racing, enough has been said.

open tracking, it's just fun regardless of the car but brakes are a needed safety item.

i live about 45 minutes north of you (depending on your springs location). if you're interested, you can look at my r brakes. run two piece brembos, stock caliper, performance 01 pads.

at 3585 lbs. they do real well for stoping (of course my suspension is no where near folks like fred) so i tend to need to slow down more before a turn. you'll find this true against the formentioned competitors as well.

 

[Flying Fred]

benD,

i think for racing, enough has been said.

open tracking, it's just fun regardless of the car but brakes are a needed safety item.

i live about 45 minutes north of you (depending on your springs location). if you're interested, you can look at my r brakes. run two piece brembos, stock caliper, performance 01 pads.

at 3585 lbs. they do real well for stoping (of course my suspension is no where near folks like fred) so i tend to need to slow down more before a turn. you'll find this true against the formentioned competitors as well.

BenD, not everyone thinks two piece Brembos are necessary - or a guarantee that bad things won't happen.

Kev, if you think I don't slow down for turns you should reread the posts of some 03 drivers on this forum who wait until the 2 marker at Canada corner to start braking. Heck, I'm gently testing my brakes before I hit the 4 marker just to be on the safe side. I admittedly OVERBRAKE all the time! I'm willing to give up a little bit going into corners to be safe ...and in turn maximize my speed elsewhere. Maybe it's that thing Jeff taught me as a newbie ...slow in, fast out.

 

[ac427cobra]

slow in, fast out.

Fred:

I thought it was "Fast in, slide out?" ;-) :coolman: :beer:

 

[kevin]

BenD, not everyone thinks two piece Brembos are necessary - or a guarantee that bad things won't happen.

Kev, if you think I don't slow down for turns you should reread the posts of some 03 drivers on this forum who wait until the 2 marker at Canada corner to start braking. Heck, I'm gently testing my brakes before I hit the 4 marker just to be on the safe side. I admittedly OVERBRAKE all the time! I'm willing to give up a little bit going into corners to be safe ...and in turn maximize my speed elsewhere. Maybe it's that thing Jeff taught me as a newbie ...slow in, fast out.

:lol: i never said you don't slow down (we all have to slow for the older slower white car till a passing zone).

i was just pointing out that your car has such a great suspension that you can generally take turns faster than a stock version of the car (this is a good thing). and therefore, can wait a little longer to slow for tight turns and probably don't need to brake as hard for the faster turns.

the reason i have the two piece brembos is becasue i've had the once piece snap in half at absolutely the wrong time. i know some of you have not had that problem.

when i open track i always tap the brakes (especially with a passenger) just prior to a turn just to make sure they're there. when i race, it's full tilt til my brake point.

 

[Flying Fred]

:lol:
i was just pointing out that your car has such a great suspension that you can generally take turns faster than a stock version of the car (this is a good thing). and therefore, can wait a little longer to slow for tight turns and probably don't need to brake as hard for the faster turns.

Ahhh, I understand what you are saying now. Theorectically the suspension upgrades should allow me to carry a higher entry speed into the corners. I guess I was trying to point out in my prior post that I usually brake earlier than necessary (maybe I'm a Team Raisin candidate?). However I agree with your comment that I probably do not slow down as much.

Interestingly I seem to take my 03 into the turns at pretty much the same speed. It has some suspension/handling mods - MM caster/camber plates, Cobra R springs and subframe connectors - but not to the degree as my R. I should ask Ted what differences he noted in terms of braking and approaching turns as he's had lots of experience with both my cars in the past few months.

Getting back to Ben's original question, upgrading the 03 to Cobra R Brembos will definitely improve braking performance. Having said that, I firmly believe that 1) the Brembo change will still not allow you to match Ferarris or GT3 Porsches for "deep braking" (since they are much lighter and better set up) and 2) if you are really serious about road racing against cars like this, IMHO the 03 ain't the best choice for a lot more reasons than brakes alone.