I'm ready for BIG brakes...school me please

[03 DSG Snake]

Now that I have decided on the Venom F14 front brake kit (14" Brembo Rotor; 4 piston monobloc caliper, steel brackets, ARP hardened studs, etc) I need to upgrade or at least refresh the rear brake setup.

Any suggestions? I was thinking of going with one of the 14" rear kits but I don't see any that work really well with the 03/04 Cobra. I think FTBR has one but its pretty pricey for just new rotors / brackets.

If you want to keep your parking brake, the FTBR or Vintage Venom + rear kits are the only option.

 

[Silver TT]

Thanks DSG. Yeah, Rob Eaton told me his rear kit actually will not fit on an 03/04 without some modification. He said the kit is really for non-cobra SN95s and something about the IRS would cause clearance issues in the rear.

Said one guy was able to make it fit but it required some modification and given this will be my first brake installation I prefer to only fit something that fits without modification. The FTBR kit might work but its like $700 just for rear rotors and brackets unless I am reading something wrong.

 

[Todd TCE]

There's a bit of a mis conception here that the larger pads are larger...therefore they must work better. Square inches of pads do make for longer life but clamping pressure being equal; they just last longer. There are some variations here regarding exactly how "tall" the pad is and it's effectiveness yes. But simply comparing square inches to conclude they are better (ie you know most mean they stop faster) is not the case.

A simple example is if you wear a size 9 shoe; you don't weigh more in a size 12.

 

[Silver TT]

There's a bit of a mis conception here that the larger pads are larger...therefore they must work better. Square inches of pads do make for longer life but clamping pressure being equal; they just last longer. There are some variations here regarding exactly how "tall" the pad is and it's effectiveness yes. But simply comparing square inches to conclude they are better (ie you know most mean they stop faster) is not the case.

A simple example is if you wear a size 9 shoe; you don't weigh more in a size 12.

Todd - Based on the above data point, what are you suggesting as far as the best setup for our cars?

I think most consider a larger pad and respective larger rotor with larger "swept area" as most effective to reduce brake temps which is the biggest drain on braking performance from what I have read and what causes most failure / fad situations.

 

[ac427cobra]

Todd - Based on the above data point, what are you suggesting as far as the best setup for our cars?

I think most consider a larger pad and respective larger rotor with larger "swept area" as most effective to reduce brake temps which is the biggest drain on braking performance from what I have read and what causes most failure / fad situations.

'Leverage', dictated by rotor diameter, is far more important than pad size or swept area.

One other thing to keep in mind is a taller pad like those found on the GT500, also have a taller rotor face. This means the hat will be smaller and the rotor will have to be larger to accomodate the taller pad which will equate to more rotating mass and unsprung weight. These two items are the enemy of performance.

FWIW

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

FWIW