94-01 V6/GT & Fox3 (79-93 w/SN95 Spindles)
Front Brake Upgrades
Improve your 100-0 mph times!

1. Find out what you have
2. Front upgrades
3. Notes on 99+ GT PBR calipers
4. Modifying 94-95 spindles for 99+ GT PBRs
5. Caliper diagrams
6. Rear brake upgrades for V6 & GT
7. Piece together M2300K parts list




1. Find out what you have to start with:

'93 Cobra R: 13x1.1" vented rotors, PBR dual piston 38mm unit from Corvette (interchangeable with Cobra and Bullitt calipers). 10.5" rear vented disc.

'94-95 V6 & GT: 10.8x1.0" front rotors, 66mm single piston calipers. Rear single piston 38mm Varga caliper, 10" solid rotor

'94-98 Cobra, '95 Cobra R: 13.0x1.1" KVH rotors, 38x38mm dual piston PBR calipers. Rear single piston 38mm Varga Caliper, 11.65" vented rotor

'99+ V6 & GT: 10.8x1.0" front rotors, 44.5x44.5mm dual piston PBR calipers. Rear single piston Varga caliper, 10" solid rotor

'99+ Cobra: 13.0x1.1" Brembo rotors, spec'd 40x40 mm dual piston PBR calipers. Rear single piston 38mm Varga Caliper, 11.65" vented rotor

'00 Bullitt Mustang: Same brakes as 94-98 Cobras (unique red PBR calipers with running horse up front, same varga caliper in rear painted red.) Rear single piston 38mm Varga Caliper, 11.65" vented rotor

'00 Cobra R: 13.0x1.1" Brembo rotors, Brembo 4 piston calipers. 36x40mm pistons. Rear disc the same as the stock '99+ Cobras
Notes on Parts:
The '94-95 spindles are different from the modular '96+ units. The '94-95 units have a curved steering arm and keep the stock track width on a fox3 car. These are the spindles that most people use on the fox3 cars to keep the stock track width. The '96+ units have a straight steering arm and will increase the track ~8mm per side. The '96+ units will give you even more ackerman steering and allows to run the '00R brake cooling ducts or other brake cooling systems. You may need to run a bumpsteer kit to use the SN95 spindles, especially if your car is lowered!

For the year, the spindles, hubs, rear axles, ebrake cables and rear calipers on the SN95s (94-98 for the rear calipers and axles on the Cobras) are the same on the V6, GT and Cobra. So if you are looking for these parts, you can get the parts from a V6 to save cost. Most wreckers charge more for the GT and Cobra parts, so you can beat them at their own game.

Since the rear calipers are the same between the 94-98 V6, GT and Cobra, how do they work with the larger Cobra brakes? First the cobra has a taller axle to caliper bracket to accommodate the 11.65" rotor. Second to accommodate the thicker rotor, the Cobras use brake pads that are thinner than the V6/GTs. There seems to be 3 different rear brackets between the 94-present Mustangs. Any will work, but if you use the GT/V6 bracket with the thicker cobra rotor, you may need to clearance the inside of the caliper bracket a bit.
2. Front upgrades:
  1. Install new high performance pads like the Hawk or Porterfield units. If they are not slotted, cut 1-2 grooves in the pads. This will help gassing and to "wipe" the rotor clean.
  2. Install Stainless Steel Brakes lines. Stainless steel hoses provide better performance than the stock rubber hoses because rubber will expand, causing a spongy brake pedal and even some loss of initial braking force. Installation of the SS hoses will give your Mustang a firmer pedal, quicker braking response, and easier brake modulation. Another benefit is that on the caliper end of the SS hoses, it is round. So it will fit all the Ford front calipers without modifications.
  • Note on the Fox brake lines: Ford changed the nut on the brake line to a longer unit on some cars and there is no real pattern. If you have these nuts on the brake lines, you will most likely have leaks if you use the wrong fittings. There is no pattern that this appears on. I know that MaximumMotorsports knows of the problem and can help get you the correct fittings on the lines.
  1. Caliper upgrade listed from most stopping upgrade to the least (not all inclusive):
    1. StopTech 4 piston calipers with 13" rotors
    2. Wilwood 6 piston calipers with 13"+ rotors
    3. Brembo 4 piston calipers with 13"+ rotors.
    4. Upgrade to the 99+ Spec Cobra front Calipers
    5. '94-98 Cobra 2 piston calipers with 13" rotors.
    6. '99+ V6/GT 2 piston PBR calipers. Uses stock V6/GT 10.8" rotors. See part 4 for installation instructions.
    7. '94-98 V6/GT cast iron calipers. Single 66mm piston, uses 10.8" rotors.
  1. Brake cooling. Beyond buying the Y2K Cobra R brake cooling, you can piece together your own setup for very little cash outlay. You need 2 scoops (if you get the inside of an air box silencer from a 87-93 V8, you could use them for scoops), 2-3" ducting hose, some way to secure the hose to the frame and A arm. You want to cool the hat (center) of the rotor as the fins will direct the air out through the rotor. If you wanted even more cooling, then direct a second hose to the calipers. That is really it! Keep in mind that the '96+ spindles are much easier to attach cooling ducts too, and the '00 Cobra R system requires them. Here are some great links to help you out:
Spare Tires

When you upgrade to the 13” brakes, the cobras come with a special sized spare tire to fit the larger brake rotors. These are not easy to find and can be costly when you do find one. There is another solution that allows you to use your stock spare. On the 94+ Gt/V6 cars, that spare will not clear the front 13” brakes, but will clear the rear brakes just fine. So if you get a flat on the rear, you can just change the tire with the spare. Now if you get a flat in the front tire, what you are going to have to do first is change the spare to the rear tire. Then take the rear tire and swap it with the front one. Keep in mind that this trick only works if you have the same sized wheels on all 4 corners of the car. If you do not, then plan to spend the money for the 94+ cobra spare.

For you 79-93 owners, you can find 5 lug spares on others such as the Lincoln Mark7, Towncar and Crown Victoria. Also Ranger and Explorer units work, but are smaller than the previous cars mentioned.
3. Notes on the '99+ GT PBR calipers:
The '99+ PBR calipers are designed for the 10.8" V6/GT stock rotors. They are a very economical upgrade for the SN95s and I would suggest anyone upgrading to the SN95 spindles and GT rotors to use them instead of the 94-98 cast single piston units. They will not work with the 13" Cobra rotors, only the 10.8" V6/GT rotors! They are lighter (8 lbs) than the '94-98 cast calipers which will reduce unsprung weight, and you get the benefit of the dual piston calipers!

Here are the specs on the calipers that I have measured:
weight: 10.4 lbs (loaded)
piston diameter: 45x45mm dual piston

The '99 PBR calipers can be found at most take-off parts dealers for a VERY good price! Here are two places that I have found:

-Diversified Marketing: 800-995-4003.
- Car-Part.com Used Auto Parts Market, list parts and prices by location

Get them loaded with the caliper bracket and brake lines. Most take-off units come loaded with pads and brake lines. The '94+  Mustang brake lines are side specific, so you cannot switch sides with them.   The '99+ Mustang lines are a direct bolt in for the 94-98 cars.  The 94-95 spindles will have to be cleareanced for the dual piston GT/V6 calipers to work.  See next section for more details.

The '99+ brake lines that come with the caliper are not direct bolt-ins for the 79-93 cars at the hard lines.   If the passenger side line does not work, you need to an adapter to bolt them on. The stock 87-93 v8 brake lines have a lip on them to keep them from rotating on the caliper. That would have to be ground off to use it with the PBR calipers and grind the caliper a bit to make them work.  I would suggest to not ue the stock brake lines and upgrade to the '99+ Mustang units or aftermarket SS lines. If you are going to upgrade, most SS lines use a round piece at the caliper end, so you will not have mounting issues on the caliper.

Here is more info on grinding of the caliper to fit the stock brake lines: Mustang PBR Dual Piston Caliper Install

As a side note, you can polish these calipers up very easily for a very distinguished look behind open wheels like the Cobra R units! I just takes some 100, 220 and 600 grit sand paper. Then finish it off with a metal polish!

4. Modifying '94-95 spindles to accept the '99+ PBR calipers:
94 modified spindle. Red is what is interferring. Blue is where to cut Click on the Picture for a larger image. The Red lines show the interference with the PBR calipers. The Blue lines show where is need to cut or grind.
96+ spindles. Notice the difference in the earsNotice the lesser amount of material around the caliper mount hole ears on the spindle. This is what you are trying to emulate by clearancing the '94-95 spindles.


To mount the PBR calipers on the older '94-95 spindles, you need to shave about 5mm off each "ear" of the caliper mounting bolt hole. There is a squared off section on the spindle that needs to be cut off also. This can be done with a grinder very easily. It will take about 20 minutes to complete both spindles.
completed assembly on 95 spindle17x9 Eagle Cobra Rs with the GT PBRs behind

5. Caliper Diagrams:

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)

'94-98 (different spindle for 96-98) V6/GT Front Brake Assembly:
Ford 94-98 Gt/V6 Brake diagram, click to enlarge
'99+ GT/V6 PBR Front Brake Assembly w/ 10.84" rotors:
99+ PBR Gt/V6 Brakes
'99-01 Cobra Front Brake Assembly:
99 Cobra Ford Brake Diagram, click to enlarge
94-98 V6/GT front calipers:

94-98 front caliper diagram, click to enlarge
94+ Cobra type front calipers:

94-98 Cobra Caliper, click to enlarge
SN95 Front Brake Assembly:

Sn95 Front assembly diagram, click to enlarge
SN95 Varga Rear Calipers:

Sn95 Varga Rear calipers, click to enlarge


6. Rear Brake upgrades for V6/GTs 94+:
The V6/GT cars for 94-Present use a 10" solid rear rotor and single piston caliper. While they are disc brakes, the non vented rotors are less than optimal. You can upgrade to slotted and drilled rotors from companies like Baer , but the are still solid 10" rotors. Here are your upgrade options beyond just the rotors:

1. Upgrade to a drilled and slotted rear disc, stock size. Baer carries the item
2. Upgrade to the 94-98 Cobra 11.65" vented rotors. You need the Cobra specific axle bracket, anti-moan bracket and rotor. You use your existing caliper with the cobra pads (they are thinner to accommodate the thicker rotor). There are 3 different caliper brackets for the 94+ cars. You can either get a cobra specific unit or grind the GT/V6 one wider to accomodate the wider cobra rotor.
3. Baer has a 12" rear brake upgrade with single piston aluminum caliper. Also other systems to choose from at additional cost
4. Brembo 13" brake rotor with a special bracket to use the stock caliper! Steeda sells the setup.

7. Piece together M2300K kit and other Sn95 brake kits:

Front w/'99+ GT/V6 twin piston PBRs:
94-present Gt/V6 10.84" rotors (2)
'99+ GT/V6 PBR calipers (2)
'99+ Gt/V6 PBR caliper brackets (2)
spindle to caliper bracket bolts (4): N805163-S190
1994+ spindles (2) -- The 94-95 spindles will have to be clearanced for these calipers!
Hubs (2)
hub nut(2)
dust cap(2)
dust shields (2) : F4ZZ-2K005A , F4ZZ-2K004A
SS brake lines with round banjo fittings at caliper ends

For 79-93 cars, Balljoint spacer or stack of 3 washers totaling .330" in height or press in Sn95 balljoints to the stock arms (MOOG brand)

Front w/Cobra PBRs:
13" cobra rotors (2)
cobra PBR calipers (2)
cobra caliper brackets (2)
caliper pins (2)
spindle to caliper bracket bolts (4): N805163-S190
1994+ spindles (2)
Hubs (2)
hub nut(2)
dust cap(2)
dust shields (2) : F4ZZ-2K005A , F4ZZ-2K004A ($7.70 each)
SS brake lines with round banjo fittings at caliper ends
Banjo/caliper bolts (2) 10mm x 1.0 thread

For 79-93 cars, Balljoint spacer or stack of 3 washers totaling .330" in height or press in Sn95 balljoints to the stock arms (MOOG brand)

Front w/Brembo 4 pots or Wilwood 6 pots:
Brembo 4 piston Cobra R kit (includes rotors, calipers, bolts, SS brake lines, and pads) -- or -- Wilwood 6 pot Brake kit
spindle to caliper bracket bolts (4)
1994-95 spindles (2)
Hubs (2)
hub nut(2)
dust cap(2)

For 79-93 cars, Balljoint spacer or stack of 3 washers totaling .330" in height or press in Sn95 balljoints to the stock arms (MOOG brand)

MC and PV:
'93 Cobra 1.00" master cylinder (or a 94-95 15/16" bore cobra unit for a softer pedal feel). Can use 94-98 V6 1 1/16" for use with the larger GT/V6 PBR calipers

For 79-93 cars, 3-2 port adapter kit

FMS M2450 plug
adjustable proportioning valve

Rear w/sn95 cobra disc (Upgrade to GT/V6 94-present cars):
cobra axle bracket (2)
cobra anit-moan brackets (2)
cobra caliper/anchor bracket (or grind the stock ones to fit the thicker rotor) (2)
cobra rear rotors (2)
pads for 94-98 cobra (1 set)

Misc:
5 lug cobra spare
gear lube
friction modifier
brake fluid

Optional/may need:
cobra master cylinder and conversion fittings for GT
bumpsteer kit
79-93 cars, larger 94-98 vaccum brake booster

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