Brake Advice

[MiNotch]

Hi All,

I’m planning on doing my first brake job on my track car before the season begins. I would love any input/guidance, as this is my first time doing such a job on a track car.

The car itself is a Foxbody notch with Cobra front and rear brakes. The car sees about 4-5 track days per year, and is driven sparingly on the road.

Initial thoughts include:
- Hawk DTC-70 pads up front. DTC-60 pads in the rear.
- Motul RBF600 fluid
- Ford OEM rotors.

Sorry for the basic questions, but I rely on this board heavily and everyone has been super helpful and patient in the past!

Any input/guidance would be very much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Ewheels]

Hi All,

I’m planning on doing my first brake job on my track car before the season begins. I would love any input/guidance, as this is my first time doing such a job on a track car.

The car itself is a Foxbody notch with Cobra front and rear brakes. The car sees about 4-5 track days per year, and is driven sparingly on the road.

Initial thoughts include:
- Hawk DTC-70 pads up front. DTC-60 pads in the rear.
- Motul RBF600 fluid
- Ford OEM rotors.

Sorry for the basic questions, but I rely on this board heavily and everyone has been super helpful and patient in the past!

Any input/guidance would be very much appreciated!

Thanks!

Not to be a grammar Nazi, but you didn't actually ask a single question in your post,

Anyhow, what specifically are you looking to know?
The pads/rotors/fluid you listed are all fine though DTC 70 pads might be too aggressive depending on which tires you use.

Again, not exactly sure what you're looking for here but as for the basics: install the new rotors and pads, don't use locktite on the bolts, flush brake fluid with your RBF600 (make sure the reservoir doesn't get too low in the process), then bed in pads/rotors per Hawk's instructions and done.

 

[blacksheep-1]

A few folks out there sell fixbody brake upgrade " kits". I think Stop Tech may be one. They are a sponsor on this sight. FWIW, those Hawk pads are a decent choice IMO.

 

[MiNotch]

Not to be a grammar Nazi, but you didn't actually ask a single question in your post,

Anyhow, what specifically are you looking to know?
The pads/rotors/fluid you listed are all fine though DTC 70 pads might be too aggressive depending on which tires you use.

Again, not exactly sure what you're looking for here but as for the basics: install the new rotors and pads, don't use locktite on the bolts, flush brake fluid with your RBF600 (make sure the reservoir doesn't get too low in the process), then bed in pads/rotors per Hawk's instructions and done.

Thanks for the note, Pumpkin!

I was never one for grammar, I guess! I was really just looking to bounce ideas off of people. Thanks for the input and advice!

 

[MiNotch]

A few folks out there sell fixbody brake upgrade " kits". I think Stop Tech may be one. They are a sponsor on this sight. FWIW, those Hawk pads are a decent choice IMO.

Hey Blacksheep! I’ll definitely look into your suggestion - thank you!!

 

[blacksheep-1]

BTW, there are " cobra" brakes then there are 13 inch " cobra" brakes, I assume you have the former, but if so, the Brembos are well worth the upgrade.

 

[MiNotch]

BTW, there are " cobra" brakes then there are 13 inch " cobra" brakes, I assume you have the former, but if so, the Brembos are well worth the upgrade.

Blacksheep, I believe the I have the 13” Cobra brakes.

So, not all Cobra brakes are 13”?

 

[blacksheep-1]

Blacksheep, I believe the I have the 13” Cobra brakes.

So, not all Cobra brakes are 13”?

It's been awhile but the " big brakes" were Brembos, They may have been 14, but I think 13. Like I said, It's been awhile.

 

[blacksheep-1]

These are the desirable brakes

 

[blacksheep-1]

You may have to change spindles

 

[blacksheep-1]

If you do the search deal, for the Foxbody and the sn95 forums, I wrote some of the original articles for those forums. In one of those, it gives you the combination of parts you need to upgrade fox spindles/ tire rods to accept the cobra R brakes.

 

[JDee]

Agree with what eWheels is saying, the 70/60 combo is pretty aggressive and won't likely be kind to your rotors. Also not going to be nice on the street. I run 50/30 on my S550 and they work very well, though I come from an endurance racing background and have learned how to manage brakes to make them last.

Blacksheep-1 could write volumes with what he's learned over the years about these cars, I'd take his advice very strongly.

 

[MiNotch]

Hi All,

thanks so much for the information, everyone!

As much as I would like to shell out for the Big Brake kit (Cobra R), I just don’t have the funds to do so at the moment.

I’ve been chatting with Tim from OP Mustang as well. He brought up the G-Loc option. Specifically The R12s. I’m thinking those might be a little too aggressive? So, maybe something along the lines of the R8s? Does anybody have any experience with G-Locs?

Oh, and a little more background on the car. No ABS. Currently running Federal Evoluzion ST-1 tires (275/40/17).

Thanks everyone!!!

 

[blacksheep-1]

Hi All,

thanks so much for the information, everyone!

As much as I would like to shell out for the Big Brake kit (Cobra R), I just don’t have the funds to do so at the moment.

I’ve been chatting with Tim from OP Mustang as well. He brought up the G-Loc option. Specifically The R12s. I’m thinking those might be a little too aggressive? So, maybe something along the lines of the R8s? Does anybody have any experience with G-Locs?

Oh, and a little more background on the car. No ABS. Currently running Federal Evoluzion ST-1 tires (275/40/17).

Thanks everyone!!!

Those pads you mentioned are aggressive, so @JDee is right about that, but they are the ones I used and still do on the track stuff. So if you can't do the "R" option, then cruise through the Stop Tech page and see if they have a rotor and pad package that might work for you, if you haven't already done so, braided brake lines are a fairly inexpensive option that will show a big improvement.
Also, FWIW those cars really like caster, at least 4 degrees, after 4 degrees they pick up camber gain, which is what you want to do when you turn the wheels, Do you have the extended ball joints? because that's a huge improvement as well. When I ran those cars, the rear suspension had to be almost stock, which sucked because the triangulated 4 link is horrible, but through things like camber gain, extended ball joints and a bump steer kit, they handled pretty well.

 

[MiNotch]

Those pads you mentioned are aggressive, so @JDee is right about that, but they are the ones I used and still do on the track stuff. So if you can't do the "R" option, then cruise through the Stop Tech page and see if they have a rotor and pad package that might work for you, if you haven't already done so, braided brake lines are a fairly inexpensive option that will show a big improvement.
Also, FWIW those cars really like caster, at least 4 degrees, after 4 degrees they pick up camber gain, which is what you want to do when you tune the wheels, Do you have the extended ball joints? because that's a huge improvement as well. When I ran those cars, the rear suspension ha dot be almost stock, which sucked because the triangulated 4 link is horrible, but through things like camber gain, extended ball joints and a bump steer kit, they handled pretty well.

Thanks for the great info, Blacksheep! The car is set up with MM goods. It has the front offset setup, and has IRS in the rear. I’m still learning all about proper setup, so any info is good info!

 

[Ewheels]

Hi All,

thanks so much for the information, everyone!

As much as I would like to shell out for the Big Brake kit (Cobra R), I just don’t have the funds to do so at the moment.

I’ve been chatting with Tim from OP Mustang as well. He brought up the G-Loc option. Specifically The R12s. I’m thinking those might be a little too aggressive? So, maybe something along the lines of the R8s? Does anybody have any experience with G-Locs?

Oh, and a little more background on the car. No ABS. Currently running Federal Evoluzion ST-1 tires (275/40/17).

Thanks everyone!!!

I used to run GLOC R12 front and R10 rear. They were great for me, no complaints.
I now use Hawk DTC 60 front and rear and the stopping power seems about the same but the Hawks also seem to hold up to heat better. R12/10s worked just fine on the street too while the DTC 60s do require some initial heat to get good bite.

 

[MiNotch]

Thanks for the insight, Pumpkin!

Like everything else in life, sounds like there are pros/cons with each setup.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Part of the issue is Ewheels starting getting faster so he needed to move up to R14 to R18s --- those 12s just weren't up to his new speed ( and we have even heard clear out in Nebraska that he is pretty fast ). Over the years one of the funniest things I would hear from guys racing is they were switching pads as the darn things just weren't lasting as long. They were going faster but they wanted all the consumables to stay at the same wear rate, ha.

 

[Ewheels]

Part of the issue is Ewheels starting getting faster so he needed to move up to R14 to R18s --- those 12s just weren't up to his new speed ( and we have even heard clear out in Nebraska that he is pretty fast ). Over the years one of the funniest things I would hear from guys racing is they were switching pads as the darn things just weren't lasting as long. They were going faster but they wanted all the consumables to stay at the same wear rate, ha.

Thanks for the kind words, Bill!

 

[Bill Pemberton]

No problem, just telling the truth about the " Flying Pumpkin!"