I recently stumbled upon a Maverick that the owner had gotten MustangSteve.com disc brake caliper mounts that allow you to run 94-04 Mustang Cobra dual piston calipers and 13" Cobra rotors. The down side is that this is double what it would cost to run the scarebird brackets with GM calipers and Toyota rotors, but you would not need to machine your hubs for the Cobra swap. The Cobra swap definitely opens the door to better performance brake parts, and Mustang Steve does offer a smaller diameter booster as well. My question here is if anyone has done the Mustang Steve brake swap, is it worth it? And For those of you who have the Scarebird set up on your car, how well does it perform? Would the upgraded Cobra system be worth the initial investment from a performance standpoint or not? I plan on upgrading the rear of my car to the 90's Crown Vic brakes at some point as well, but fronts come first. Thanks
Well, I plan on making the car go fast, if you go fast you should be able to stop fast. As far as driving, it will mostly be a good daily driver street strip car. I dont plan on doing auto cross, but I do plan on doing some drags at the local strip. That's why I was looking for some input from someone who has used the scarebird setup.
I have a mustang Steve cobra brake set-up. I don't have many miles on it but I'd do it again if I had another maverick/Comet. If the brakes are good enough for a heavy mustang they're good enough for our cars. Another plus is you can go down to your local auto parts and get brake components. Only downside is your married to a 17" wheel
I've already committed to a 17" wheel so that does not bother me. After you get some miles on let me know how you like the brakes. I'm leaning towards the Mustang Steve setup, but the sticker shock hasn't worn off yet.
As mentioned, it all depends on how you want to drive it. Bigger brakes don't necessarily always make a car stop much shorter from 4o mph and have far greater advantage during repeated stops or really high speed driving. And good brakes are like horsepower.. more capability will always cost bigger money. The other thing to keep in mind is unsprung weight. Bigger rotors mean more weight and rotating mass but the aluminum calipers can easily offset much of that gain over the smaller full iron counterparts. Also consider that more brake mass equals greater heat dissipation and MUCH improved warping resistance. The performance difference between cobbling together OEM parts from various mfgrs to a simpler adapter with 13" performance designed brakes will be night and day compared to that antiquated scarebird stuff. If you want to play.. then you got's to pay. No way around that simple fact. PS, quick search found this picture thread. Other than the disc brake design unto itself.. there's absolutely nothing "performance oriented" about that kit. Like comparing Honda civic brakes to a Ferrari's. Night and day difference when you want to stop really fast from over 100 mph. http://mmb.maverick.to/threads/finally-started-disc-brakes-on-front-w-pics.91271/
I was really surprised to find a kit that works with the Maverick drum spindles that allows you to run performance brakes. I'm glad I waited as long as I did before I did order anything, I thought the only setups available without going way out there were Granada 10.5" and the Scarebird 10", that's what led me to start searching for another alternative. Mustang Steve does also have a kit that allows you to run 05-10 Mustang GT 12.5" brakes. The adapter kit is the same cost as the Cobra one, but it looks like Rotors and calipers are a little less cash as opposed to the calipers that say Cobra on them. This may be the route I go. Groberts101, I've sunk thousands of dollars into a car I bought for $150 already, so I'm not really afraid to spend a little more
Right on. You came this far.. what's a few more hours of overtime in the scheme of things, right? Ton's of aftermarekt stuff available for those newer brakes too. That was the same MS kit I was also looking at since you can also find the BIG brembo setups found on the GT500 stuff in new or barely used take-off condition. And for the rear you'd also get a vented vs solid rotor design. Not nearly the cost of a full on 6 piston aftermarket Brembo or Alcon kit but still similar performance. Will have to just deal with the added brake weight needed to stop from really high speeds or repeatedly running around a racetrack. I just missed a "new take-off" local sale on Craigslist about 6 months ago for $900 bucks. Everything included front and rear, not even surface rusted. Might have been slightly premature though since I wasn't actually planning on buying 19" wheels for quite some time yet. lol
I have the GM/Toyota kit and really like it. My car has a mostly stock v8 and the brakes stop great in my opinion. I also switched to a manual disc master cylinder. Car stopps quick and I have locked up all 4 wheels in a panic stop.
Yeah, you should stay with the 13" cobra brakes, always check the wheel fitment. I've been researching a lot about that, the cobra brakes are now getting older, but I believe they will keep producing parts for at least 7 years more. In my 71' 4 door Mav, I run 4 wheel disc brakes, I use this car as a daily and after too many stops, the brakes fade, almost inmediately, I tend to drive a little fast. But don't believe me, I also feel my 2010 Fusion has the worst brakes ever, even though it has a "better brake system". That's why I'm also looking for brake upgrades, Wilwood, Baer, Street or Track, all are good brands with good prices too $1,200 to $1900 Mustang Steve is the way to go! I'm still waiting for a 2012 Mustang owner so I can test the fitment of my 17" wheels on his 13.2" rotors, if not I will go with the 12.5" rotors. Why not 13" Cobra rotors? In my case, Mustangs Cobra are very rare here in Mexico compared to newer Mustangs (you see them everyday), so it is quite expensive to get parts. I do have a question for you: Do you need a booster to run those brakes? I know a guy from Instagram called "Mighty Mav" (great car he has) that has the manual brakes and 13" cobra rotors and he hasn't reported any problems yet, still looking for more info.
I am running Wilwood 11.0 disc brake conversion on my Mav. They are four piston calipers and vented rotors and work with drum brake spindles. They fit 15 inch wheels with no problem. I have run the Dragons Tail in the Smokies several times with no fade. It also has hauled me down from a 110 mph pass at the drag strip with no problem. As I remember they run about $700, depending where you buy them and how fancy you get. Good Luck. Lee "THE MAV" Richart
if they kept working on the dragons tail, then this is saying a LOT! lol that road is a beast no matter what youre driving. i live about 3hrs from it.
"The Mighty Mav" is where I first saw the conversion and I haven't heard any complaints with the manual master cylinder. Baer makes an adjustable master cylinder with different sized pistons and a built in adjustable proportioning valve. I think I will probably just go with the 05-10 Mustang GT brakes kit, just for the parts availability. My car should be pretty quick when I'm done, but the 12" rotors should be more than enough to stop it efficiently.
