Bigger brakes?

LukesCougar

LukesCougar

4th Gear Poster
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Dec 27, 2023
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Olney Illinois
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1997 Thunderbird LX 4.6 Limited edtion - 1996 Cougar Xr7 4.6
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If i wanted to move to the sport setup/ bigger rotors. Is all i need the rotors, calipers, and a set of pads?
Was also looking into upgrading the rear sway bar bushings and front if its doable without dropping the subframe. I know the rear is easy but looking at the fronts im tempted to have a shop do them
 
Yea pretty easy, you can use the mustang gt front brake and rotors. I think they are about 12” or if you want a lil bigger you can run the cobra brakes but will require 17” wheels mandatory.

Also you can for sure do the front sway bar bushing without dropping the K member. A lil time consuming but very possible.
 
Base brakes use 10.8" rotors. Mustang PBRs use the same 10.8" rotors. These work with the factory 15" wheels.

Sport/Mark VIII calipers use 11.6" rotors which require 16" wheels.

Bullitt/Cobra brakes use 13" rotors and require 17" wheels.

There's a writeup for the 10.8" PBR swap in the tech articles. If you wanted to swap to the Sport/Mark VIII setup instead it would be plug-and-play with the calipers, rotors and pads - assuming you have 16" or larger wheels. The PBRs are more effective but from an ease-of-installation perspective, the Sport/Mk8 setup has a slight edge.
 
theterminator93 said:
Base brakes use 10.8" rotors. Mustang PBRs use the same 10.8" rotors. These work with the factory 15" wheels.

Sport/Mark VIII calipers use 11.6" rotors which require 16" wheels.

Bullitt/Cobra brakes use 13" rotors and require 17" wheels.

There's a writeup for the 10.8" PBR swap in the tech articles. If you wanted to swap to the Sport/Mark VIII setup instead it would be plug-and-play with the calipers, rotors and pads - assuming you have 16" or larger wheels. The PBRs are more effective but from an ease-of-installation perspective, the Sport/Mk8 setup has a slight edge.
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im rolling with some 17" wheels so i think im good there. Id rather do the sport/mk8 setup just for ease of install. If its as simple as new calipers, rotors, and pads ill probably grab me a set after the strut rod stuff is figured out and i have money again
 
Chingon1 said:
Yea pretty easy, you can use the mustang gt front brake and rotors. I think they are about 12” or if you want a lil bigger you can run the cobra brakes but will require 17” wheels mandatory.

Also you can for sure do the front sway bar bushing without dropping the K member. A lil time consuming but very possible.
Click to expand...
I might look into it but the sport package brakes seemed like the best bet for me. Im guessing for the mustang stuff i would still need other hardware to mount and maybe a new line?
 
I have ABS. do the sport calipers work fine? i am seeing "with special equipment package" and "with sport package" as options when choosing calipers and brackets

edit: i feel this is a stupid question but im just wondering if i change calipers if the abs will still work fine if i pick "sport package"
 
LukesCougar said:
I have ABS. do the sport calipers work fine? i am seeing "with special equipment package" and "with sport package" as options when choosing calipers and brackets

edit: i feel this is a stupid question but im just wondering if i change calipers if the abs will still work fine if i pick "sport package"
Click to expand...

The ABS is programmed the same whether it’s sport or non-sport.
 
There's a full walkthrough for the Mustang Cobra hub swap + brake upgrade here:

Stanley

Thread 'Thunderbird to Mustang Hub and Brake Swap'

NOTE: This was originally a "help me" thread. However, I've edited this opening post to reflect everything I've learned and changed it into a guide for others, so the immediate posts by others following it are answering questions or commenting on parts I've since cut from here to minimize confusing / contradictory information. Having now done the swap, the parts listed below are accurate.


Between how popular this mod is, and the fact that there's multiple valid ways to do it, there's about a hundred threads for this. But the problem is there's about a hundred threads for...
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Stanley said:
There's a full walkthrough for the Mustang Cobra hub swap + brake upgrade here:

Stanley

Thread 'Thunderbird to Mustang Hub and Brake Swap'

NOTE: This was originally a "help me" thread. However, I've edited this opening post to reflect everything I've learned and changed it into a guide for others, so the immediate posts by others following it are answering questions or commenting on parts I've since cut from here to minimize confusing / contradictory information. Having now done the swap, the parts listed below are accurate.


Between how popular this mod is, and the fact that there's multiple valid ways to do it, there's about a hundred threads for this. But the problem is there's about a hundred threads for...
  • Like
Click to expand...
I think in the future when i have less on the plate financially ill look into that, but i still have no ac and a plethora of small quirks to sort out. nothing too bad, but i think im gonna do the pbr or sport package if i can do it without changing the hubs

I also have the infamous reverse shift clunk that ive had on every one of these cars, and since this one isnt a pile of rust thats another thing i need to get done and a one piece driveshaft (which ill assume would fix the issue itself if its the u joint) I really have never gotten a super good look at the diff or transmission mounts either
 
Also, you don't need to redrill the rotors for the MN12 bolt pattern or swap to Mustang hubs to run the Cobra/Bullitt 13" rotors and calipers.

If you have a Dremel with a grinding bit you can just grind away the inside of the holes for the studs about 1/8" inward to clear the 4.25" pattern and you're in business. The rotors are hubcentric so the elongations don't need to be perfect.
 
The reverse clunk is likely the ds itself. You might have a bad joint or loose flange, but the 2 piece ds delaminates. I spun Lazarus's multiple times.
PST 3.5" aluminum ds $450. in 2005, lol.
 
XR7-4.6 said:
Cobra > 10.8” PBR > Sport/MkVIII > stock/w rear disc > stock/w drums
Click to expand...

100%

In my experiences the Sport/MkVIII and 10.8" PBR are pretty close in performance. Not a fan of the dinky rotors, but the PBR do have a bit more bite.
The base model brakes are just awfull, they are borderline unsafe. I got rid of them ASAP on my Thunderbird and went to the PBR.

The way I see it the Sport/MkVIII seem like the best easy upgrade path these days from stock brakes. Calipers are still available, simple install, low cost, decent performance. For the extra work and sourcing parts the PBR caliper upgrade requires, you might as well put the effort towards the Cobra setup.
 
As an owner of a '97 purposely ordered w/ Sport option, I had more problems with warped rotors than they are worth. I went to PBR's and never had a rotor runout issue. I've had one slide pin issue on a reman caliper but it was due to the car sitting for a few years. As a daily driver, the performance of PBR's is better although the whittling of the spindle for clearance is not for everyone.
 
Generalee0527 said:
As an owner of a '97 purposely ordered w/ Sport option, I had more problems with warped rotors than they are worth. I went to PBR's and never had a rotor runout issue. I've had one slide pin issue on a reman caliper but it was due to the car sitting for a few years. As a daily driver, the performance of PBR's is better although the whittling of the spindle for clearance is not for everyone.
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The rotor warpage was the main thing the dual piston PBRs were designed to resolve, that alone is why I prefer them but they also have bigger pistons(combined) and more pad than the stock regular or sport calipers. There shouldn’t be availability concerns for PBR calipers either, every non-SVT/Mach/Bullitt 99-04 Mustang has them.
 
Grog6 said:
The reverse clunk is likely the ds itself. You might have a bad joint or loose flange, but the 2 piece ds delaminates. I spun Lazarus's multiple times.
PST 3.5" aluminum ds $450. in 2005, lol.
Click to expand...
Im probably best grabbing a mk8 driveshaft at that point. cant imagine what those cost now
 
What about drilled and slotted rotors? if i went to the sport setup w/drilled and slotted how much extra cooling/ stopping power am i getting ?

I have seen some say good things, and no its not a track car. just a daily. so if im asking for more issues than its worth or if its negligible ill stick to the normal stuff
 
There's an article for that too. ;)

theterminator93

Thread 'Brake upgrade effectiveness'

I'm sure those of us with MN12s with the factory-equipped brakes - especially those who aren't lucky enough to have the factory Sport brakes up front - will agree: the brakes on our cars aren't great! The single most common complaint is probably warped rotors - fortunately, options exist that can make that a distant memory without breaking the bank.

In the years following the demise of the MN12, various components used on other Ford products (usually SN95 Mustangs) were engineered that community members learned could be easily retrofitted onto the MN12 chassis. The caveat is that these...
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LukesCougar said:
What about drilled and slotted rotors? if i went to the sport setup w/drilled and slotted how much extra cooling/ stopping power am i getting ?

I have seen some say good things, and no its not a track car. just a daily. so if im asking for more issues than its worth or if its negligible ill stick to the normal stuff
Click to expand...

Drilled/slotted are only detrimental to brake performance
 
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