Big Brakes - see my Brembos!

[tmsoko]

Anyone ever figure out a Big Brake alternative?
I just picked up a set of Brembo 4 -piston calipers used. They a 44 / 38mm pistons on eahc side. Slightly bigger than the 40 / 36mm Porsche 911 Turbo "Big Red" brakes.

I will get to these once I finish my Twin Screw supercharger and headers. From the looks of it, should be pretty damn easy. All I need are some 13 or 13.5" rotors with the right "hat" depth and have my machinist make some simple L-brackets to mount them to the knuckle.

Has anyone else done this? Does anyone have a large rotor to recommend?

See some pictures on my picture page ("home page" below signature) on pages 6 and 7.

 

[clarkkent]

i heard to fit a big brake kit, especially a 13 inch disc.. your going to have to run a 18+ inch or bigger rim?

 

[james t]

17's will fit fine.

tmsoko, no one has actually done a brake swap YET. frankrizzo tried and failed with a 13" Cobra kit. seems you gotta have AWD/4WD spindles-hubs-etc. for the rotor to work. then you just have to fab the caliper bracket. i would think mounting the caliper would be easier than finding a rotor with both correct "hat" size and bearing diameter etc.

 

[clarkkent]

if all else fails.. you can always go for the OEM size rotors that are cross drilled.. I heard just keeping th OEM size with the drill holes makes a big difference too?

 

[james t]

todd, check out this thread
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...erpage=20&highlight=cobra brakes&pagenumber=1

it starts getting "good" somewere on page two. i assume this is for the 4x4 Ranger... so the Cobra rotors may in fact be bolt on for you. it will all depend on how different the Ranger and Explorer 4x4 fronts are. this may indeed be the rotor for you. Rizzo tried, but the Cobra rotors wont work on 2wd. if you've got 4x4, they bolt right on.

 

[blk mk8]

yes i have done a brembo break kit up grade on a explorer before. if you have not see the pics then go look in one of the other sections or on my site. i have a all custome kit but it is alot of money i posted about it before. it does stop really nice though who have been in my brother truck before know about it.

 

[tmsoko]

I have not seen the setup on your web - and I can't find it. Please send me a link. Did you use custom two piece rotors? I am sure I could get a set of those to work from Brembo, Baer, or Wilwood, but would like a more cost effective one piece if possible.

Also, did you have to use a different master cylinder?

James, I will check out the other post when I get home tonight. Thanks for the lead. From what I remember though, the mustang rotors have a shallow hat and push the caliper further toward the spokes of the wheel, which does not bode well for a 4 -piston with pistons on both sides. Looks like I may "have" to get the Harley wheels now

 

[blk mk8]

you must not be looking hard enuf we posted about it when we did it a long time ago. give me a chance and i will find them ok.

i figured out why you never saw them. no one noticed at the time when we did them. http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=43441
this is the link to where the post was ok.

 

[tmsoko]

Thanks for the link. I should be able to do for a reasonable price, as the brackets should be ~$200-300 to mill and then I "just" need rotors.

 

[blk mk8]

yo it is a real mission trust me depending on the year it could be easy or a night mare.

 

[PUR PONY]

are you 2wd or AWD??? if your AWD then you can use 13" front mustang rotors.... like factory cobras, wilwoods, baers, brembos.... if your 2wd.... think about swapping to AWD front spindles.... would be alot cheaper ....

 

[tmsoko]

I am 4x4 ( this is for my Ranger ), so I have the separate spindle like the AWD explorers.

Now, I cannot use the Cobra rotors, due to their "HAT" dimensions. If you look at those rotors compared to the explorer rotors, you will see the hat is much shallower on the Cobra. This effectively pushes the caliper outboard. This becomes a real issue with clearance to wheel spokes, as not only is the caliper closer to the spokes, but the caliper is also thick on the outboard side, due to the second set of pistons.

I am planning on getting either Harley wheels or Momo Vantage wheels, which have the spokes near the face of the rim, but I still think I will not fit the cobra rotors. Once I get the wheels I will "borrow" a cobra rotor from NAPA and check fitment. This will be a while though, as wheels aren't cheap!