Figured this might come in useful for someone and save them a bunch of time if they are considering swapping over to 03/04 Cobra brakes vs ATS brakes. My particular setup is a SN95 spindle swapped 1992 GT, but this should apply to basically any of the SN95 spindle swap years. Anyways, I spent a lot of time finding the best prices I could and compiling all the parts to make things work with either setup and comparing total costs. I looked at Jegs, Amazon, FoxbodyBrakes.com, Summit, LMR, Rock Auto, Autozone, Oreilly, Napa, Advance Auto, Ebay, etc....you get the point. For anyone reading this you will need to consider your wheel offset when going with an ATS swap as that could be a deal killer from the get go. This post is assuming you have already confirmed you could clear the ATS brakes since you are looking at parts costs. I also did quite a bit of research on actual performance between the 03/04 Cobra calipers and the ATS calipers, and from what I found, the primary benefit between the two piston (Cobra) and four piston (ATS) was better wear characteristics with the ATS calipers due to more uniform pressure application to the pad. I wasn't able to find anyone that had a definitive experience where the actual braking feel/stopping power was any better (at least not noticeably) between the two setups. It would seem in 99% of applications either setup is going to be limited by front tire grip and not available "stopping power". I didn't see any instances where fading was an issue with either setup when using decent pads/fluid, even in a road racing application (this is assuming similar pads and a quality fluid like Motul 600 (or better) is being used). I will give the nod to the ATS brakes as being the cooler/more aggressive looking setup if looks are a concern. In the end, both setups were designed for heavier cars than a Fox so either way you will see a big improvement in stopping power. Anyways, here we go on costs as of 7/1/2022. This list is just a starting reference and of course you can mix/match pads etc... to make the setup be what you want.
03/04 2 Piston 13" Cobra Setup
13" Brake Rotors - Summit Racing Drilled/Slotted/Coated 13" Rotors - $122/pair - Part# SUM-BR-61044LC
- Summit partners with lots of manufacturers (similar to Costco) and in my experience their in-house products have been decent quality. Giving these a whirl to see how they go.
Cobra Calipers w/Brackets - Summit Racing - Powerstop 03/04 Cobra Calipers w/brackets - $180/pair - Part#'s: L4766C & L4767C
Note 1: Price includes the core charge of $78 assuming you are starting from scratch. If you have some Cobra calipers to return you can get $78 back (minus cost of return shipping)
Brake Pads - Summit Racing - Stoptech Street Select Pads - Jegs had these for $43, Summit price matched for $1 less - Part# SPH-305-04120
Note 1: Part# SPH-305-06271 is the equivalent Stoptech rear pad if you want your pads to match (and assuming you have an SN95 caliper based rear disc conversion already). Summit matched the Jegs price of $36. I didn't include these in the final total as they are optional.
Caliper Hardware Kit - Biggest thing here is you want a kit with the rubber isolators. Most kits don't have them. You can get the kit with the rubber isolators from LMR for $15 Part# LRS-2296A, or from Rock Auto as Raybestos Part# H5716A.
Brake Lines - I went with the Maximum Motorsports SN95 to Foxbody fitting Stainless lines. I went with these because they included both the coarse and fine thread banjo bolts (it's a toss up what you will need for the calipers you receive as they switched thread pitch between years). These I got through LMR - $99 - Part#MM-MMBK8F.
Note 1: You can get similar braided lines at LMR from J&M but they don't include banjo's or crush washers. These are $73 - Part#JM-22517FOX - For me it was easier to just have everything in one kit.
-Note 2: The other way to do this is with rubber lines and the SN95 to Fox brake fitting adapter. - The brake line adapter is $10 - Part#LRS2078HDW - As far as lines go I didn't price out lines for this method but it looks like they are $20 each (need two) on LMR. You will need to check your own part numbers for this. Theoretically you could go this route for $50 and source your own banjo bolts and crush washers. If you are pinching pennies this will save you a little bit but not sure it's worth the $50 savings over gain you get with braided lines.
Outside of brake fluid, that's all you need! I chose to go with Motul RBF600 which was about $80 for 4 bottles which should be enough to do a full fluid flush. I won't include this in the total cost as brake fluid can range greatly in cost by what your goals are. I also didn't include the rear brake pads in the total as those are optional as well.
Total (w/o brake fluid and rear pads) - $459 + tax
14+ - ATS Brembo 4 Piston 13" Setup (assuming you have confirmed wheel offset compatibility and have 17" or larger wheels)
Calipers - Ironically the least expensive were OEM AC Delco units (new, not rebuilt) on Amazon. - $247/pair - Part# 172-2768 & 172-2777
13" Rotors - Summit Racing Drilled/Slotted/Coated 13" Rotors - $122/pair - Part# SUM-BR-61044LC
- Yes, these are the same rotors as above. They work with both setups.
Brake Lines - Summit Racing - Stoptech braided lines - $85 - Part#950-61001
Note 1: These should include the proper banjo bolts and crush washers
Brake Pads - Summit Racing Powerstop Z26 - $70 - Part#PWR-Z26-1001
Note 1: There are loads of pads out there, I just picked these as a slightly aggressive street pad.
Note 2: If you want matching rear pads (assuming you have an SN95 caliper based rear disc conversion) the part number is Powerstop Z26-627A - $43 on Amazon. I didn't include these in the final total as they are optional.
Raybestos Hardware Kit - Amazon - $14 - Part#H5878A
S&S Mounting Adapter Kit - Get this direct from S&S on Facebook - $175 shipped
Note 1: They also offer a kit for $188 that comes with a different spacer and allows a slightly larger rotor from the 11-14 GT, I didn't bother pricing this out just a heads up it's available.
Total for ATS swap (w/o fluid, rear pads, caliper coating): $713+tax
That's it for the ATS setup outside of fluid, rear pads (optional) and also any type of caliper coating you are after. If you don't mind the Cadillac logo you can run them as is. There is a thread out there somewhere on what chemical to use to get rid of the white Cadillac logo without removing the black/gray caliper coating, you will need to do a bit of research as I don't remember the location off hand. It's not as simple as brake clean or paint thinner though. If you want to just paint your calipers, you can get an epoxy based kit from G2 for $70 on Amazon in a range of colors and a set of artist brushes for $10. The advantage to the G2 stuff is it's resistant to brake fluid and won't leave marks if you spill a bit. It also has a nice high quality glossy finish that is tough and will last for years if properly applied and looks very similar to the finish you would see on an aftermarket Brembo caliper.
Hopefully this helps someone and feel free to let me know if I made any mistakes. In the end I went with the Cobra setup as you get basically all the performance of the ATS setup and wheel fitment isn't affected (much). If I didn't have other projects in mind I probably would have gone with the ATS setup and coated the calipers as it is an admittedly much cooler looking setup and the brakes have better wear characteristics with the 4 piston calipers. Only difference to the above on my setup is I ordered a G2 kit in silver for my Cobra calipers to keep everything looking factory fresh for years to come. Good luck!
03/04 2 Piston 13" Cobra Setup
13" Brake Rotors - Summit Racing Drilled/Slotted/Coated 13" Rotors - $122/pair - Part# SUM-BR-61044LC
- Summit partners with lots of manufacturers (similar to Costco) and in my experience their in-house products have been decent quality. Giving these a whirl to see how they go.
Cobra Calipers w/Brackets - Summit Racing - Powerstop 03/04 Cobra Calipers w/brackets - $180/pair - Part#'s: L4766C & L4767C
Note 1: Price includes the core charge of $78 assuming you are starting from scratch. If you have some Cobra calipers to return you can get $78 back (minus cost of return shipping)
Brake Pads - Summit Racing - Stoptech Street Select Pads - Jegs had these for $43, Summit price matched for $1 less - Part# SPH-305-04120
Note 1: Part# SPH-305-06271 is the equivalent Stoptech rear pad if you want your pads to match (and assuming you have an SN95 caliper based rear disc conversion already). Summit matched the Jegs price of $36. I didn't include these in the final total as they are optional.
Caliper Hardware Kit - Biggest thing here is you want a kit with the rubber isolators. Most kits don't have them. You can get the kit with the rubber isolators from LMR for $15 Part# LRS-2296A, or from Rock Auto as Raybestos Part# H5716A.
Brake Lines - I went with the Maximum Motorsports SN95 to Foxbody fitting Stainless lines. I went with these because they included both the coarse and fine thread banjo bolts (it's a toss up what you will need for the calipers you receive as they switched thread pitch between years). These I got through LMR - $99 - Part#MM-MMBK8F.
Note 1: You can get similar braided lines at LMR from J&M but they don't include banjo's or crush washers. These are $73 - Part#JM-22517FOX - For me it was easier to just have everything in one kit.
-Note 2: The other way to do this is with rubber lines and the SN95 to Fox brake fitting adapter. - The brake line adapter is $10 - Part#LRS2078HDW - As far as lines go I didn't price out lines for this method but it looks like they are $20 each (need two) on LMR. You will need to check your own part numbers for this. Theoretically you could go this route for $50 and source your own banjo bolts and crush washers. If you are pinching pennies this will save you a little bit but not sure it's worth the $50 savings over gain you get with braided lines.
Outside of brake fluid, that's all you need! I chose to go with Motul RBF600 which was about $80 for 4 bottles which should be enough to do a full fluid flush. I won't include this in the total cost as brake fluid can range greatly in cost by what your goals are. I also didn't include the rear brake pads in the total as those are optional as well.
Total (w/o brake fluid and rear pads) - $459 + tax
14+ - ATS Brembo 4 Piston 13" Setup (assuming you have confirmed wheel offset compatibility and have 17" or larger wheels)
Calipers - Ironically the least expensive were OEM AC Delco units (new, not rebuilt) on Amazon. - $247/pair - Part# 172-2768 & 172-2777
13" Rotors - Summit Racing Drilled/Slotted/Coated 13" Rotors - $122/pair - Part# SUM-BR-61044LC
- Yes, these are the same rotors as above. They work with both setups.
Brake Lines - Summit Racing - Stoptech braided lines - $85 - Part#950-61001
Note 1: These should include the proper banjo bolts and crush washers
Brake Pads - Summit Racing Powerstop Z26 - $70 - Part#PWR-Z26-1001
Note 1: There are loads of pads out there, I just picked these as a slightly aggressive street pad.
Note 2: If you want matching rear pads (assuming you have an SN95 caliper based rear disc conversion) the part number is Powerstop Z26-627A - $43 on Amazon. I didn't include these in the final total as they are optional.
Raybestos Hardware Kit - Amazon - $14 - Part#H5878A
S&S Mounting Adapter Kit - Get this direct from S&S on Facebook - $175 shipped
Note 1: They also offer a kit for $188 that comes with a different spacer and allows a slightly larger rotor from the 11-14 GT, I didn't bother pricing this out just a heads up it's available.
Total for ATS swap (w/o fluid, rear pads, caliper coating): $713+tax
That's it for the ATS setup outside of fluid, rear pads (optional) and also any type of caliper coating you are after. If you don't mind the Cadillac logo you can run them as is. There is a thread out there somewhere on what chemical to use to get rid of the white Cadillac logo without removing the black/gray caliper coating, you will need to do a bit of research as I don't remember the location off hand. It's not as simple as brake clean or paint thinner though. If you want to just paint your calipers, you can get an epoxy based kit from G2 for $70 on Amazon in a range of colors and a set of artist brushes for $10. The advantage to the G2 stuff is it's resistant to brake fluid and won't leave marks if you spill a bit. It also has a nice high quality glossy finish that is tough and will last for years if properly applied and looks very similar to the finish you would see on an aftermarket Brembo caliper.
Hopefully this helps someone and feel free to let me know if I made any mistakes. In the end I went with the Cobra setup as you get basically all the performance of the ATS setup and wheel fitment isn't affected (much). If I didn't have other projects in mind I probably would have gone with the ATS setup and coated the calipers as it is an admittedly much cooler looking setup and the brakes have better wear characteristics with the 4 piston calipers. Only difference to the above on my setup is I ordered a G2 kit in silver for my Cobra calipers to keep everything looking factory fresh for years to come. Good luck!
