Hello to all, this is my first post. My question is, can you put upgraded brakes i.e. cross drilled rotors and dual piston calipers on a 95 T-Bird? I have the standard aluminium wheels. Thanks for any replies.

You sure can. Go the the Baer website and order thier catalog<br>or try Summit or Jegs. They offer them. You might have to order them for a Mustang though.

Thanks for the reply, do you know what size rotor the 95 has? or can you go up a size and still fit into the stock rim?

You can't put mustang brakes on a thunderbird, none of the hardware will match up unless you want to do some fabricating. The mustang has a 5x4.5" bolt circle and the Tbird has a 5x4.25" bolt circle. You would have to change to mustang hubs for the rotors to fit. The brackets that the calipers bolt to on the mustang are also different from the thunderbird brackets. If you want to upgrade your brakes you will have to find parts specifically for the thunderbird. Don't worry though, they're not too hard to find.

yes you can get direct replacement cross drilled units but the two piston calipers there are two ways to do it get the rear spindles off of a 2001+ irs cobra and brake setup it will directley bolt up with little modifications. The front ones you will have to upgrade your front spindles to a 4.5 bolt pattern from a mustang but requires the modification of your front steering assembly. this will also give you a better selection of wheels but you will have to get new wheels anyway for the new 4.5 bolt pattern. The other option is krb or baer offers a direct replacement system for the 89-97 t-bird but it is $1500 dollars per axle. that includes cross drilled rotors in 15" fronts and 13" rears with dual piston calipers new 17" minimum wheels are required. Go to tccoa.com and look under brake upgrades my suggestion to you is to get the cross drilled units from summit and a set of carbon mettalic racing pads it will give you impressive braking for about $600-$800. the cross drilled rotors are not going to stop you any faster they just disapate heat faster so there is less brake fade after intense driving. the carbon mettalic pads are what will stop you faster but will melt factory rotors under intense driving. <br><br>LAter<br>Dwayne<br>Netcoa web site<br><a href=http://www.geocities.com/black_thunder1995 target=new>http://www.geocities.com/black_thunder1995</a>

Between KVR and BAER does one have any advantages over the other? Does any of these mods affect the ABS? One last question (I think) what size rotors are on the rear? and can they be replaced as the fronts can?

Between KVR and BAER does one have any advantages over the other? <br><br>Price = better product usually but for your level of driving up to entry level SCCA racing any kit will do only after you jump to the pro class will you have to worry about two-four piston calipers and larger brakes so whatever fits your price range I personally would still go for the carbon mettalic pads and cross drilled rotors but if you got the cash to burn go for the KVR kit because i don't think baer makes a direct fit kit for t-birds and cougars. What year is your car so i can have a better idea what platform i am dealing wiht fox or MN12. big difference 83-88 fox 89-97 MN12 the foxes where just like the mustangs so alot of parts swap over MN12's are in a class of there own with Mark VIII and cougars. You might want to check and see if a Mark VIII has larger brakes than the t-bird did that might be a cheap upgrade there I know the aluminum drive shaft and running gear shaves off about 200Lbs a tbird by swapping them from a mark VIII. (i.e. rear a arms drive shaft center section carrier etc.)<br><br>Does any of these mods affect the ABS? <br><br>The abs should still stay in tact as long as you don't remove the abs sensors on the hubs it looks like a sprocket on the back side of the the hub that reads rotation of the wheel in relation to speed. It also plays a part in your traction assist by monitoring if one wheel is spinnig faster than the other wheel and modulates the abs to compensate. <br><br>One last question (I think) what size rotors are on the rear? and can they be replaced as the fronts can? <br><br>don't know that off hand but any ford parts dealer should be able to look that up or go grab a tape measure. The rears should be just as easy to swap for cross drilled units but you will have to find someone who makes them that I do not know off hand<br><br>rotor swap and pad swap page <br><a href=http://www.tccoa.com/articles/brakes/kvr/ target=new>http://www.tccoa.com/articles/brakes/kvr/</a><br><br>upgrade kit page<br><a href=http://www.tccoa.com/articles/brakes/pbr-13/ target=new>http://www.tccoa.com/articles/brakes/pbr-13/</a><br><br>I am sure you can get the kits without being a member but at a higher price. Membership may be worth the discount pluss they have better discounts on other great stuff expecially ford direct.<br>Later<br>Dwayne

I have a 95LX, You answered all my brake questions, thanks! now about that rear end swap with the Mk 8 that is quite alot of weight can you change the half shafts and drive shaft only, or does it require the rear diff. also? are these things direct swapp?

I have been trying to join, but when you go there it says they are not signing anybody up at this time. Do you have any idea when that will change?<br>Thanks again for everything! very helpful!

I have a 95LX, You answered all my brake questions, thanks!<br><br>your welcome!<br><br> now about that rear end swap with the Mk 8 that is quite alot of weight can you change the half shafts and drive shaft only, or does it require the rear diff. also? are these things direct swapp? <br><br><br>Most of it is a direct swap for the t-bird the half shafts dunno but if you want to swap the whole assembly from rear A arms to the pumpkin the only problem you will run into is lincons have air ride suspension. you will have to weld in spring perches for your factory springs. If you are not super mechanically inclined i would just swap out the center section(pumkin) and the drive shaft. the years differ so make sure you get a 94-98 mark VIII drive shaft the 92-93 one is different I believe because the 92_93 mark had a 5.0 not 4.6. <br><br>Later<br>Dwayne

The '93 Mark VIII drive shaft will fit all prior mn12 models. In fact, if you get a new drive shaft, get one from a '93 because it was a single piece rather than composite. The composite is will start to bow at about 110mph and can break if you run it at speeds above that for very long. The single piece '93 mark drive shaft doesn't have that problem and will bolt right up in place of your existing drive shaft.

sorry, I meant the '93 drive shaft will fit all later mn12 models, but should fit prior models also

> Thanks all for your suggestions about tire size. Now another question. No problem. :) > My T-Bird has 54K miles on it, and I guess that about the time for new > brakes. Its seems that the rear disk brakes are almost gone. The front > are still fine. I always belive in upgrading whenever I have to > replace something. What are you doing when you replace brakes pads ? > Staying with stock pads, or using something that is better ? Odd that the back are going before the front since the front do most of the braking.. anyway Raybestos Surestops seem to do a pretty good job, and keep dust to a minimum

stick with the stock semi-metallic brakes pads, best bang for the buck, around 40.00. i am a professional mechanic, so I know my brakes, the front ones wearout twice as fast as the rears, so you have something wrong back there

does your bird have the sport brake package also? The reason I ask is the rotor cost is HUGE if you have to replace them. Mine were $80 each at Pep Boys. I found them at Discount Auto for $40 each but I noticed the quality wasnt as good. I have a 97 Cougar with the sport braking, and suspenshion packages. If you dont know, look at the pads and look to see if there is a V shaped spring rivited to the pad. If there is, you have the sport braking package (bigger rotors and calipers) Hope that helps, Jack Pierce

I not sure if I have the Sport Brake Package. I do know that I have the "Sports Package" which included the Wing and heavy sway bars, but I am not sure about the brakes. I will need to verify the V shape spring you mentioned. If I don't have the sport brakes, would it be worth moving up to, if I every needed to replace the rotors ? At this point in time, I am not wanting to replace rotors, as they are in good shape. In regards to Wulfenz indication of problem in the rear brakes wearing out before the front. I had problem with front end shaking when I applied the brakes. At that time the front pads were replaced when the rotors were turned down. I had forgot about the pad, as they were not worn out, but replaced only as a precaution. Thanks Bruce

You could upgrade to the sport braking package if you wish to, but after the cost of the rotors, pads, calipers, and the caliper anchor brackets I would stick to the original set-up if you don't have the package already. Another option you have is going to kevlar pads. I heard they are alot better at stopping then stock but I havent look to much into them. To check for the spring, you should be able to tell just by removing the tire and looking at the top of the caliper. Good Luck Jack

When I took my 2001 ZX3 in for 6000 mile scheduled maintenance, they found a fluid leak which led them to a bad master cylinder. They said the nearest replacement parts were in Chicago (I live near Atlanta}. They kept my car from Thur. until Tues. I was provided a rental car at their expense. It is the only problem I've had so far (aside from a very consistant 22 mpg). John

if it's a base model, probably drums(90% probability) if SE it could be either, as it was an option

All 2.0's that have Discs in the rear have ABS, so if you have a 2.0L and no ABS (like me) you have drums in back. The GTs are different, that is why if you want to do the Drum --> Disc conversion you need a GT donor car. At least according to Torrienta's web page.