Brake Upgrade

diesel_importer

diesel_importer

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I haven't found much on here about brake upgrades. I've been on the verge, but this last weekend my truck started spinning the tires during staging. I have rear discs already. I'm not looking to do a wild upgrade like 6 piston calipers, but at least for now; slotted rotors and good pads all the way around. I also want to do Stainless hoses, but they are hard to find for the rear on our trucks.

The 2 places I've looked so far are Brakeperformance and SSBC.

BrakePerformance.com is about $520 for the best rotors and pads on all 4 corners.

SSBC is $680 for 4 corners.
 
So, I want to start by letting you know about most brake upgrades. They usually dont add much (if any) stopping force. What they do instead is make it so you can stop just as fast over and over and they do this by dissipating heat better.

Slotted rotors allow gasses created by hot brake pads to escape. The gas released brings the friction between the pads and rotor way down.

6pot calipers are usually fixed (not sliding like an OEM caliper), they are usually huge, have big pads, and usually pushed out further away from your axle center. The fact that they are huge and fixed is because both of these allow for more fluid in the caliper and more cooling of the calipers (they suck up a lot of the heat from the pads). Nor the two things that help is bigger pads (and that honestly only marginally helps), and the fact that they require bigger rotors and sit out further. Since they sit out further, they require less force to do the same work that would be done with a smaller rotor.

The friction material on the pads are for different things. I like ceramics because they have low dust and work great when warm. But they are pretty weak and noisy when cold.

Braided lines are a great thing to have, they take out a decent amount of squish in the pedal that is normally your stock lines expanding. If you go to the Parker store, they can make you custom lines that are the highest quality (and can even be colored) for about $35 a wheel end.


My advice is this: Dont spend a ton of money on a whole new setup. Instead, buy yourself some high quality brake pads (EBC is great, Hawk is great, Stoptech and Brembo are even a little better). Non-slotted rotors are fine and quieter (if you care about noise). Your calipers are probably just fine. I would, however, see if you can find bigger rotors (I'm sure you can), and then make some brackets (or buy some) that push your calipers further out. Also pick up some stainless steel braided lines and bleed your system really well with some higher end DOT4 fluid.

At that point, as long as your hydroboost is solid and you have power steering fluid circulating, you should have a struck that holds the line very well.

Good luck!
 
OK, that was the way I was heading. I did a flush with DOT4 when I worked at Audi, but it's going to get another one when I do all this. I found out that I can get the SSBC kit wholesale and save over $100, so that's looking like the best choice. I don't want to spend a whole lot at this point, but I want to upgrade while I'm there.
 
While we are on the brake topic and the OP doesn't mind, what would cause the rear drums/shoes to chatter and crack the shoes. I will say that everything is new except for the mastercylinder and hydro-boost system. Been like this since 2001 and can't find the issue.
 
Headcase98002 said:
While we are on the brake topic and the OP doesn't mind, what would cause the rear drums/shoes to chatter and crack the shoes. I will say that everything is new except for the mastercylinder and hydro-boost system. Been like this since 2001 and can't find the issue.
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I dont know why but it seems like this is much more of a problem with 24v's. I've never tried finding the answer but I have definitely noticed it and been happy that my 12v doesnt have this problem.

If everything is new and it still does this, must be a design flaw.
 
Alright, I want disc brakes. I really don't need the extra braking power, it's just a pain to constantly be replacing these. There isn't a shop around who can resurface a dually drum. I've tried 5 within 30 mile radius. It misses 1/2" on the inside of the drum. Know of any cheaper disc brake kits? Been thinking of throwing Chevy parts at it.
 
Headcase98002 said:
Alright, I want disc brakes. I really don't need the extra braking power, it's just a pain to constantly be replacing these. There isn't a shop around who can resurface a dually drum. I've tried 5 within 30 mile radius. It misses 1/2" on the inside of the drum. Know of any cheaper disc brake kits? Been thinking of throwing Chevy parts at it.
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The chevy swap is popular, but if you get a caddy one, you can keep your parking brake ;-)
 
EGR brakes has a decent looking conversion kit as well. Also pre built lines of you need to replace yours.
 
I'm going with a basic rear replacement kit - replacement rotors and better pads, and I'm ordering SS hoses. I'll probably spend more on the front when it's time
 
Rockauto.com
Powerstop brakes. Drilled and slotted rotors and heavy duty pads.
I bought 4 rotors and pads in s kit for 322 bucks for the excursion.. It will haul it down now!
More Information for POWER STOP K5466
Looks like its 388 for yours..
I used the truck and tow pads, the ones in the link would probably work better for your application.
 
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I can also say powerstop brakes are good quality. I just used their front drilled and slotted rotors and pads.
 
Yea, I ordered stuff for 3 different vehicles last night from rockauto. I'm going to order the front powerstop kit like you are talking about, soon.
 
You should update this when you get everything installed. I am curious. I'm always down for upgrading brakes or steering!
 
diesel_importer said:
Yea, I ordered stuff for 3 different vehicles last night from rockauto. I'm going to order the front powerstop kit like you are talking about, soon.
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Yours should be new enough to do the 3rd gen front upgrade to as well. Bigger caliper and such.
 
Yea I saw that mentioned somewhere, but wasn't sure how true it was. If its pretty simple, I'll definitely go that route.
 
diesel_importer said:
Yea I saw that mentioned somewhere, but wasn't sure how true it was. If its pretty simple, I'll definitely go that route.
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In 98 they changed how the hubs/rotors/calipers are mounted. My studs are bigger than a 98+, and I have to press on my rotors (it sucks), and you shouldn't have to.

He is right, you should be good.
 
ninerqb8 said:
Yours should be new enough to do the 3rd gen front upgrade to as well. Bigger caliper and such.
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3rd gen and 00-02 use the same front caliper ,the only difference is the caliper mounting bracket.
 
diesel_importer said:
I haven't found much on here about brake upgrades. I've been on the verge, but this last weekend my truck started spinning the tires during staging. I have rear discs already. I'm not looking to do a wild upgrade like 6 piston calipers, but at least for now; slotted rotors and good pads all the way around.
Click to expand...


Does your truck have a proportioning valve on the rear brake setup? It's basically a load sensing brake adjuster that applies more rear brake pressure based on ride height (loaded vs unloaded) distance between axle and frame. If your truck has a proportioning valve, you can disconnect the adjuster arm and cheat it to the full load position when at the track to give you more rear brake power at the line.
 
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