Brakes - Need more stopping power
 

hey guys, i have a distinct feeling that my brakes are on their last legs, and i was talking around to some family-car-inclined people and they told me it would be a great investment to just get some beter rotors & pads up front if im looking to really up the stopping power.

leaving the rear drums i think is gonna be best that way i dont have to screw around with the proportioning valves or any of that.
but anyway,

my question is this: anyone know of some high quality rotors & pads that wont put a HUGE dent in my wallet? i mean i realize stuff wont be cheap but im looking to spend upwards of like... 400 or something like that all together. I have a guy that can drill and slot the rotors for 40 per... just throwin' that out there.

any advice you guys can give about this would be great - anything from new equipment to checking out the stock stuff.
ps: i love rf.

I did not like the stopping power of the original brakes on my Ranger. I tow a lot and they faded on me a couple times. They were worn out at 30,000 miles so I installed Raybestos Super Stop Pads and PG Plus Rotors. I also installed Raybestos Super Stop shoes on the rear but just turned the original drums. The shoes on the rear were not worn out yet but when I changes the front brakes, they were working so much better that the front to rear brake balance was not right.

I am very happy with the performance of the Raybestos brakes. I have over 30,000 miles on them now and they still have a lot of wear to go.

I bought them from rockauto.com because they seem to have the best prices. I don't remember what it cost me but it was not much over $200.

It is a good idea to get the disc brake hardware kit also. I got the Motorcraft brand.

Jusnes has a combo offer performance rotors and pads just south of $400 for the 2wd

4wd is even cheaper, 80 bucks cheaper.. not sure why but I'm close to ordering a set myself for my 4x2

4wd is cheaper because the 2wd rotors have the hub for the bearing, where the 4wd ones are just slide over rotors. It will be hard to beat our price on the combo, remember our combos include the CRYO treated rotors

PowerSlot Rotors

Hawk Pads

New Drums

Your Welcome...

for the record our brake upgrade kit is a few bucks less than their prices.....

http://jusnesmodified.com/store/inde...th=155_180_269

and i wouldnt mess wtih your rear drums unless you are having a problem wtih them, they need very little maintenance

I assume it will, but does the 2wd upgrade it still work with stock `02 XLT rims?

yes, the rotors are the same size as stock.

So who has purchased the cryo-rotors and hawk pads??? :shrug:
Ya'll know by now that we want the dirt on the goods you bought so we know whether or not its worth the money! (Thats called being the guinea pig!) :dunce:

Well, Powerstop has been a very good name brand in brake parts for a long time and Cryogenically treated metals resist heat buildup better than non-treated metals.

Hawk pads, I think, are a sponsor for the SCCA, and are used in all kinds of racing applications.

So I would assume that this is a pretty good combination.

You could probably also benefiteven more from a rear disc conversion, but i think that only works on the 31 spline 8.8s

ive sold 2 or 3 of the combo kits, for privacy reasons i wont post who, but they may find this thread, or ill direct them to it. I know they are happy.

I bought the Cryo rotors from Bob. I haven't installed them yet so I really can't comment on them as far as stopping but I can tell you from handling them that they are of very high quality.

The Hawk HPS pads I have used before and I have another set waiting to be installed with the Powerslot rotors when I find the time to change them out. I can tell you that the pads are great, tons times better then stock, which is why I am using them again. A LOT better stopping then stock, no fade at all, very low dust. With the stock pads, it seems that when you do repetitive stops and/or get them really hot, the stopping power diminishes. I have also have had times where the truck felt like it wasn’t going to stop with the stock set up. I would hit the pedal and it felt like there was no brake system. That’s not a problem with these pads and I haven’t experienced anything like that since I have been using the Hawk pads. I only wish Hawk made shoes w/ the HPS compound to use in our rear drums. (BTW…I have heard that Raysbestos super stop shoes are good replacements for the rear shoes in our trucks).

PowerSlot recommends the Hawk HPS pads with their rotors so you can't go wrong with that combination. Just make sure to follow the bedding in procedure included with the pads/rotors, and you will have no problems.

FYI: Bob has the best prices on the net when buying the pads/rotors separately and when you get the “kit” form him, you will save even more money. I highly recommend jusnesmodified.com :smile:

^^ There you go, straight from the horses mouth...so to speak. I love the Jusnes boys. They work hard.

I've got EBC Greenstuff pads & Raybestos Superstop shoes. I LOVE them !!! Tons better than stock, especially when pulling the trailer.

rear disc brake conversions

there really is no reason to upgrade the rear to discs unless you haul heavy payloads or tow a lot, and even then, if you stay within the trucks limits, the drums should be fine. there is not much weight in the back to begin with, and when you hit the brakes, all the weight transfers to the front of the truck anyway, that is where the stopping power needs to be

I agree with Bob. Maintain your rear brakes but concentrate on the front brakes for performance upgrades that will improve braking under ordinary conditions. There are advantages with rear discs but they don't have a lot to do with pedal effort or pavement performance.

eh my rears worked so well, i hard locked them in rain when the truck was new..... so much for abs.... i told the dealer, and they did something to my rear brakes and the truck has never stopped like it did when it was new since.