Upgrading Brakes....
 

Hey.

Mods, I didn't know which section to put this in.....suspension or drivetrain. so move it if you need to.




Okay.....

So I have an 01 4x4. I believe 03ish Ford upgraded the stock front brakes. What's the differences? Size wise, is the disc bigger in overall diameter?

I'd like to convert. What else will I need?? Disc, caliper, caliper bracket......and that's it??

What are the differences between an 02 and 03 front brake setup??

Thanks!!

Shane

I would just go with some performance rotors and pads like i sell. I just put on stoptech slotted rotors and new pads and the stopping is MUCH better than before, and very noticable with the trailer.

BUMP!


Ok....installing the slotted rotor kit that I got from ^^above poster, Alon from ModBargains, and i realized something....

When I installed my superlift, I installed my caliper brackets in the 03+ location on the SL knuckle, thus providing aweful braking. Since the Superlift knuckles have the dual holes fror the caliper bracket for the bigger rotor(03+) AND smaller rotor(02 and older)....Which brings me to my next question which i hope will get a response....


Can I just move my calipers to the outer 03+ position, and run 03+ discs??


I think I can, I was kickin' myself for not thinking about this option when ordering my slotted rotors.

I've been thinking about ordering me some of these from Alon too.

yes its just a matter of choosing the correct holes for your size rotors. the brackets and calipers are the same. the pads maybe designed a bit different but should work either way.

As for something I would question if it would improve braking is...

Go out to a JunkYard find a 94-97 F250 with cruise control (assuming your current ranger has it) And take the master cylinder off of it and put it in the ranger.

I just did this on my truck, changed the bore size to 1.25 instead of whatever the ranger is stock (.75?) and it made a world of difference on my truck granted I have 4 wheel disc brakes and big mofo calipers.

everything is basically a direct bolt on, just need to reflare and extend the stock lines to the new master cylinder.

Your truck has 11.28" rotors; 4x4s upsized to 12" rotors during mid-2003 model year. Don't know about the SL knuckle.

Thanks Beard! I should probably look into that some more. I am planning some new stuff as well......8.8" Expo rear w/ discs...so swapping that master will improve push power to them calipers.

Thanks man.




Thanks to Bob as well.

Looks like i might have a 03.1 and older under 200mi brake kit for sale soon....

I would like to clarify a little on this thread.. I will bring it back from the dead just incase someone finds this info useful on getting 2003 rotors/pads on there pre 2003 truck with the Super lift knuckles.

I have the superlift and noticed there were 2 holes for the calipers. Those 2 holes allows you to bolt the caliper to the knuckle according to what size rotors you have... I made this mistake and bolted the caliper in the wrong holes so only half of my pads where rubbing the rotor thus making my braking power horrible. I noticed this and obviously i had to replace my pads and rotors soooo what i did was ordered the 2003 rotor/pad combo from one of our sponsors here and installed them on my 2000 ranger. 2003 pads fit directly in to my 2000 calipers(no issues) and my rotors fit perfectly but i had to remove the dust shield though(no biggie). Bolted the caliper back in the outter most part of the superlift knuckle and bam, PERFECT fit. Braking is better and i have cool slotted rotors now :)

I will be doing the f250 master cylinder mod here shortly. Ever since i have the 35s and double lift, i need all the help i can get in stopping my truck lol

I don't see what the advantage would be in a slightly bigger rotor. The caliper is the same and maybe if you're lucky the pad might be a tiny but bigger, but I reallyyyyy doubt you would notice a legitimate improvement.

the 03 calipers are the same size as the 2000 but the rotor is bigger.. Oversized rotors increase brake torque for reduced pedal effort

More surface area to grip to....same reason aftermarket brake kits are out there...big brakes = more surface area to grip to...more surface area to grip to = heat is spread over a bigger piece of metal and heat is decreased across the board of the rotor.

There was a thread on this before about it and I could swear the pads were the exact same size. Which means its the same surface area that would be making contact, not any more. You drive a ranger, not a race car. Having a slightlyyyy bigger rotor to dissipate the heat marginally better, if at all isn't going to be something you would ever notice.

pads ARE the same size.

Left-03 pads. Right-00 pads! Notice on the left hand side, there is no bunny ears. Thats the only difference that i noticed with these pads.
Attachment 144991

And here's my kit in all its glory:
Attachment 144992

What brought this whole thread about, I was upgrading my rotors to slotteds. Why not upgrade to the bigger size if I can since I've got the superlift knuckles? Well aware the advantages would be minimal...but then again you gotta think, "why did ford up the size in the first place"??

Surface area to bite onto...yes the pads are the same size...yes the same calipers...but the rotating rotor is larger...the area which the pad can grip onto is increased. Same theory on big brake combos, but on a lessor level.

Good post btw Chris. I got screwed....only got 1 bottle of that $20 for 1/2 liter fluid. Damngit. Too late now. lol.

I have the AEM big brake kit on my Integra(now owned by powerslot) where i have a relocation bracket for my oem caliper so i can mount a bigger rotor on there... It states that ill have a 33% increase in stopping power with that kit i own. I noticed a difference but thats a car weighing little over 2k lbs. NOW on the truck you wont notice a big diffference at alll because im double lifted, 35 in tires, truck weighs over 4k lbs but you know what, that extra inch or 2 of rotor will be the difference between me rear ending a car and stopping about an inch from it. Id rather have that inch on my side :)

It is such a small amount that it would never make a difference. If you want to try and make small insignificant gains into legitimate ones then I'll say by doing this you will loose WHP. Since the rotor is larger and the center of mass is further out it in turn requires more energy from the engine and results in WHP. What you are saying would be like me trying to say that in a serious way. It is true for legit BBK's, but not for this.


What it all boils down to is that if it costs any more money, or requires any real amount more work, there is no point.

Well if you are in the market for rotors and pads... They will probably cost about the same price to upgrade the rotors and since they have the option to relocate their caliper because they have the superlift knucke then why not go bigger right? and that few extra pounds of weight of the bigger rotors will not affect the whp that much at all if any.

Korey, obviously Ford went bigger for a reason... Why do companies out there make BIG ROTOR KITS that relocates your OE caliper to fit bigger rotors? BECAUSE science PROVES that bigger rotors stops better regardless if you have the OE caliper or a aftermarket 50 piston caliper.


Quote is from WC Engineering : Brakes: Bigger is Better?

lol but do they use a rotor that isn't even half an inch larger in diameter? Nope. You can think whatever you want, but in the real world you'll never notice a difference on your truck.

REGARDLESS the amount of increase in size of he rotor, its STILL bigger than the pre 03 rotors are... you got roughky 3/4" more rotor, granted its not much BUT still bigger in size. thus better stopping power. yea 3/4" more inches isnt going to stop you on a Dime BUT will surely give you better stopping responses. Like i said, id rather have that 3/4" on my side if there's a difference between rear ending a car and not. So you be the judge. With double lifting and 35inch tires, we need all the help we can get even if its in small portions.

Good Catch FX4wannbe01, now others that use the SL Kit can ungrade there rotors and pads.

The improvement in braking comes from the added leverage. For example you're going to put 100 ft lbs of torque on a bolt. You have a 6" ratchet or a 2' ratchet, which do you choose. The 2' one because of the added leverage. Its the same principle.