Heavy Duty Brakes?
I am prepping a "new to me" TV and looking for some pre-season advice. My tow vehicles have always been trucks I bought new, so was very aware of prior maintenance etc. My new TV is a 3500 Silverado...
Forum Discussion
Turtle n Peeps wrote:ScottG wrote:Turtle n Peeps wrote:
I don't know what you mean by heavy duty?
All OEM brakes are programed into their ECM for the type of pad material they have. IOW's it's best to stay with OEM material.
I'm sorry but that is absolutely false. The computer has no idea what pads your using nor would it care. It only monitors the rotation of the rotors and adjusts accordingly.
So the computer working with better brakes is a non-issue.
Also, brake pads are made to a price point. That's why it's easy to find better brakes.
Finally, if you go to the dealer service counter and buy a set of pads, unless they are special ordered, you are getting service replacement and not exact OEM's.
I've replaced brakes long before they needed it just to get superior performance. Started doing that with my 3/4T Chevy with a TC. I could just about stand it on it's nose. Came in real handy when an accident happened right in front of me on the freeway.
There's absolutely no down side to have better brakes.
Go talk to BMW if you don't believe me. They program their ECM for the specific material they formulate for their pads. There is a whole lot of math going on inside of the ECM. How long on, how long off, how many cycles/ second, how many rpm the wheel gets down to before it leaves go and on and on and on..........
As far as replacing brakes long before they are needed, you got nothing superior. As any brake systems can lock up the tires.As any brake systems can lock up the tires. Since all brake systems are ABS now the system takes it up to the point of locking up the tires and then letting go......almost locking up and letting go.........over and over and over. This is why it takes longer to stop in wet weather than dry. It has NOTHING to do with the brake system. It has everything to do with how much traction the tire has with the road surface. The more traction the tire has the more "on" time the brake system will have and the shorter the stopping distance.
If you really wanted superior braking you would have been better off keeping the old pads on and replacing your tires with a stickier set.
I owned a 1987 honda civic and I still have a 99 Tahoe with Raybestos wave rotors and Hawk pads.......neither can/could lock up the brakes no matter how hard you slam them. Im sure there are others.
Yes you can improve braking performance over OEM.
