Upgrading Brakes Question

Oem pads are often the culmination of many versions tested by the factory. It's pretty hard to beat the perfomance and longevity of OEM. Just my opinion.
B.O.

You can not go wrong with Powerstop. Get the Z36 truck and tow. Jegs.com is usually the best price. Free shipping and usually a discount code good for another $10-$30 off the listed price. I either buy them there or Summit.

Stay away from Ebay and Amazon, a lot of counterfeit knockoffs branded as Powerstop at both, especially Ebay.

Any higher performance friction materials will be better than OEM at the upper end of the temperature range, but most likely less at the lower temperature range

Meaning not as good an all round setup and will depend on how you drive, where you drive and the rest of your setup

I run the hardest material can find (a notch below racing) and know/live with the down sides...poorer performance when cold...gotta get them hot before they are better than OEM

As for drilled and slotted...am not a fan

Drilled reduces surface area and mass. Some drill patterns reduces approximately 40% of critical disc material. Both components to thermal dynamics heat rejection formula

Plus, only effective with high CFM/FPS...high REV's

Thermal cracking around drilled holes a huge issue if you get them hot often and then slow down below the CFM/FPS threshold. Ok if you plan on changing them often...like racers do. If you do go drilled, look for or ask for a heat dam slot to protect the hub bearings. Plus flushing more often

Had $1K slotted and cryogenic treated rotors and they heat checked just like the OEM. Went back to OEM and they last longer for my Suburban

High quality disc's best for most and is what is on my vehicles.

My daily has just a bit above OEM friction material for all around driving.

Also, most higher performance friction material will make more noise, as they are harder. Mine sounds like gravel on the disc when up to temp

(EDIT)...no longer use what my sig says...buddy sends me test pads from his lab for free. Cost is a write up...and send them back for forensics and get a set of catalog performance pads...till the next test


PS...make sure your trailer brake controller leads your TV brakes...and keep your trailer brakes friction material warm

I put EBC Orange HD pads just on the front of my 15 DRW RAM. I had the rotors turned at that time. The OE pads had 1/4" pad left at about 70k. The difference braking performance just doing the fronts was INSANE!!!

Just prior to that I did all the brakes on my 01 RAM Sport with EBC Orange HD pads and their dimpled/slotted US Made rotors. The braking went from OK to INSANE!!! I also used PowerStop Calipers, VERY nice quality. If YA want CHEAP don't consider a single thing i mention here. If ya want the BEST, they are.

I used EBC Yellow pads on my DRV recently when redoing ALL the braking components and going to Oil bath. The result was INSANE!!!

Ya think I like ECB ??? HE!! YEA!

Below are the components you would want for a 8k MORryde IS system.

Lots of interesting opinions and advice here.

I was going to write a big thing on this but I see Ben saved me the trouble and did it for me. :B

Every single point he made is on the money.

There is no "mine is the best braking setup."

There are many, many, many considerations when it comes to brakes. OEM is always a trade-off. BUT......so is aftermarket. They might be great at stopping but wear out in 5K. They might stop great when cold but when they get hot they don't stop very good. Life is always a trade-off and so are brakes. OEM spend billions of dollars in research to get the best trade-off setup. "Most" of the time they do a great job!

As far as slotted and drilled, listen to Ben. Why would you want to lose mass or take mass away from the rotor while towing? The answer is you don't. The reason aftermarket went to slotted and drilled is because of "off-gassing." Modern pads really don't have that problem so their is no reason to lose mass.

In short, you are going to have to really research aftermarket brake systems to get a better system. Even then, you will lose in some areas and win in others.

I put EBC rotors (same ones Cummins did) and used Hawk SD pads on my 06 3500. It was an upgrade over the OEM set up in this case.

Anything but OEM which is the cheapest thing they could put together. You'll find that any of the brands listed above will have better bite and require less pedal effort. None will wear out in 5K.

Also, drilled and slotted is fine for brakes that will have to make a lot of hard stops in a row. A solid rotor is better for one time, panick type stops. For that reason, I like Bosch rotors which wont ever rust.

As I read the brake posts it brought back how poor our 98 Dodge were. Scary a few times. Chevman

larry barnhart wrote:
As I read the brake posts it brought back how poor our 98 Dodge were. Scary a few times. Chevman

The old Dodge brake pads were very odd. They would get harder with age and require more and more pedal effort. The pads on my 93 got to the point where I had to brace myself by pulling up on the steering wheel as I slammed on the brakes with both feet. Going to new pads allowed me to lock them up with a couple of toes on one foot.
Of course, the OEM's lasted forever...
BTW, the brakes on my old 3/4T Chevy weren't much better until I replaced them. Then they were fantastic.