Any easy brake upgrades?

[Ski4Ever]

Had an emergency stopping situation the other day when traffic came to a sudden stop, and I have to admit that I feel less than excited about the amount of time/distance that it took the truck to stop. I felt like the ABS was kicking in a bit too much, but couldn't do any sort of pedal adjustment to make it stop any faster without the ABS kicking in. I expected to hear/feel some sort of skidding, at least a very little bit, but it really just felt like the ABS was working way too much and allowing the tires to turn too easily. I'm going to have the brakes inspected, or just look at them myself. Other than thickness of the pads, and looking for abnormal wear or grooves, is there anything in particular I should look for?

While I'm at it, is there anything I can do (other than a super expensive BBK) to help decrease the stopping distance, even a bit? Would stainless lines help? Or, any recommendations on new pads and/or rotors, etc? How hard is it to flush/fill/bleed the brake lines if I just wanted new brake fluid in there? Or, am I basically just at the mercy of physics until I get the $$ together for a BBK?

For reference, the truck is just under 3 years old, with about 27,500 miles. Never had any brake work done before...

Thanks!

 

[CoronaRaptor]

You could contact @Rick@FMS they sell upgraded brake kits and S/S lines, they might even have a deal on.

 

[Ski4Ever]

Thanks....just sent him a message here.

 

[blwn]

Are you sure your ABS was kicking in? Not much you can do to the brakes to make them stop better if they're locking up enough for ABS. I'd say tires are more your limiting factor

 

[Ski4Ever]

Are you sure your ABS was kicking in? Not much you can do to the brakes to make them stop better if they're locking up enough for ABS. I'd say tires are more your limiting factor

My tires have about 3000 miles on them and have plenty of tread left. The road was dry, and not sandy. I felt like I really had to stand on the pedal to get it to slow down, though. I know some of that is the nature of the (heavy) beast, but I'm just wondering if there's anything else that could be going on. Maybe the ABS wasn't kicking in, but I sure though I remembered feeling the pedal pulsate, etc. I did get the collision alert warning from the dash, etc.

 

[CoronaRaptor]

My tires have about 3000 miles on them and have plenty of tread left. The road was dry, and not sandy. I felt like I really had to stand on the pedal to get it to slow down, though. I know some of that is the nature of the (heavy) beast, but I'm just wondering if there's anything else that could be going on. Maybe the ABS wasn't kicking in, but I sure though I remembered feeling the pedal pulsate, etc. I did get the collision alert warning from the dash, etc.

I put stainless steel brake lines on my Raptor within the 1st year, it is proven that this does help with brake fade, well, so I've heard. Anyway, I never have experienced brake fade with mine. Over the years I have gone with slotted rotors, hp pads, etc, but found the factory ones work just as good for me.

 

[Ryed]

A brake fluid flush/replacement would be my first step. The hydraulic brake fluid can accumulate moisture, especially in an environment with temperature fluctuations that you see in CO. I haven't replaced the fluid in my 2019 SuperDuty here in VT, but also haven't noticed any issues with braking or pedal feel. But before buying new pads/rotors/stainless lines, replacing the fluid is good maintenance and might be the cause for excessive ABS activation. A theory, but plausible.

 

[jondle]

Generally speaking, tires are the limiting factor in stopping distance, even with brand new tread. If you have enough brake to engage ABS, no brake system improvements will improve stopping distance. Brake system upgrades generally help with fade; so you can maintain that stopping distance over more stops.

That said, I run stainless lines and the feel in the pedal is way better. It is just firmer and more linear. It doesn't actually improve distance, but feel is important. I do think that when you have fade and need more pressure for the same stopping power, it makes a big difference.

If there is a chance you have air or water, which turns to vapor when hot, in the lines, definitely get them flushed.

 

[jimmyjamm]

There are several things you can do to improve the brakes, each one can have a small incremental improvement, then collectively can have an improvement overall to a greater extent.

1)change your brake fluid every 3 years; brake fluid is hydroscopic-it absorbs water directly from the air, so that little breather in the cap actually allows it to absorb water and lower the boiling point of the fluid. Also, the moisture in the fluid corrodes the inner workings of the brake system. Under hard stopping conditions, the brake fluid inside the calipers can start to boil at hot spots and cause fade of brake pressure (now the air bubbles are compressible).

2) changing to stainless steel brake lines will firm up the brake fluid response, as standard rubber/nylon lines swell as pressure builds in the brake lines, so you have a slower response time, and, as the brake fluid heats up from just normal use while driving it softens the brake lines more causing reduced pressure and slower brake response (the slower brake response when you jam on the brakes just increases stopping distance). This also affects the pulsing from the ABS system, as the ABS cycles the pressure in the brakes to avoid wheel lock up, it is like a small balloon gets expanded, shrunk, expanded, etc., each time the ABS cycles before full pressure in the brake system is reached, causing it to extend the stopping distance.

3 & 4) brake pads & rotors; pads make the most difference initially, as they actually grab the rotors, however, standard (solid, non-slotted rotors) will heat up faster and cause the pads to heat faster also causing brake fade faster. Pads will make a big difference, go with something like an EBC yellow stuff (probably best balance of performance and durability), or you can use the green stuff.
Rotors-you want a slotted, or slotted and dimpled, don't go with a cross-drilled rotor...cross-drilled rotors are drilled through the rotor from the outside, and the inner bore hole is raw edged where it drills through the center rotor vent, this raw edge causes the rotor to crack (since it is inside the center vent, the hole cannot be chamfered, leaving the hole edge rough and ripe to start a crack).

Making these changes/upgrades will give you the best stopping you can get on the OE brake system, anything more and you will be into a BBK.

 

[Quiker]

I dropped this kit in - https://alconkits.com/index.php?opt...t_id=980&umk=5dd318bcec8345.830244755dd318bce
Fits (barely) under the stock 17" rims