Brake system upgrades?

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oplersx

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Stock caliper has 2 piston and they are all on one side, no match to BBK in terms of clamping force. I think any BBK will be far more responsive/firm feeling than stock.

Smaller pad size is a surprise to me... What about in other kits designed for 17inch wheel? like Alcon etc...
 

tcm glx

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I have the Wilwood kit on my truck, now have about 4-5K miles on it.

Coming from the traditional rotor and pad upgrade from Freedom Motorsports… here is my seat of the pants feeling.

First off, pedal feel is firmer, less spongy than it was before. Grip feels better, 10% better maybe.. where I have noticed a big difference is in two areas. First is aggressive braking feels significantly better… think panic stops, or hard stops at freeway speeds, feels significantly better. Reminds me of how my Audi’s feel. Second is fade… I feel zero fade after Multiple hard stops with this kit….

Those two items were reason enough IMO for the upgrade. Overall I am happy with it. Got the kit in April of last year, so coming up on a 9 months more or less of usage.

Have pics on my build page.
 

oplersx

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I have the Wilwood kit on my truck, now have about 4-5K miles on it.

Coming from the traditional rotor and pad upgrade from Freedom Motorsports… here is my seat of the pants feeling.

First off, pedal feel is firmer, less spongy than it was before. Grip feels better, 10% better maybe.. where I have noticed a big difference is in two areas. First is aggressive braking feels significantly better… think panic stops, or hard stops at freeway speeds, feels significantly better. Reminds me of how my Audi’s feel. Second is fade… I feel zero fade after Multiple hard stops with this kit….

Those two items were reason enough IMO for the upgrade. Overall I am happy with it. Got the kit in April of last year, so coming up on a 9 months more or less of usage.

Have pics on my build page.

I believe wilwood pads are ceramic. Ceramic has less "bite" feeling in nature than metalliic/semi-metallic pads. My previous setup was R1 concept disc, semi metallic pads.

But overall I agree with you, well worth the money :D Keep in mind that this is the kit for 17inch wheels. If you are willing to go bigger say 20inch wheels, that's another story.

Oh btw, did you remove dust shield? To me, it doesn't look like a must as instructed in installation manual.
 

tcm glx

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I did remove the dust shield.

I spoke at length to a Wilwood engineer at King of the Hammers about my kit. He did state there are other pads that are “gripper” available for the kit but will provide more dust, shorter lifespan etc etc. All the things you get you would expect. I was good with this setup but I’m glad there are alternative pad options as well.

Guy was super cool. Gave me a hat and Tshirt for running the product.
 

CVP33

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I did remove the dust shield.

I spoke at length to a Wilwood engineer at King of the Hammers about my kit. He did state there are other pads that are “gripper” available for the kit but will provide more dust, shorter lifespan etc etc. All the things you get you would expect. I was good with this setup but I’m glad there are alternative pad options as well.

Guy was super cool. Gave me a hat and Tshirt for running the product.
Grippy pads = higher friction = less pad and rotor life and shorter stopping distances.
 
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Cody Templeton

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Finally got the truck back from the body shop and got a chance to install all the parts I had sitting around. I had bought the front and rear kit used so I decided to refresh it. Brackets got polished and clear coated, calipers got painted with red G2 caliper paint, rotors got scuffed and coated in galvanizing spray, and the hardware got polished. Just wanted to get it all cleaned up before the install. I also had bought the RPG outer tie rod ends just to make sure there weren't any clearance issues. :)

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Night and day difference for sure. The pedal is a lot firmer and has basically no "squish." The initial bite is much better as well, and they definitely do not fade. Only issues are losing the front dust shields, having to trim the rear dust shields, and the cost.
 

Booth9999

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TomDirt

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The DOT "Fees" are ridiculous. That's why none of the aftermarket beadlock wheels have their approval. My 2012 ecoboost headlight bulbs from Headlight Revolution are not DOT approved for the highway either, but they are the best replacement option available.
 

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mashtastic

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Hey guys! Currently have the Powerstop Z36 heavy duty truck front and rear brake kit as well as the Powerstop red powercoated calipers, Crown Performance 6-piece stainless brake kit with red sheathing in a 3" lift length, and the system was flushed and refilled with full synthetic DOT 4 fluid. Have you guys found that the stock brakes with good parts are more than capable?

EDIT: Looks like the only big brake kit that fits under a 17" wheel is the Alcon kit, but requires tie rod adapters. The Wilwood and Baer kits require a 20" wheel. I can't imagine the Alcon kit adds much braking performance over stock, especially for the 3500+ dollar price tag after you buy the tie rod end adapters. Also, there is no matching rear kit for the Alcons either. I definitely don't want to run a 20" wheel either.
Yes stock with quality parts and fluid are just fine. I changed my fluid to 5.1 vs DOT 4
 
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