Brake Upgrade

[AZEngineer]

There are three good ways to make a vehicle stop in a shorter amount of space:
1. Reduce the vehicles weight.
2. Reduce the vehicles speed.
3. Increase the amount of grip the tires have (compound+surface area).

Pads, fluid, steel lines, big calipers and rotor upgrades are good for reducing fade and adding more bite. They don't stop the truck after all, the brakes job is to stop the wheels.

Great summary. My 2013 isn't here yet. In a panic stop with stock brakes on dry pavement will the tires slip triggering the ABS (tires are the weak link)? Many years ago I put much better tires on a Mazda 626 and the tires were sticky enough that there was no tire slip in panic stops on pavement.

 

[kawie95]

Henessey has them under 5.4 Raptor
Brembo GT 6-Piston Brake Kit | 2010 - 2013 Ford F-150 Raptor | Hennessey Performance

They have had them for a year now or longer

 

[Chris@FreedomMotorsports]

Henessey has them under 5.4 Raptor
Brembo GT 6-Piston Brake Kit | 2010 - 2013 Ford F-150 Raptor | Hennessey Performance

They have had them for a year now or longer

Just FYI, I can ship that same kit to anyone that wants it for $4495 SHIPPED to your door. Just sayin'....

---------- Post added at 09:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:20 PM ----------

I will add this though, unless someone here can point me to one, I can't find a Big Brake Kit for the Raptors. Brembo has no plans for one stating issues they foresee with them making them not worth the installation.

---------- Post added at 09:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:26 PM ----------

But, after talking to R1 about this I can have the Premium cross drilled and slotted rotors custom machined for anyone that wants this set up so that the drilling and slotting patterns for the rotors for the rear match that of the Brembo package.

 

[whipplesaurus]

Henessey has them under 5.4 Raptor
Brembo GT 6-Piston Brake Kit | 2010 - 2013 Ford F-150 Raptor | Hennessey Performance

They have had them for a year now or longer

Baer Brakes makes a kit that seems to be identical to the Brembo one for about 1/3 less than the Brembo system.

Extreme Front Brake System for 2010-2013 Ford F150 | www.Baer.com

 

[Chris@FreedomMotorsports]

Baer Brakes makes a kit that seems to be identical to the Brembo one for about 1/3 less than the Brembo system.

Extreme Front Brake System for 2010-2013 Ford F150 | www.Baer.com

That's a HUGE difference in price. But I can't seem to find a picture of the kit. Also, I will have to call my suppliers on this one to find out a shipped cost from Synthetic Motorsports for that one because it is not listed in their online catalogs (which is not uncommon).

This must be a brand new kit as well, as I haven't been able to find it anywhere other than from Baer's website. I was hoping to find a lsit of websites that carry them because I usually go to Google and search for the kit using the "Shopping" tab and then try to match or beat the lowest price I can find in the list if at all possible. I wouldn't find it anywhere doing that. Everyone "Baer" with me and I will see what I can do with that kit as well...

 

[whipplesaurus]

That's a HUGE difference in price. But I can't seem to find a picture of the kit. Also, I will have to call my suppliers on this one to find out a shipped cost from Synthetic Motorsports for that one because it is not listed in their online catalogs (which is not uncommon).

This must be a brand new kit as well, as I haven't been able to find it anywhere other than from Baer's website. I was hoping to find a lsit of websites that carry them because I usually go to Google and search for the kit using the "Shopping" tab and then try to match or beat the lowest price I can find in the list if at all possible. I wouldn't find it anywhere doing that. Everyone "Baer" with me and I will see what I can do with that kit as well...

I think that's because they're a Baer product and that's the company's website. I talked to a guy on the phone from there about six months ago, so I know the kit is real. The only drawback I can see from it is the same as the Brembo, where you have to have 19's or larger rims to fit over the caliper. I'm still trying to decide if it's worth going that route and getting 20's with 37's to offset losing some rubber from the 17's and 35's setup.

 

[mrmojoz]

If you stop the wheels, you stop the vehicle.

I disagree with this statement. The friction of the tires overcoming the speed and weight of the vehicle is what stops you. This is why speed, weight and grip are so important. Having good bite on your breaking is nice, but brake upgrades primarily benefit you in heat dissipation.

 

[Chris@FreedomMotorsports]

I think that's because they're a Baer product and that's the company's website. I talked to a guy on the phone from there about six months ago, so I know the kit is real. The only drawback I can see from it is the same as the Brembo, where you have to have 19's or larger rims to fit over the caliper. I'm still trying to decide if it's worth going that route and getting 20's with 37's to offset losing some rubber from the 17's and 35's setup.

I can special order this kit from Baer and it takes about 4-6 weeks to build. The part number you provided is correct and please note that this kit only works on 20” or larger diameter wheels, you cannot run this kit with the factory 17” wheels

Also please note that this is a non-returnable item. Once they start to build it we cannot cancel the order so confirmed payment is required to place the orders.

My Special pricing on this kit will stand at $3055.50 Shipped to anywhere in the lower 48 states. International shipping is also available with confirmation of the cost of the shipping.

I disagree with this statement. The friction of the tires overcoming the speed and weight of the vehicle is what stops you. This is why speed, weight and grip are so important. Having good bite on your breaking is nice, but brake upgrades primarily benefit you in heat dissipation.

You are not wrong, quite the contrary, better cooling on most reputable companies brakes improves brake fade. Reduced brake fade results in shorter stopping distances more consistently. Tires are a big factor, but they are not the only factor. If you do not have quality upgrades over stock in most larger vehicles you deal with brake fade and no matter how good your tires are you are going to have trouble stopping in emergency stopping and extreme downhill conditions at the very least increasing stopping distances.

I am not trying to promote the big brake kits specifically, I do not do that, I actually prefer basic stock replacement upgrades myself, but I am saying that improving over stock with better designed brakes are going to provide better than stock stopping distances and longevity.

The big brake kits in my humble opinion are more for the guys that are also looking for the look of the kits as much as the performance. But you also have to consider that those kits are specifically designed for the vehicle application and because of this, the designers take into account the stock ABS systems so that they can provide a quality product.

 

[Dan06]

This thread is somewhat old, but while researching brake fluids ran across it. I know because our Raptors have ABS we are confined to DOT 3 or 4, both of which burn very well. DOT 5 does not burn nearly as well, however not compatible with our brake systems.

Clip From Top Gear 1991 Episode 8 - YouTube

I'm curious as to what the safest brake fluid we could run would be, manufacture wise, etc. obviously has to be DOT 3 or 4. Does anyone have any recommendations / input?

 

[RangerRob]

ATE Blue DOT 4 fluid has a high boiling point. But Continential has a recall out on the stuff because of its color. They don't want people mixing it with regular brake fluid and running the risk of brake failure. Probably not the information you were looking for though.