Cerberos's silver Scab

[Cerberos]

As I mentioned some time ago, I've not been all that happy with the brake performance in our Raptors. However, I also was not thrilled with the idea of moving up to 18" rims in order to accommodate an aftermarket "big brake kit." So, instead I've chosen to make a few upgrades to the stock brakes to see if I can get a performance level that meets my expectations.

First up was switching out the rotors and pads. I had a set of rotors made up by a company that I have used previously for a number of track cars. Basically, just a trued up set of stock rotors with straight slots cut and a good anti-corrosion coating. The only reason I went with custom rotors over EBC, or some of the other well known aftermarket vendors, was my desire to have the slots rotate in the same orientation on both sides of the vehicle. Yep, sometimes I'm a bit **** about details.

I also added a set yellow stuff pads from EBC. This seems to be a good compromise with a semi- metallic brake pad. They deliver low noise and dust, some increased wear on the rotors and a bit more bite when “warmed” up. These pads need just a bit of heat in them to order for them to bite as expected.

After thoroughly bedding the new rotors and pads I set off to a long, rural, straight section of road where I previously ran the stock pads and rotors through some serious abuse. I had also left some marks on the side of the road documenting my informal stopping distances. I doubt the slotted rotors really contribute anything in dry conditions, but the new pads definitely shortened my stopping distance from 60 mph by roughly 10 - 15 feet. Not bad, however, there was an immediate downside. The increased heat from the metallic brake pads induced brake fade much sooner than the stock set up. Not surprising, as I intentionally did not switch out the fluid for a high performance (higher boiling point) fluid.

As I stated above, I don’t believe the slots contribute anything to increased performance in dry conditions. We just don't see the level of gas build-up in these types of braking system for them to be really effective. It takes extremely high brake temperature for prolonged periods to generate the gas levels where slots can really have any sort of impact. But they do look good! Where they do come into play is in wet conditions. Particularly, where you have just crossed a shallow stream or blasted through a puddle on the roadway. I know some of you will argue this opinion, but real world use has convinced me of the benefit.

Next up will be switching out the stock brake fluid to ATE Super Blue Racing Fluid. I already have a bunch of it in the garage for my other cars. I expect this to help address the heat build-up and fading issue. After some testing with the new fluid, I’ll install some metallic braided brake lines.

So, here is how the set-up looks with the new rotors and pads.

 

[Nick@Apollo-Optics]

Does the direction of the slots matter or was that purely for aesthetics?

 

[Cerberos]

Does the direction of the slots matter or was that purely for aesthetics?

For a street driven vehicle, its purely aesthetics. The experts, Stop Tech, Brembo, Willwood, etc. all say that the slots should lead from the outer edge or face forward. But as I previously alluded to, our trucks typically don't generate the extreme high heat levels that cause gas build-up between the pads and rotors for which slots were originally intended. For us, I believe the only real benefit is in extreme wet conditions such as when you drive through a puddle or stream. In that case, slot direction or orientation probably has little or no impact.

 

[Cerberos]

Switched out the brake fluid this weekend and, as planned, I went with ATE Super Blue Racing Fluid.

I also tried out Motive Product's Black Label, power bleeder system, part #0117. The Black Label products feature a machined, red anodized, aluminum brake reservoir cap vs. the standard plastic cap. I also picked up a couple of the bleeder catch bottles which really help prevent fluid spills.

It proved to be a simple, quick and very efficient way to single-handedly bleed my brake system. One comment though, while the aluminum cap is very well made and fit like a glove, with absolutely no leaks under pressure, I was a bit concerned that the sharp aluminum edges would damage the softer plastic reservoir. If I had it to do over, I would go with standard cap in lieu of the aluminum one and save a few bucks.

After rerunning my brake testing circuit, I can vouch for the higher boiling point of the ATE fluid. Brake fade was noticeably reduced and recovery times dramatically improved.

So, now I have better stopping distances and reduced brake fade. The only downside being slightly increased brake rotor wear.

That leaves just one area of brake performance in need of some improvement – brake pedal feel. This is a hard one to quantify as pedal feel is probably more about what you are comparing the Raptor system too, than actual performance. In other words, personnel preference plays a big part in anyone’s opinions and expectations.

For me, what I don’t like about our Raptor’s pedal feel is that is can get a bit inconsistent or spongy as the brakes heat up. I’m not talking about brake fade due to fluid beginning to boil, but instead the sensation that applied pressure is not always linear. The best way to explain this is probably by example. I’m sure most of you have experienced a high speed stop where it feels like you need to press a bit harder mid way through the stop.

This is often caused by the factory brake lines minutely expanding under constant pressure and can be addressed by installing metallic braided brake lines. That’s my next step.

I’m now confident that, when all done, I’ll have a brake system that can take all the abuse and punishment I can dish out and still stop when called on. Sure, the added swept area of a big brake kit would be nice, but I now question whether the added expense and 18” minimum rim is really worth it, given, what I believe, would be small incremental performance gain.

 

[Nick@Apollo-Optics]

Switched out the brake fluid this weekend and, as planned, I went with ATE Super Blue Racing Fluid.

I also tried out Motive Product's Black Label, power bleeder system, part #0117. The Black Label products feature a machined, red anodized, aluminum brake reservoir cap vs. the standard plastic cap. I also picked up a couple of the bleeder catch bottles which really help prevent fluid spills.

It proved to be a simple, quick and very efficient way to single-handedly bleed my brake system. One comment though, while the aluminum cap is very well made and fit like a glove, with absolutely no leaks under pressure, I was a bit concerned that the sharp aluminum edges would damage the softer plastic reservoir. If I had it to do over, I would go with standard cap in lieu of the aluminum one and save a few bucks.

After rerunning my brake testing circuit, I can vouch for the higher boiling point of the ATE fluid. Brake fade was noticeably reduced and recovery times dramatically improved.

So, now I have better stopping distances and reduced brake fade. The only downside being slightly increased brake rotor wear.

That leaves just one area of brake performance in need of some improvement – brake pedal feel. This is a hard one to quantify as pedal feel is probably more about what you are comparing the Raptor system too, than actual performance. In other words, personnel preference plays a big part in anyone’s opinions and expectations.

For me, what I don’t like about our Raptor’s pedal feel is that is can get a bit inconsistent or spongy as the brakes heat up. I’m not talking about brake fade due to fluid beginning to boil, but instead the sensation that applied pressure is not always linear. The best way to explain this is probably by example. I’m sure most of you have experienced a high speed stop where it feels like you need to press a bit harder mid way through the stop.

This is often caused by the factory brake lines minutely expanding under constant pressure and can be addressed by installing metallic braided brake lines. That’s my next step.

I’m now confident that, when all done, I’ll have a brake system that can take all the abuse and punishment I can dish out and still stop when called on. Sure, the added swept area of a big brake kit would be nice, but I now question whether the added expense and 18” minimum rim is really worth it, given, what I believe, would be small incremental performance gain.

I'm really happy you're doing all of this. You don't see enough safety modifications on this forum. Thanks for stepping up and explaining this stuff...I never really understood the purpose of the SS braided brake lines. Really interested in seeing the rest of your build and the results of swapping out the lines.

 

[Cerberos]

New shoes for the Raptor

Picked up some new rims for the truck a while back but was a bit slow on getting them color matched to the flares.

Rims are KMC XD 125 in 17" x 9" with a +18 offset. I like this setup as it gives us an additional 10mm of clearance at the UCA and only 22mm of additional width at the face.

I drove the truck to Irvine, CA and back before I got around to taking any photos, so I'll post up a few more after it gets a bath this weekend.

 

[Brazerusa]

Well at least the pliers you found earlier are Snap On... Could have been Craftsman...

 

[tinman44]

Why did you put Boss emblems on a non-Boss vehicle?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Boss_engine