A detailed write up for those interested.
While we all focus on better shocks and tires or bigger shocks we find the next problem that we all face. Now I can go faster but how do I slow this down when I need to? We have all seen these trucks being “used” and after a while the stock brake package can fade with excessive abuse and heavy towing. While the stock Ford brake package is great and works well on these trucks some of us that are pushing the envelope need a little more. The engineering team at Addictive Desert Designs and leader in brake technology Alcon got together to design a new kit for the Ford F150 and Ford Raptor trucks. This isn’t some throw together bunch of parts laying around the back shop. This is the only kit designed from the ground up for these trucks with performance in mind. The long racing history found in the Alcon brand brings tremendous technology to the truck community. From their history in NASCAR to their race proven brakes found in Trophy Trucks the Alcon technology puts them on top of the brake industry. Over a year in the making and testing this Raptor Brake Update kit is the best on the market and the only kit designed to work with in a 17” wheel and without using nonstandard wheel offsets that stress the steering on these trucks.
When you consider how these trucks are used the concept of being forced to change the wheel size to an 18” or larger wheel to accommodate a brake upgrade just doesn’t make sense. The dynamic between the size of the tire used whether a 35” tall tire or even a 37” tall tire the sidewall relationship is critical to off-road performance. When you increase the wheel diameter it reduces the amount of sidewall the tire has just do to the maximum size tire that will fit. When you take that side wall away the trucks handle very differently and not in a good way. The best performance in the off-road driving environment is found when you can maintain the 17” diameter wheel and keep the sidewall of the tire reacting the way it was designed. The other big issue is the offset of the wheel or the use of large wheel spacers. When looking at the front suspension function on these trucks another very important issue is the steering and the stress we put on those components. The scrub radius of the tire to the ground is dictated by the imaginary line that travels through the upper and lower ball joint and the contact point where that line meets where the tire touches the ground. The farther you push the tire outward the more load is put on the steering by increasing that scrub radius. The farther out the tire gets the harder it is to push it around the larger radius and the harder it is on the steering. This is one of the biggest causes for the steering fluid overheating we see in these trucks especially when using a larger 37” tall tire. Reality is you cant add spacers or use heavy offset wheels that push the tire out and add more load without having problems in the steering system with normal off-road driving and minor abuse. This brake upgrade kit was designed with this in mind and no compromises made.
The all new Alcon brake upgrade kit was built with performance in mind for the demanding driver. Using race quality parts for the best performance brake package available anywhere for the Ford F150 and Ford Raptor trucks. This kit is a direct replacement kit that features a 6 opposing piston front caliper giving you about 30% more brake pad area in the front alone. Combine that with the rear 4 opposing piston caliper which also gives a much larger pad area for better grip and more controlled braking.
While the stock Ford brakes are great on these trucks the new Alcon upgrade kit provides a stiffer caliper and mounting structure to give a more consistent brake pedal feel even after extended abuse. The stock factory brakes utilize single piston and slide style calipers which can drag and while they work well the opposing piston design in this upgrade kit provides equal pressure / force on both sides of the rotor at the same time when the brake is applied. Combine that equal force pressure system with the about 30% larger pad surface area and you will experience a dramatic improvement in stopping distance and in extended use. Better by design is true in this kit for sure.
Even with the opposing piston caliper the engineering team at Alcon and ADD took it all to the next level with race quality rotors and pads to round out the offering. The new rotors have much better cooling efficiency and have incorporated Alcon’s proprietary race rotor castings to bring the best cooling and pad surface found in any brake package. The key is in the thickness of the pad surface area and ratio of venting in the center of the rotors. While the stock rotors are great the Alcon rotors and hats have been designed to have scalloped cuts in the surface to allow for gas venting on the pad surface and cleaning of the surface as the brake is used. The scalloped face allows for any dirt or debris that gets thrown into the brake area to be swept away from the contact point allowing the pad to do the best job possible. The venting in the center of the rotor is not only a directional curved vein rotor but it also has the Alcon proprietary surface casting to promote even better air flow cooling on the rotor. The air venting in a rotor needs to move the air to help cool but it also needs to move the air in a way that it cools the rotor surface the best it can. The inside area of the rotor has the special casting shapes to promote the surface to air cooling efficiency. No other rotors on the market have this technology and provides the best possible cooling found in any brake packages.
The brake pad material came out of the Alcon military applications department. The engineers found a compound that works great in these heavier vehicles without excessive wear. The pad compound provides great grip and is matched to the material used in the rotors. The combination of the correct pad and rotor material makes for a brake that grabs faster and feels more stable in even wet conditions. This is the most durable pad you will find available for these trucks anywhere.
This brake upgrade kit will really shine when used for extended periods or in excessive abuse situations. The flex of the caliper and slide is eliminated by the rigid mounting which provides a very stable and consistent feel that wont fade away with time or excessive abuse. The design of the caliper, pad, and rotor combination also dissipates heat much better than anything found today to keep the temperature out of the brake fluid to reduce fluid boil at the caliper and again keep the brakes working better in that extreme situation you will find when using your truck for what it was intended.
We recently took one of these new kits down to Baja and ran the Tour of Missions trip with Cameron Steel and the Desert Assassins. This trip was 1600 miles of grueling Baja Mexico through every type of terrain you can imagine including 100 MPH runs down some of the remote dirt roads. The Alcon brake kit performed flawless on the trip proving out the durability of the kit and the final step in the testing process making them ready for you to install today. I challenge you to find any other brake upgrade kit for these trucks that have seen the engineering and testing that this kit has had. Get your
Ford Raptor Brake Kits now!
