Poor brake performance, slotted/drilled rotors?

[Dachuri]

After driving a Gen1 for 4 years I can tell the difference. Even compared to the other 3 cars I drive it is very noticeable. Maybe yours is different than mine. I was just looking for opinions from others before I go to the dealer or buy replacement parts. Isn't that the point of a forum?

I agree. My '17 just turned 250 miles and the stopping distance is much longer on this truck than I would like it to be. Obviously the brakes meet FMVSS specifications so they are "safe," I just notice I have to begin braking at a disproportionately greater distance for the incremental weight over the '12 FX4 I had 250 miles ago.

Hopefully the braking performance gets better as it breaks in.

 

[hkguns]

After driving a Gen1 for 4 years I can tell the difference. Even compared to the other 3 cars I drive it is very noticeable. Maybe yours is different than mine. I was just looking for opinions from others before I go to the dealer or buy replacement parts. Isn't that the point of a forum?

Sure it is and you're more than entitled to your opinion. As long as what you are saying is fair and reasonable, I wouldn't even have bothered to respond.

When you compare truck braking to cars, state it is unsafe, I had to step in and call Boolah.

I don't recall any of auto reviews say the brakes were unsafe. So I'm pretty confident my view is closer to reality.

If you want new brakes, knock yourself out, just be fair when you are being critical. The tires are probably the biggest factor in stopping distance.

 

[jes.jr]

Sure it is and you're more than entitled to your opinion. As long as what you are saying is fair and reasonable, I wouldn't even have bothered to respond.

When you compare truck braking to cars, state it is unsafe, I had to step in and call Boolah.

I don't recall any of auto reviews say the brakes were unsafe. So I'm pretty confident my view is closer to reality.

If you want new brakes, knock yourself out, just be fair when you are being critical. The tires are probably the biggest factor in stopping distance.

How can you be so confident unless you slipped in my house and took my truck for a comparison test drive against yours ? Maybe mine will break in a bit and improve to an "adequate" level but that's all I would expect from the stock brakes. In my error, I referred to my other vehicles I drive as "cars" which include my work truck (4500 Ram) and two other personal cars (LR4 and a Wrangler), none of which are sports cars but braking is much better and more predictable than an almost 70k "sports truck". Bottom line is the brakes suck on Raptors and I am not alone in that opinion or the option to improve on them with aftermarket parts.

 

[FatBuoy]

I have a basic braking question. Are we talking brake fade here being the culprit? It seems to me that brakes take a tire up to the point of stopping completely, then oscillate back and forth, creating the anti-lock aspect. So what makes one braking system better than another, unless, again, we are taking brake fade? And my thought of brake fade is that it's not allowing the brakes to "stop" the tire any longer and the rotors are just slipping through the pads even with your foot trying to press through the firewall. In that case, that's very scary.

Fade I get. But outside of that, stopping a rotating object is stopping a rotating object. To me, the rest of the braking equation is friction, as in rubber to surface, be it asphalt, ice, dirt, etc.

Now, as I said, I have no idea of what I'm talking about. Just trying to think logically. Please enlighten me. Or flame me. Or belittle me. Or....

 

[Chris@FreedomMotorsports]

I'd like to keep my beadlocks and I like the truck looking stock. I would swap the calipers but they need to fit the OEM wheels.

There isn't an upgraded brake caliper available that is simply a bolt on replacement for the OEM caliper. The only way to upgrade the calipers themselves is with a BBK.

We DO offer a BBK that will fit 17" wheels. But we also offer rotor and pad upgrade packages that DO help. We are working on brake lines now and should have those very very soon. We are planning a group buy for lines next week.

HOWEVER, believe it or not, those that are having the worst braking experience, if you have not performed a bed in procedure for the pads, I HIGHLY recommend doing so. Ford doesn't do that from the factory and it may help.

 

[jes.jr]

I will start with lines,rotors and pads and make the decision on calipers from there. Do you have a link? Are they drilled/slotted? Ceramic or metallic pads?

 

[Chris@FreedomMotorsports]

I will start with lines,rotors and pads and make the decision on calipers from there. Do you have a link? Are they drilled/slotted? Ceramic or metallic pads?

Below is the link to the package (without lines, lines will be available very very soon). That being said, the package below is still on sale at the moment. I have extended my Mother's Day promotion so using promo code MOTHERSDAY20 during checkout saves you 20% off the listed price with free shipping to the lower 48.

The rotors are G3500 grade premium high carbon metallic castings, drilled and slotted and coated with a black military grade electrocoat for corrosion resistance. The pads are full ceramic performance brake pads with a low dust low noise formula. You can pretty much consider noise and cleaning brake dust as a thing of the past.

https://www.freedommotorsportsrapto...ct_info&cPath=1126_1128_1370&products_id=2149

 

[hkguns]

How can you be so confident unless you slipped in my house and took my truck for a comparison test drive against yours ? Maybe mine will break in a bit and improve to an "adequate" level but that's all I would expect from the stock brakes. In my error, I referred to my other vehicles I drive as "cars" which include my work truck (4500 Ram) and two other personal cars (LR4 and a Wrangler), none of which are sports cars but braking is much better and more predictable than an almost 70k "sports truck". Bottom line is the brakes suck on Raptors and I am not alone in that opinion or the option to improve on them with aftermarket parts.

My assumption is the variability from unit to unit isn't that high.

 

[jes.jr]

Anyone else done this swap yet? Did it make any improvement ?

 

[pjones]

So Chris may be onto something. When I first got my truck, I also wanted to replace the brakes because they felt soft and didn't bite hard enough. After 5000 miles, It feels better to me now. When I drive my other truck and come back to the Raptor, I honestly can't tell the difference anymore (previously, the old truck's brakes felt like they worked better). Anyway, it still doesn't stop on a dime, but well within the range of normal brakes now.