Looking to upgrade the stopping power of my 2012 FX4 Super Crew. Not sure what is out there for aftermarket rotors and pads, or if it really makes a difference. I heard that the stock Ford pads and rotors are actually not that bad. Have not had any issues, but would like the option to upgrade if I am able to.

 

EBC yellowstuff pads will make a noticeable difference in stopping ability. The rear pads actually have a lot more surface area than the factory ones have. The factory rotors are ok if they aren't warped or have deposits on them. But you need to understand that more aggressive pads will make more brake dust.

 

<p></p><p>Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but doesn't the ABS have the ability to lock the brakes up to a 20% rolling skid with the OEM pads? Once you've achieved that, I don't think there is any way to improve on it. If you lock the brakes more, you just experience sliding friction at the tire/road interface, which has less stopping power than static friction (no slip at all). So, wouldn't the stopping ability depend more on the tire composition than on the composition of the brake pads?</p><p>Note: I may have pulled that 20% figure out of my recollection for optimum braking for an aircraft on a runway, but the ABS operates under a similar principle. It locks the brakes to the point where a skid is sensed, then releases them to stop the skid before applying them to the point of locking again, and so on.</p><p>I recently got a flyer from our local Ford dealer offering &quot;lifetime&quot; pads. This seems a more logical choice than a pad that supposedly &quot;grips&quot; the rotor better.</p><p>- Jack</p>

 

True, but there's more to it than just locking up the wheels. The upgraded pads are capable of still being effective long after the stock pads have overheated. The material contributes greatly to this but the larger area adds more material to absorb heat. The EBC pads also have a much harder initial bite so they can get to lockup and hold it better.

In aircraft terms, take an aircraft that's at max take off weight. Take off then land and use maximum braking, then take right back off. Now plan on landing on a short runway in this condition, think you can stop? (no carbon brakes! That's cheating because they work better when hot)

Now replace the aircraft with your truck pulling a camper in the mountains. Your first stop will be about the same but add another hard stop right after that. Which pads do you want?

 

I recommend the Power Stop Drilled and Slotted rotors with the Tow Pads.. My factory junk warped by 20k miles. Since replacing with the Power Stop's the truck stops stronger and they have already out lasted the OEM rotors. Im to 23k miles on these rotors and they still stops nice and strong. I paid 200 bucks for the front rotors and pads shipped to my door.

 

I have those rotors too. If the factory ones are still good there's no reason to change them. Mine were cooked from a hard run through the mountains. The Powerstops are capable of taking a lot more of a beating than the factory ones.

 

I wish i knew why mine went to crap so fast.. Funny thing is these warped when all of my driving was 95 percent highway. Only possible thing i can think of is when it rains here the streets flood.. Possibly the cool water hitting hot rotors?

Ive put these power stops through a lot worse driving then the factory rotors ever had and they have been great so far.

 

Thanks Joe. I have to admit I didn't think about brake heating, since disk brakes are more resistant to that (and don't heat as easily) as drum brakes. And, I don't find myself doing heavy braking anyway, except possibly for the occasional emergency stop that I have to apply due to no prior warning.

I'm fairly careful about using engine braking whenever I'm on downhill slopes, especially when pulling a trailer, so my brakes never really get hot. This is all due to my growing up in the mountains of California and Colorado and being exposed to mountain/snow/ice driving from a young age. And, I don't tailgate, so I usually have more time to react to changing conditions.

But, I can see that someone who uses the brakes a lot might benefit from having disk pads that are designed for abuse.

- Jack

 

If you have the coin to spend, baer brakes makes a 15" big brake kit for the front and rear of our trucks, but they are $3900 each.

http://baer.com/2009-2013-F-150-Front-Brakes/

http://baer.com/2012-2015-Rear-System/

 

^This is the ultimate solution. Stopping power is all about cooling, and this is achieved by having more surface area to dissipate the heat over. Drilling rotors in racing applications is for weight reduction, not cooling. Adding drilled and slotted rotors will do absolutely nothing for stopping power. Im sure this will spark an argument, but as a guy who has a $6000.00 big brake kit on a car towed to the track by my F150, I can say I have done my homework on baking.

Pad compound will offer a huge difference in stopping, but will always come with a trade off. You can expect heavier rotor wear, and much more dust with more aggressive compounds. As mentioned above EBC is one of many great manufacturers of brake components. You can contact them with your objectives, and get a suggested compound.

So unless you have some reason for oversized heavy duty brakes, Id leave it alone. Keep fresh dot4 fluid in the system. Dot 4 has a higher boiling point which helps keep the system cooler. Brake fluid will also emulsify water as it ages which severely diminishes performance, so flush it on a routine basis. When you need new rotor just buy a quality non chinese rotor. The metallurgical make up, and alloy is what will offer a good service life, and propper cooling characteristics.

 

You are correct, but don't forget that bigger brakes also offer increased leverage that equates into increased stopping power.

 

Red, you are touching on a point I was trying (rather poorly) to make in my earlier post.

IF the OEM brakes were not able to lock up the brake rotors, then yes, perhaps larger pads could and, your stopping performance might be improved. But, if you simply push hard on the brake pedal with the OEM pads, you will force them against the rotors with sufficient force to cause them to lock, which will activate the ABS to release them a bit so that your wheels won't skid. You cannot get any better stopping performance than this, unless you mount tires that have a higher coefficient of friction than the ones you have currently mounted. Better gripping tires will allow the pads to exert more stopping force on the rotors before the ABS kicks in.

But, yes, heat WILL effect things since it CAN cause the brake fluid to boil and that reduces hydraulic stopping pressure.

- Jack

 

The only benefit to those Baer brakes are the 6 piston calipers. The factory front brakes on the F150 are already right at 15". I have a set of 370mm Brembro brakes from an Audi TT-RS sitting in my garage that I want to put on my S4. The rotors are close to the same size as my F150 rotors. 370mm is 14.6" adding a 1/4" more diameter won't make a lot of difference. But... It does make me wonder if there's another factory caliper that is a bolt on replacement for the stock brakes on our trucks. A lot of Brembro calipers have the same mounting points. The semi-floating calipers on our trucks are a less than perfect design. Swapping a good set of pads, calipers and rotors would make our trucks stop in a hurry!

 

Having more Pistons for braking is what makes all the difference. You may need to change the brake master cylinder and booster due to the added volume of brake fluid displacement. Having a floating caliper has its pros and cons. I know first hand having had a sports car people were warping rotors left and right. Less tolerance compared to having a floating caliper. Changing the composition of pad and rotor does not necessarily increase brake performance, adding mechanical braking power does.

 

Where are you getting that info from? The factory front brakes are 350mm or 13.78" the rears are 348mm or 13.70" If the 150's came with 15" front brakes from the factory, the smallest factory wheel you could fit would be a 20", and we all know that the base wheel diameter is 17".