Brake Upgrade
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Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2001
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Brake Upgrade
I just got a used 99 Lightning with only 14000 miles on it. I'm planning on upgrading it extensively, beginning with the brakes, as I feel that they are the weakest part of the truck. What set of brakes will give tme the best possible braking performance for the street?
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2000
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From: RogersAr
Senior Member
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 912
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From: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Welcome. There is a TON of information here and a lot of good, helpful people.
Brake upgrades have not taken a clear direction like say engine and transmission modifications have. Pads, rotors then calipers seems to be the order people upgrade them. Ceramic pads are have started to be used. Some cross-drilled rotors have cracked under abuse, so people are experimenting with slotting, dimpling and cryo coatings. Calipers (other than painting) have not been addressed much yet.
Although powerful when used in moderation, the stock brakes are not up to abuse, especially hauling down 5,000 pounds repeatedly. Some companies, like Brembo and Stillen make complete replacement kits, but they’re EXPENSIVE. Some people here and at the NLOC site (especially ruslow) have been working on this. See: http://nloc.org/ubb/Forum35/HTML/000009.html
Note that our brakes are not Lightning specific. The fronts are the same as a F250 LD and the rears are from the Expedition (I think). One thing you have to be careful of: 1999’s have 12 mm studs (2000 and later have 14 mm).
I’m a card carrying member of the ‘search police’, so I’ll try to take it easy… You can research any topic by using the ‘f.a.q.’ and ‘search’ buttons at the upper right. The f.a.q. takes you to a listing of threads that have been bundled by topic. It’s good basic knowledge, but tends to need updating from later threads. Use the f.a.q. threads to pick out terms for the search engine, like ‘rotor’ or ‘Brembo’. Narrow the ‘hits’ by using search options, especially ‘Search Forum’ and checking ‘Search titles only’ to avoid some of the monstrous signatures some users have. Also, after awhile you’ll find that certain people are gurus on a particular topic, like Factory_Tech for transmissions and BABolt for high end engine parts. Put them in the ‘Search By User Name’ to shake out idiots like me.
Here’s an example: an older thread that gives a brake upgrade overview from last year: https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...ighlight=brake
Good luck with your truck. You’ll love it.
BTW - make sure the intercooler recall is/gets done.
Brake upgrades have not taken a clear direction like say engine and transmission modifications have. Pads, rotors then calipers seems to be the order people upgrade them. Ceramic pads are have started to be used. Some cross-drilled rotors have cracked under abuse, so people are experimenting with slotting, dimpling and cryo coatings. Calipers (other than painting) have not been addressed much yet.
Although powerful when used in moderation, the stock brakes are not up to abuse, especially hauling down 5,000 pounds repeatedly. Some companies, like Brembo and Stillen make complete replacement kits, but they’re EXPENSIVE. Some people here and at the NLOC site (especially ruslow) have been working on this. See: http://nloc.org/ubb/Forum35/HTML/000009.html
Note that our brakes are not Lightning specific. The fronts are the same as a F250 LD and the rears are from the Expedition (I think). One thing you have to be careful of: 1999’s have 12 mm studs (2000 and later have 14 mm).
I’m a card carrying member of the ‘search police’, so I’ll try to take it easy… You can research any topic by using the ‘f.a.q.’ and ‘search’ buttons at the upper right. The f.a.q. takes you to a listing of threads that have been bundled by topic. It’s good basic knowledge, but tends to need updating from later threads. Use the f.a.q. threads to pick out terms for the search engine, like ‘rotor’ or ‘Brembo’. Narrow the ‘hits’ by using search options, especially ‘Search Forum’ and checking ‘Search titles only’ to avoid some of the monstrous signatures some users have. Also, after awhile you’ll find that certain people are gurus on a particular topic, like Factory_Tech for transmissions and BABolt for high end engine parts. Put them in the ‘Search By User Name’ to shake out idiots like me.
Here’s an example: an older thread that gives a brake upgrade overview from last year: https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...ighlight=brake
Good luck with your truck. You’ll love it.
BTW - make sure the intercooler recall is/gets done.
Thread Starter
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Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2001
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Thanks y'all. I looked at the links and searched the archives. Overall, I think that the Brembo's look the best overall (much as my wallet hates to admit it). It looks as if I am going to be takin that route, but as it will end up costing more than I originally planned, it could be longer than I thought before I get started. And by the way, thanks for the heads up about the intercooler. As it turns out, the previous owner had not taken care of that.