Braking Upgrade?

[ExplOregon]

Hey Everyone,

It's time for some new brake pads on the truck, which got me thinking. Should I be considering any upgrades to my braking system? Better pads, rotors, brakes? I have an 09 F150 XLT with Hawk Shell. As far as I know, the truck's braking system is all stock.

Loaded up, I'm near my GVWR. Maybe some better brakes would help with piece of mind in terms of stopping distance or longer, steeper descents. I don't have a lot of experience operating bigger, heavier vehicles so any feedback is helpful.

I couldn't find anything on the forum about this so I thought I'd ask the question.

Thanks!

 

[PaulT]

Here is an earlier thread on brakes.
https://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/15597-tundra-brakes/

Easier to find in your regular search engine by using "site:wanderthewest.com brake pads" without the quotes.

Paul

 

[Vic Harder]

On longer descents, downshift to avoid using the brakes. Heat is the enemy of your brakes. You can change out the pads to work better when they get hot (like on race cars) but then they usually don't work well when cold (that can be a nasty surprise too!). If the stock rotors are not warped, I'd try different pads before going for bigger rotors.

In order of priority for me on brakes is:
1) Bleed/flush the brakes every two years. Water in the lines corrodes and boils(!!) when heated
2) Better tires. With modern ABS, there are two things that limit how fast you can stop:
--- friction with the road and friction of the brake pads.
3) Better pads. After the brakes heat up, then brake fade (pads too hot) limits stopping efficiency, not the tires.

Here is a thread off of the F-150 forum you might want to read
https://www.f150online.com/forums/2009-2014-f-150/506896-brake-upgrade-2.html

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

If your F150 has a tow/haul feature, I recommend using that for downgrades. If not, simple downshifting does a good job.

Pumping your brakes creates less friction, and gives the rotors a chance to cool...

 

[ExplOregon]

Here is an earlier thread on brakes.
https://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/15597-tundra-brakes/

Easier to find in your regular search engine by using "site:wanderthewest.com brake pads" without the quotes.

Paul

Thanks Paul. Appreciate the "teaching me to fish" approach.

 

[smlobx]

I have been a long time fan of Hawk Brake pads on everything from my Porsche race car to my F-350

The LTS pads are my favorite for pick up trucks.
Here’s the listing for your truck.

https://www.hawkperformance.com/parts-lookup?year=54209&make=79723&model=89122&submodel=291621&note=

 

[PJorgen]

I have been a long time fan of Hawk Brake pads on everything from my Porsche race car to my F-350

The LTS pads are my favorite for pick up trucks.
Here’s the listing for your truck.

https://www.hawkperformance.com/parts-lookup?year=54209&make=79723&model=89122&submodel=291621&note=

Wait, I was going to post almost the same thing, although I prefer Ferrodo pads for my Porsche.

I use the Hawk LTS on my 2500HD with a Hawk camper, work great. I might try the Hawk Super Duty next time.

Tell us more about your Porsche race car.

 

[JHanson]

Please read the article on Overland Tech and Travel, here, for some solid background on aftermarket brakes. You can gain a lot with a simple change in pads and a brake fluid upgrade. You can also waste a lot of money on "upgrades" that aren't.

And I'd like to hear more about the Porsche race car too!

 

[Vic Harder]

Please read the article on Overland Tech and Travel, here, for some solid background on aftermarket brakes. You can gain a lot with a simple change in pads and a brake fluid upgrade. You can also waste a lot of money on "upgrades" that aren't.

Great article John!

 

[JHanson]

Thank you Vic!

 

[craig333]

I'm sure I'm overdue to change brake fluid. Thanks for the reminder.

Anyone thats never had a vehicle with drum brakes doesn't know what they're missing. I still forget I'll have no (or almost none) brakes after a water crossing with the Jeep. Takes some time to dry them out. Fortunately water crossings are done at slow speed

 

[ExplOregon]

Please read the article on Overland Tech and Travel, here, for some solid background on aftermarket brakes. You can gain a lot with a simple change in pads and a brake fluid upgrade. You can also waste a lot of money on "upgrades" that aren't.

And I'd like to hear more about the Porsche race car too!

Thanks John! Great article. Learned a lot.

Update: Took my truck into Les Schwab since they were right by my house. (Working up my skills to do my own pad replacement, but I had a feeling something else was wrong with the brakes). Turns out that I had a stuck caliper (or maybe the piston) on the driver side front and that was putting most of the braking work onto the passenger front. The tech said that the passenger pads were cooked and looked like bricks. The passenger front was getting really hot and smelled terrible after my last trip so I knew something wasn't right.