Need new brakes 04 RC

Outlawl

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My current stock set up squeals like nothing else. Also pulling to right or left as I pull up to stops.

I plan on at least getting new rotors and pads on the front and possibly all 4 wheels. Keep in mind its an 04 so they aren't Brembo.

I live in an area of long twisty mountain roads, so heating is probably the main issue.

I only have about $1000 to spend so my question is this:


What upgrades or setup would you buy ?

If I just tried to replace the pads, what pads should I get ?
 
You can do a quick search and get some good info. After nearly 80K miles I've had the opportunity to try different combinations and found what Zeckhausen offers to be the best all around. At the very least have your rotor's turned then add good quality pads.

http://www.zeckhausen.com/

Here is a previous post of mine. Zeckhausen recommends the same break in procedure.

Since there's been quite a bit of discussion about this subject and the fact I just had my rotors turned and new brake pads I spoke with a buddy of mine here in Phoenix who happens to be a brake engineer for Toyota. There was another question about cryogenic rotors on another board that we both participate on and thought I'd share his post.....

+++++++++++++++++++++++

A while back, Clarkie asked me if the cryogenic rotors were worth it? Today...many, many months later, I have the answer. I am stuck in Dallas at a multi-day brake engineer conference and I co-chaired a session called "testing". The bad is that I am surrounded by a crowd that is...well...a little dull. The good is that anything you want to know about brakes (research, advanced tech, etc.) can be answered.

Anyway, I had a conversation with a peer from a performance race and aftermarket street brake kit company. Since our conversation was opinion only and not 'official', I'm going to leave it at that. That said, I trust the judgment of this guy and his company is on the leading edge of performance brake development.

"Is the cryogenic treatment for street rotors worth it?"

In his response, he stated that in one an only one case in his life was the answer yes. It was providing rotors to a factory sponsored race team to solve an initial difference in feel/fade during break-in. That's it.

Cryogenic treatment's main function is to avoid rotor cracking in a post manufacturing treatment.

PURPOSE FOR POSTING THIS:
This can be done just as effectively by a proper break-in of BOTH the rotor and pad pair. Yes - a rotor needs break-in too. His recommendation is to do a 10-stop series of brake applies of high decel (0.8g) back to back until you get to 10 from a speed of 60 to 5-10mph. Allow for cooling then do it one more time. Racers may want to kick up the speed to 80mph for the applies (even those in the Supertwins ).

You will likely get some green fade during the first ten stops somewhere in the 5-7 stop area - this is good. The next series fade will almost surely be later in the ten stops if at all. A third time is not necessary.

NOTE: it is very important that you do not come to a stop, even for a moment. The pads will be sticky enough to leave an imprint of the pad shape on the rotor and an uneven transfer layer.

This does mainly two things: prepare the pads by de-gassing the phenolics out of the pad material (the fade effect by the gas actually pushing back on the pad as it escapes beteen the pad and rotor), and preparing the rotors with a transfer layer.

In this guy's mind, this is by far the best thing you can do for your new pads and rotors...including saving your cash by not paying for your premium priced cryogenic rotors.

If you put new pads on current rotors (very common), you can lightly/evenly sand the rotor surfaces with fine grit sand-paper to remove the old transfer layer. Then proceed with the break-in above. This would apply to carbon-mets, ceramics, and any organic pads that rely on a transfer layer.

The result should be a dramatic reduction in fade and the likelihood for heat cracks.

Hope this helps
 
Xs 2,Replaced mine all the way around.( Rotors & pads.) Dave is a great guy.:rock:
 
X3. i just did all four corners. no dust no squeel. CAN'T beat the price. and dont eat at least 2 hours before bedding the pads according to his directions, unless you know a good detail guy
 
Zeckhausen is a dist they sell for powerslot and centric
Rotorpros mfg there rotors and use centric pads with there kits.
When i called Zeckhausen and ask if i had any problems with rotors who do i send them to he said powerslot the mfg and they would warr them.
rotorpros you send everything to them if there a problem.
dont get me wrong Zeckhausen is a good company and they are helpful but i dont belive in that 3rd party bullshit you buy a product from a 2nd hand company they should do the leg work for you when something goes wrong just my $.2
 
ctsrt10 said:
Zeckhausen is a dist they sell for powerslot and centric
Rotorpros mfg there rotors and use centric pads with there kits.
When i called Zeckhausen and ask if i had any problems with rotors who do i send them to he said powerslot the mfg and they would warr them.
rotorpros you send everything to them if there a problem.
dont get me wrong Zeckhausen is a good company and they are helpful but i dont belive in that 3rd party bullshit you buy a product from a 2nd hand company they should do the leg work for you when something goes wrong just my $.2
I agree with you on that,And was under the impression he stood behind what he sells.
 
Ok so 550 for discs...


What about for full calipers/like an upgrade to 05 calipers/Brembos?
 
Outlawl said:
Ok so 550 for discs...


What about for full calipers/like an upgrade to 05 calipers/Brembos?


There have been some that have said that "upgrading" to 05 calipers isn't worth the time or expense.Also has been said they tend to fade more than the 04's under hard use.:dontknow: Just something to think about.

I ,and a lot of others,changed pads (all ,front and rear) to Performance Friction,available at AutoZone.

No dust,no squeal.Get the ones for the Ram 2500 .There are MANY posts on here with part numbers.
 
Outlawl said:
Ok so 550 for discs...


What about for full calipers/like an upgrade to 05 calipers/Brembos?

2005 does not have Brembo's. They are TRW's. For 05 at least my recommendation is to get rid of the factory pads...A) they put a crap load of dust onto everything and B) they are pretty agressive pad. Initial bite is excellent but again the dust issue and they eat up rotors.

The big upgrades from 04 to 05 includes addition of anti knock sensor (very important) and rear end diff ratios. To me the brake change was nothing more than to add confusion in the market place.

I'm a bit hard on my truck. I've gonethrough tons of tires and now on my 3rd set of rotors and pads. My current tires (Yoko Prada's) and rotors and pads (Zeckausen) have preformed the best so far in combination of good feel and decent expected life.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I was going to price the brembo set ups with cross-drilled rotors...

But after reading these posts I changed my mind. I think I will try the autozone pads.
 
Good thread guys, Its about time for me to do brakes so this info couldnt of come at a better time. Looks like I will need to do brakes all around.
 
get the rotors turned and get a set from napa. they dont squeal and the dust is almost non existant. reasonable price too.
 
I think a LOT of us are finding that it is very hard to REALLY upgrade anything on these trucks.There is very little room for BIG improvements.

Sure,you can get a bit better braking ,but at a large cost.On the other hand,small improvements (less dust,no squeal) can be had for much less money.

The cost-to-benefit ratio is enormous on these trucks for most mods.

You can have a LOT of fun for a little money by doing a LOT of reading about what works and what doesn't.(let others be the test mules :D )

Just my .02
 
Performance Friction Carbon Metallic pads all the way around is what I did. No squeeks, and NO dust.

Bill.
 

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