[emailabode]

so i bought my truck used and from what i could tell stock.
worked on the mine site for a summer and i ended up having to replace the rotors and pads because coal dust got up inside the pad and did not vent properly, at least thats how i understood it.

anyhow new rotors and good ceramic pads and never noticed any problems they both still have plenty of life in them and perform fine under normal braking. however when i was towing i noticed an incredible decrease in performance. i am not new to towing and i am aware that i was towing a decently heavy load(roughly 4600 lbs). even with brakes on the trailer when the light turned red on a 2 lane highway from a decent ways a way i had to put the peddle to the floor to stop in time.

i talked to our shop and he said the next step is to put on an aggressive pad which would cut my rotor life in half. any ideas on improving braking performance without having to shred my rotors

 

[tanner817]

cross drilled slotted rotors and better pads. next would be a titan swap so you could get bigger rotors and calipers and pads.

 

[dubie2003]

Is the fluid original? It could just be that you are boiling the fluid and that is causing your exteme brake fade.

 

[tanner817]

also might have hot spots or grease on the pads/rotors. also grease the caliper slides. and make sure your brake pedal is adjusted properly.

 

[Irongrave]

did you set your trailer brakes and lag settings so the trailer stops you not your stopping the trailer. What you described sounds like poor settings on the trailer brakes not on the truck.

 

[mustard23]

stainless steel brake lines will get you the most improved stopping power for the buck.

 

[MITOK]

Is the fluid original? It could just be that you are boiling the fluid and that is causing your exteme brake fade.

+1. DOT 3, 4, and 5.1 brake fluid all absorb water over time, which lowers the fluid's boiling point. It would take a significant amount of water contamination to appreciably change the fluid's effective boiling point, but it's possible.

 

[reynoldstn]

I have done: stillen cross drilled rotors + stillen pads + ss flex lines, with no improvement. Might try an AP racing big brake kit, available on Stillen's web site. I haven't seen a single review on it. I wouldn't bother spending the money on anything else.

 

[tanner817]

maybe you just got air in the system or a leak somewhere.maybe a blown master

 

[steve500]

My rodeo has been the same way

Front brake lines are already steel, changes the rear to steel, changed all my rotors and pads... still funky brakes, not the stopping power i'm lookin for, it'll skid on pavement if I really put my foot on it... takes a lot of manual raw muscle power, could also be due to the real wide nitto's..

I've never really been able to figure it out, it may take a very good brake bleed to get it working right, or maybe my master cylinder really is shot.

Fronteir's brakes are all stock and really is great!

 

[xtopherfishing]

I would check out what IRONGRAVE stated. If you truck brakes work fine without the trailer in tow but only malfunction when towing then I would be checking out the brakes on the trailer. It could be boiling brake fluid too but the trailer brakes should be checked first.

 

[Ryan B]

Definetly look at the trailer brakes. Are they electric or surge brakes? When were they last serviced? Towing 4600# with properly functioning trailer brakes is a non-issue with these trucks.