Upgrading break lines

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charonblk07

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I'm have drilled slotted rotors and ceramic pads in my garage ready to go. I must be a moron!!



The first step to correcting a problem is admitting you have one; congrats on completing step one.
 

Cruizer

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Must be. If only I knew it all....
 

BrianandChrissy

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That would be spelled "brake" lines

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charonblk07

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That would be spelled "brake" lines

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Ohkay grammatical **** give him a brake about his breaks; you are chomping at the bit over his fragrant error. I know it peaked your interest but its not like theres any effect to youre daily life, so low and behold, we wait with baited breath for your nipping in the butt of this text where I flaunt the laws of grammerical correctivness. Said with a rye smile.
 

BrianandChrissy

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*****

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Cruizer

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You've drunk the Kool-aid.

I didn't drink any Kool-aid. I didn't buy them expecting they would make my truck stop on a dime. I bought them because they're roughly the same price, black zinc coated, and will help keep the ceramic pads clean, and the ceramic pads will lower brake dust. ;)
 

kg93

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There is no need to get longer brake lines for a leveled application. Offroaded mine with the bils at 2.8 fully extended plenty of time and didnt have any issues.

Put my superlift on and it came withe drop brackets for the lines. BDS may use upgraded longer lines to avoid drop brackets but that is it.
 

Rustycowl69

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Oy. It ain't a race car. No need for drilled OR slotted rotors unless you just want to replace pads sooner.

Drilled rotors were developed to solve pad outgassing when asbestos was used. Slotting can help remove pad glazing, IF YOU DRIVE HARD ENOUGH TO GLAZE THE PADS TO BEGIN WITH (Doubtful), but at the expense of pad life and increased brake dust (corrosive) everywhere.

Just because it sounds cool and race cars use something doesn't make it any better, especially in the wrong application. Do some research rather than taking a forum "opinion" as gospel.


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I don't know where i come down on this. I have an ex-Police Intrepid. It came with drilled and slotted front rotors. I don't know if it makes the car stop any better, but if the factory engineering felt it necessary to put them on, so who am I to argue with that. Maybe they used them because they only had 17in wheels, so they were limited in rotor dia. With the wheel size they have on the newer Rams, they could physically fit a bigger rotor on the truck, so maybe it's not an issue. But the drilled and slotted rotors do look cool. LOL
 

sbarron

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I don't know where i come down on this. I have an ex-Police Intrepid. It came with drilled and slotted front rotors. I don't know if it makes the car stop any better, but if the factory engineering felt it necessary to put them on, so who am I to argue with that. Maybe they used them because they only had 17in wheels, so they were limited in rotor dia. With the wheel size they have on the newer Rams, they could physically fit a bigger rotor on the truck, so maybe it's not an issue. But the drilled and slotted rotors do look cool. LOL



Agreed. They are purely an aesthetic upgrade. With maybe a slight downgrade in performance over the life of the system. Will anyone notice the shorter pad life or the degradation in heat loss because of the loss of rotor mass? Likely not. These are pickups not AMG Mercs running laps at Nurburgring.

They DO look cool. I just wanted to state that there will be no appreciable performance increase.


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rubes7202

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I leveled my truck with bilsteins adjustable. I also replaced the upper A-arms (mevotech). I figured, to get better stopping power for when I get bigger tires, to upgrade the lines to KLM steel braided. I also purchsed new pads (Porterfield R4S compound). I've researched around, and am told just doing this minor upgrade will make a huge noticeable difference in improved breaking power. Its not purely aesthetic and gives a functional peice of mind. Safety.

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rubes7202

rubes7202

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Brakes are often one of the most overlooked upgrades when installing larger tires. The big meats that inevitably find their way onto a truck after a lift will compromise your stock braking system. The increased leverage of the bigger tires, along with the heavier rotating mass, will quickly overwhelm the stock system, leading to overheating, premature pad and rotor wear, increased stopping distance, and minimal, if any, reserve braking power when loaded down or towing.

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I'm considering braided lines next year. Only because we know how rubber weakens over time and if I'm going to replace them before I have a problem, I might as well improve them. But my truck is nearly 7 years old now.
 

FLYxxBOY

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I know this thread is 4 years old, but im about to get some klm ones. Do most people only replace the front? Klm says the rears need to basically be custom done and flaired, but say they do have a kit on their site but I don't see it. I've messaged them too just waiting on a response back
 

VelocityC6Z

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They do make the lines from what I noticed. You just have to flare the old line and put a connector on it from what I've read. This is very simple to do with a cheap brake flare kit from advanced auto parts.

I plan to do the same thing, probably next summer. I'll make a diy on it in here when I do if I keep seeing the questions asked.
 

ram1500rsm

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They do make the lines from what I noticed. You just have to flare the old line and put a connector on it from what I've read. This is very simple to do with a cheap brake flare kit from advanced auto parts.

I plan to do the same thing, probably next summer. I'll make a diy on it in here when I do if I keep seeing the questions asked.
I'll look forward to that DIY. Never done it myself, and when i wanted to actually upgrade my rear brake lines for longer ones to accomodate my longer shocks, i thought calling couple of local shops around to find out how much would they charge me get it done and to my surprise nobobody seemed interested in touching the brake lines to install longer ones let alone flare them. I guess it's a liability thing for them ? but geez.
 

VelocityC6Z

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It's actually really easy, the kits come with everything.

My last truck was a Denali, and the brake lines were rusted so I just went through and made my own brake lines. Watched a little video on YouTube and it was actually quite easy. I bought a 3 foot brake line and practiced flaring on it, and the first to the third flares that I made with the kit were all perfect. Cutting the line off you can do with the one dollar pipe cutter at the front desk. I was quoted about 1200 dollars to replace the rusted brake lines on my truck. I did it all myself for about 180 and walked away with new tools and another skill.

I would say don't hesitate to try it yourself. I was paranoid about air getting in the caliper, so I took it to have it bled by machine, and it did tighten up the pedal feel some. Clearly my brake bleeding skills aren't the best.
 
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