Brake upgrades

[Belgiquebasterd]

My 2003's braking performance was dangerously bad, so time for some upgrades.

I plan to swap out the brake fluid, rotors and pads and then add hydroboost. I'll do this in two stages first the fluid/rotor/pads and then the hydroboost and see how big the difference is between the hydroboost and the stock vacuum booster.

Fabricated a brake fluid pumping thingie wich leaked horribly since I rushed putting it together but otherwise worked flawlessly, I used motul rbf 660 racing fluid, overkill but why not. Took me about 30 min to swap the oil, awesome bit of kit this pumping thing.



New rotors and pads (EBC yellowstuff) it's a shame these purty parts get covered up



Measuring runout, manufacturer states 0.05mm as max, I got 0.04 as max so I'm good to go.



I did a little test using my iphone G force meter, with the stock parts and old brake fluid I got 0.76 G max braking power, with the new setup I got exactly the same wich was offcourse dissapointing, but I guess the pad/rotors need some time to bed in, I'll run em like this for a week and then do the test again. When I'm happy with this setup I'll add the hydrobooster and see what the difference is.

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

Nice setup there.

 

[Hemi450hp]

Very nice. Should be a nice improvement over stock.

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

I think after they seat its gonna slow down great. Always hear good things bout that setup, only other option is big bucks on Brembo setup like the SRT's.

 

[Belgiquebasterd]

I think after they seat its gonna slow down great. Always hear good things bout that setup, only other option is big bucks on Brembo setup like the SRT's.

We'll see how well it stops after the hydrobooster, I can always upgrade to srt stuff, thinking about drop spindles anyways, might as well get srt ones and 2nd hand srt calipers.

What about stainless braided brake hoses, any kits available for a ram? When I went from rubber to stainless on my motorbike there was a night and day difference, don't know how it works on trucks though?

 

[HemiLonestar]

I think after they seat its gonna slow down great. Always hear good things bout that setup, only other option is big bucks on Brembo setup like the SRT's.

SRT pickups didn't have Brembo's, they're cast iron TRW's.

 

[Belgiquebasterd]

Noticed something weird today, when pressing on the brake pedal when the motor is not runnin the 'feel' is rockhard, but when I start the motor, the pedal goes soft, 'spongy', is this just the brake booster adding more force to me pushing the pedal or could this indicate a problem somewhere?

I have a hydrobooster that I'm gonna add to my braking system but wan't to have a 'perfect' system before adding the hydrobooster. Am scared that the added 'boost' could hide an otherwise noticeable problem in the braking system.

 

[BlackedOutHemi]

If the truck is off and you're pumping the brakes, the brake pedal will get almost impossible to push in. Turning the truck on after that should loosen it up to normal. Its a normal thing that happens with every vehicle.

 

[Belgiquebasterd]

If the truck is off and you're pumping the brakes, the brake pedal will get almost impossible to push in. Turning the truck on after that should loosen it up to normal. Its a normal thing that happens with every vehicle.

I'm not really pumping the brakes, just press on the pedal, keeping the pressure on and starting the engine, pedal goes softer when engine is running.

 

[garner]

Yupp that's normal

 

[BlackedOutHemi]

Yep. That's normal too.

 

[rizzleram]

Very cool brake pump. There is one by Brake Motiv that's manual with a psi gauge, but I like the DIY-nature of this!

The motul fluid is by no means overkill. I managed to boil the stock fluid and once it boils, it's almost useless. I rather have a bit more headroom where it matters. I also have similar rotors, but mine are by brakeperformance.com, not sure if yours are the same brake rotors.