HI everyone,
New guy here, & I was wondering if you have any suggestions on brakes for my 03 DRW 4x4 ctd. Its time for new ones.
Do i stick with stock brakes?
Do i go after market?
What kind of material?
I pull a 8k trailer most every day, so I want good brakes, but I would like them to last a little longer than 58k, like the originals.

Thanks in advance,
Tim

 

58k on a set of brakes pulling an 8k lb trailer everyday
what exactly are you complaining about?

 

I always buy cheap pads because the "premium pads" (metallic pads) have small pieces of metal in them to make them last longer but what happens is they end up sqeeking like crazy because of the metallic.


my $.02
53

 

I guess I didn't know 58k on brakes was a good number!
My Bad.
But still the question remains, stock or after market?
Thanks,
Tim

 

Any one else??
Any thoughts??

 

HAWK SuperDuty pads are best IMO:

http://www.hawkperformance.com/truck/superduty.php

 

I got about 30,000 miles a set on my 03 truck. That's with the factory Dodge pads. I tried the expensive NAPA pads but they started squeaking within 5000 miles.....
58,000 miles would have been nice. My rear brakes on that truck still looked like new when I traded it in at 78,000 miles....

 

The metallic pads last longer because they don't wear faster,..... the ROTOR does!! The metallic pads bite into the rotor and cause considerably more wear and if you put a rotor on a lathe to turn it that has had metallic pads then you'll find it is warped and worn excessively in the center area of the rotor.

Save yourself a lot of $$$ and go back with the stock setup which by the way has the best brakes of any of the big three oems. I've read countless writeups on this.

If you're possessed to have a different braking system I would recommend only changing the rotors and go to vented units and keep the stock pads. My $.02.

 

The metallic pads last longer because they have tons of small pieces of metal embedded in the pad, since they are so hard and full of metal they don't wear out as fast as a stock pad but create more heat causing the rotor to warp.

Most the metallic pads I have used have been junk they sqeek as soon as you put them on, even with fresh turned rotors that have been cleaned with brakeklean they still sqeek.



Does anybody have any first hand experience with ceramic pads?????
I would say with a stock pad myself, but would like to hear more about someones experience with ceramic pads??

 

found this on Hawks site thought it may help some pep's

Q: What causes breaks to squeal?
A: There are a number of reasons why a person can experience brake noise. Sometimes brake squeal can be an indicator that there is a problem. Maintenance is required if you experience brake squeal for any of the following reasons:

Lack of friction material (brakes need to be replaced)
Loose fitting brake in the caliper
Loose fitting or missing brake hardware (i.e. shims, anti-rattle clips)
Loose lug nuts or caliper hardware
Debris caught between the rotor and the surface of the brake pad
Heat cracked or worn rotors
Uneven finish on resurfaced rotors
Sometimes a user may experience brake noise when no maintenance is required. We call these NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) issues. Brake squeal is typically caused by vibration between the brake pads, rotors, and brake calipers. Some brands of semi-metallic brakes are more likely to experience brake squeal due to the metallic ingredients in the brake pads. Hawk Performance has a great reputation for being a low noise, high performance pad.

 

You do have trailer brakes, right?

 

I have to agree with OT-OF-Here, I replaced mine with the OEM. For all four it set me back $236.00 and only an hour of my day.

 

I also just replaced my pads after 54K. I searched here and there and the concensious was that factory oem pads were the way to go. I guess DC did their homework and now that I think about it they worked great and held up a long time and didnt wear down my rotors. I thought they were going out because there was alot of brake dust and decreased braking feel. But when I tool them off it still looked like there was alot more pad left..weird I called my local dealer and asked for pads and he said they were $45 and I said no way because people here said they were around $100. Turns out the dealer was trying to sell me their "Value Line" pads. Why in the world would the dealer try to sell me a less the adaquate pad then was orignally on my truck. He said its because people complain about spending $100 on pads. I told him I wanted what DC orignally put on my 1 ton truck which I tow with

I also founds threads on people saying good things about the "green stuff" pads and Hawk pads.

I decided on the factory pads because they already work great on my truck for 54K and were in stock at my dealer.

I know its hard to believe that the factory pads are good but they really are. Its not the same as factory GM pads.

 

Wagner Thermo-Quiets. Only pads I`ve found that didn`t squeak on the old lady`s Durango. Great stopping power and they are wearing great too. That`s what I`ll go with on mine when its time to change them.

 

I just put Wagner Thermo-Quiets with new wagner rotors and drums on my 01 tonight. I didnt notice any squeal, but I can hear them grinding when braking. Not bad ,just different. I dont have any miles on them yet,so it might go away when they are bedded in.