Front brakes 2nd gen 2500
 

Looks like its time to do the fronts again . I think a caliber has stuck just noticed it grinding to night . Is it worth it to upgrade to the hi performance rotors an calibers . If so what brand seems to have the most bang for the buck. I use the truck for farm work mainly always hauling an towing something . It came with drum brakes on the rear .
Thanks
For your help

Believe it or not stock parts are going to be the overall best. Slotted/drilled rotors are no better, cost a lot more, and actually can decrease stopping power because of the reduction in surface area. Super aggressive brake pads wear out the rotors fast and ceramics are just no good.

If you're insistent on upgrading then look at Hawk Performance as I hear good things about them on these trucks.

If you're not happy with the braking power of your truck then you can change over to 3rd gen brakes which is supposed to really improve braking power, but they require larger wheel diameters so if you're on stock wheels then thats going to get expensive.

In regards to the rear drums, you can replace the rear brake cylinders in the rear drums with a GM 1 ton brake cylinder which will create more stopping power from the rear brakes. I cant remember the part number but lots of people like this modification.

But no matter what you do with the drums, keeping the them adjusted is critical otherwise the star adjuster can stick (especially in high corrosion areas) and unknowingly forcing the front brakes to do more work. Wearing things out faster and reducing braking performance. :thumbsup:

Thanks Katoom I already did the one ton GM rear wheel cylinders cant say I noticed a big difference but then unless a person did a before an after stopping distance test it would be hard to tell. An your spot on about rear brake adjustment an its not my favorite job so I don't do it as often as I should. An even though I replaced the hardware I'm not sure they work right or adjust them self when backing . I guess what is killing me I let the Dodge dealer do it last time not that many miles ago . they replaced rotors an laid it to me on price, an now what ever has caused this on the right side . I haven't pulled the wheel but it feels an looks like the inside pad is down to the rivets. Not sure what has caused that I don't drive the truck on treated roads in winter so corrosion is not a issue. I'm going to do it this time that's why I ask what I did . I need to check to see if there is any chance that could be under warranty. Anyway thanks for the food for thought.

Usually when one pad wears rapidly its either because of a failed pad or a sticking caliper. Either way, Dodge will probably look at it in order to assess whether or not the problem is warranty related. But unfortunately they'll probably say its not and present you with another high priced bill. So tread lightly on how you want to address that one..... :thumbsup:

Need to grease the sliders the calipers ride on....

Like Katoom said, stock parts seem to be best.

I gotta disagree.
I went through 3 sets of stock rotors, The third set I got straight from the dealer parts counter (at a premium price).
They all wore funny, faded a lot on hard braking and ended up warping.
Maybe it's my driving style but I went to brakewarehouse.com and got a set of slotted (not drilled) galvanized rotors and with using the regular pads I have always used it's been just under 3 yrs with no real difference in braking from when I put them on. The slotting seems to help on the fade quite a bit. I can drag the beast down from 70 to 40 because of a slowpoke on the highway then have to go to a dead stop because he just slammed on his brakes and the feel is exactly the same. With just plain flat vented rotors I would need a lot of extra pedal push to get it to stop.
I didn't bother with slotted for my YJ but it is mainly a slo-mo vehicle and I Don't think the cost would be worth it.

With the GMC slaves in the back and the slotted in front my truck stops like a vette (almost[laugh]).

The key things to look for in a slotted rotor is chamfered edges on the slotting, don't have the slots cut too deep and starting with a quality casting. Missing any one of those could make the rotor warp or crack.