Brake upgrade 2016 Ram - suggestions?

[Brad460]

Stay away from drilled/dimpled/ slotted rotors....think of it this way...any “holes” or “slots” is less surface area for the brake pads to grab on too...Never buy that crap...

 

[Jgorm]

Ebc pads will make a minor difference. Rotors will do nothing for stopping power. you shouldn't be seeing any fade. If you are, you are not engine breaking as you should be doing. If you are getting any noticable fade you are in an unsafe situation and need to address the trailer breaking system or engine brake. I remember a guy with a brand new class a rv getting 6 new drums with 2000mi on the odometer. He didn't know to use the engine braking and roasted them. That was an expensive mistake hell never make again. My short answer is the stock brakes should do just fine with this little boat.

 

[F.M.]

In most normal driving situations, rotors will not have any preference gains. But when towing heavy loads slotted rotors do help, they remove any glazing caused by heat. And by heavy towing, I'm not taking about a 5-6k lb boat. I tow a trailer around 10-12k lbs for work, and switching to slotted rotors on 3 different trucks over the years has had noticeable improvement in braking performance. But with slotted rotors your pads will wear much much faster.

 

[2kwik4u]

Stay away from drilled/dimpled/ slotted rotors....think of it this way...any “holes” or “slots” is less surface area for the brake pads to grab on too...Never buy that crap...

Slotted/Dimpled/Drilled rotors DO help in heavy braking applications. Those features allow the off gassing that occurs during heat buildup to escape the pad/rotor interface. Leading to MORE surface area touching the pad during a heavy braking event. It doesn't matter how big your brake pad is, if it has pressurized hot gas holding it off the surface of the rotor it's not going to work anyway. The small sacrifice in contact area is well worth the trade off for more consistent contact.

They also increase the leading edge length of the pad, which contributes to better brake pedal feel. This isn't terribly important in heavy braking applications like towing, but more in race situations. It is an interesting point to note though.

 

[Jgorm]

Slotted/Dimpled/Drilled rotors DO help in heavy braking applications. Those features allow the off gassing that occurs during heat buildup to escape the pad/rotor interface. Leading to MORE surface area touching the pad during a heavy braking event. It doesn't matter how big your brake pad is, if it has pressurized hot gas holding it off the surface of the rotor it's not going to work anyway. The small sacrifice in contact area is well worth the trade off for more consistent contact.

They also increase the leading edge length of the pad, which contributes to better brake pedal feel. This isn't terribly important in heavy braking applications like towing, but more in race situations. It is an interesting point to note though.

This is for race pads in race applications, not street pads and street temperatures.

 

[Jetti]

This is for race pads in race applications, not street pads and street temperatures.View attachment 93079

I have no problems with slotted and cross drilled rotors. They are 200% better than stock crap. I have had them for two and a half years, and have never looked back. Still smooth, quick stopping power with or with out trailer. When they are shot I will replace with the exact same again. Did a brake test with the boat on my buddies stock ram and mine from 60mph. Mine stopped 25 feet shorter. Everyone has their opinions it like what's the best motor oil, use 87 or 93 octane gas and so on......

 

[Brad460]

I have no problems with slotted and cross drilled rotors. They are 200% better than stock crap. I have had them for two and a half years, and have never looked back. Still smooth, quick stopping power with or with out trailer. When they are shot I will replace with the exact same again. Did a brake test with the boat on my buddies stock ram and mine from 60mph. Mine stopped 25 feet shorter. Everyone has their opinions it like what's the best motor oil, use 87 or 93 octane gas and so on......

Cross drilled, slotted rotor are for looks ...(and wanna be street racer cars)...sorry but true. No way no how anyone is outgassing their brakes on the street..lol..

At the end of the day- less surface area on the rotors = less grabbing power.

 

[Jetti]

Cross drilled, slotted rotor are for looks ...(and wanna be street racer cars)...sorry but true. No way no how anyone is outgassing their brakes on the street..lol..

At the end of the day- less surface area on the rotors = less grabbing power.

So your saying you or anyone you know has never glazed their brakes? A byproduct of gassing. As to the to the less surface area you are correct but there is more biting area which will result in faster pad wear, a known fact. For example run your hand across the counter top, and then run your hand across a cheese grater and tell me which one stops the fastest. Please post video of results. This evidence does not lie.

 

[2kwik4u]

Cross drilled, slotted rotor are for looks ...(and wanna be street racer cars)...sorry but true. No way no how anyone is outgassing their brakes on the street..lol..

At the end of the day- less surface area on the rotors = less grabbing power.

Physics, and Mathematics give zero craps if you are on a race track or the street. You get a pad hot enough to "glaze" (melt the pad material), smoke, smell, or otherwise over temp. then you can benefit from slotted/drilled rotors, and upgraded pads. A braking systems purpose is, quite literally, to convert kinetic (moving) energy into thermal (heat) energy. To say that efforts to remedy that situation is only for looks is short sighted, and quite frankly, wrong.

Have you ever seen a semi-truck with the brakes smoking because they're too hot? If you have, was he racing at the time? Do you think he could have benefited from a better system to dissipate the thermal loads?

 

[Jetti]

Semi-trucks race around here all the time. Lol. And drift 53ft trailers.

 

[Brad460]

Physics, and Mathematics give zero craps if you are on a race track or the street. You get a pad hot enough to "glaze" (melt the pad material), smoke, smell, or otherwise over temp. then you can benefit from slotted/drilled rotors, and upgraded pads. A braking systems purpose is, quite literally, to convert kinetic (moving) energy into thermal (heat) energy. To say that efforts to remedy that situation is only for looks is short sighted, and quite frankly, wrong.

Have you ever seen a semi-truck with the brakes smoking because they're too hot? If you have, was he racing at the time? Do you think he could have benefited from a better system to dissipate the thermal loads?

Now we are throwing semi's in to this conversation?!...Some guy pulling around his Yamaha jet boat isnt "overgassing" his brakes..lol

Cross drilled/slotted rotors= waste of money.

Upgraded pads= Good idea.

 

[F.M.]

If a few hundred dollars gives me an extra 10ft or more of stopping distance, it's money well spent.

 

[Jetti]

Now we are throwing semi's in to this conversation?!...Some guy pulling around his Yamaha jet boat isnt "overgassing" his brakes..lol

Cross drilled/slotted rotors= waste of money.

Upgraded pads= Good idea.

Don't knock it until you try it!!! EVERYONE has their own opinion!! That's all I have to say.

 

[2kwik4u]

Now we are throwing semi's in to this conversation?!...Some guy pulling around his Yamaha jet boat isnt "overgassing" his brakes..lol

Cross drilled/slotted rotors= waste of money.

Upgraded pads= Good idea.

Full-size pickup with a trailer will easily overheat the brakes on 1-2 panic stops in a row. If the driver has 22 in wheels, is on the edge of his tow rating, and hasn't maintained his surge brakes (which are a terrible system to begin with) it's even easier to overheat the brakes. Down playing the situation is absurd, perhaps the 10k overall weight of a weekend warrior isn't as large as professional driver responsible for 4-5 times that weight, but I'll bet a steak dinner the margin of safety is a lot lower on the 10k setup.

Spend your money however you like. I'll be upgrading to slotted rotors when the time comes. It's sound engineering backed up by real world reports of improved performance. The cost to upgrade is neglible, providing an excellent value.

 

[Sbrown]

Here's an interesting video on the subject which may help to shed a little more light on it. I would suggest paying particular attention to what he says regarding cross drilled rotors as this could be a safety concern especially if you tow a lot or otherwise put higher than average heat loads on your brakes.

 

[2kwik4u]

Here's an interesting video on the subject which may help to shed a little more light on it. I would suggest paying particular attention to what he says regarding cross drilled rotors as this could be a safety concern especially if you tow a lot or otherwise put higher than average heat loads on your brakes.

He makes such great videos. Pretty much echo'd the responses from earlier in the thread.

 

[Jgorm]

This thread sure went downhill. I got some painted caliper covers for you guys outgassing on the street. 175% improvement in brake performance. Totally true, i saw it on the internet. I'm done.

 

[F.M.]

If you can provide solid scientific evidence that they work, I'll take a set.

 

[2kwik4u]

Downhill? Looks like a mostly civil discussion on the highs and lows of brake parts and their associated upgrades.

 

[Sbrown]

This thread sure went downhill. I got some painted caliper covers for you guys outgassing on the street. 175% improvement in brake performance. Totally true, i saw it on the internet. I'm done.

I just want to be clear for those who either didn't watch the video or only took from it the information that supported their viewpoint.
1. He states clearly in the video that "pad gassing or outgassing" is not a concern with any modern formula brake pads, it was only a concern back in the day with old technology brake pads.
2. He also states that any material removed from a rotor. whether its by crossdrilling, slotting or dimpling, reduces that rotors ability to absorb heat due to the reduced mass. So it's a tradeoff, not a slam-dunk win.