Upgrade brakes

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  • pvidave
    Junior Member
    • May 2013
    • 1

    Upgrade brakes

    I am looking to upgrade the stock brakes on my 2012 wrangler. The stock units are not up to the task. I'm looking for an upgrade. If I replace the rotors, should I consider new calipers or just upgrade the pads? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated! Running Pintlers & 35's.
  • PGT
    Senior Member
    • Mar 2012
    • 831

    #2
    Don't forget the golden rule about brakes; If you can engage ABS, you don't need more brake....you need more grip. Brakes are not complex.....easiest path to better stopping is higher friction pads. I swapped to Hawk HPS when I upgraded to 35's.
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    • Gotlime?
      Senior Member
      • Aug 2011
      • 1701

      #3
      There are lengthy ( I mean lengggggtttthhhyyyyyy) brake discussions on other, more general Jeep JK forums. I'd do some research there.

      I have the Teraflex Big Brake kit on the front of my JK. And their master cylinder.
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      Comment

      • walker111
        Senior Member
        • Jul 2011
        • 1013

        #4
        I have the hawk LTS on mine and love them. There is some brake dust but well worth it.
        ____________________________________________
        Jim Walker
        2012 Sahara Tan JKUR
        http://forum.aev-conversions.com/showthread.php?t=3620

        Comment

        • donjku
          Senior Member
          • Nov 2009
          • 1088

          #5
          I upgraded my hemi JK to EBC rotors and pads and noticed a significant improvement in brake performance. And I did not go with the fancy slotted or drilled rotors. The main reason I went with EBC rotors is I needed new rotors anyway and I dislike buying the Chinese ones. EBC rotors are made in England.

          Comment

          • PGT
            Senior Member
            • Mar 2012
            • 831

            #6
            EBC has traditionally not been a good company; perhaps they've improved their quality since I wasted $1k of my money on their junk a decade ago (based on the shop's recommendation). Had to replace it all within six months (warped all four rotors and they only had a 90 day warranty).
            2014 Mercedes Benz E550 4Matic - Gloss White
            2013 BMW 328i M-Sport with Sport Automatic - Estoril Blue II
            2012 Chrysler 300C SRT8 - Gloss Black SOLD
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            2010 Mercedes E550 Coupe (Sold)
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            2008 Subaru WRX STI (Sold) - 303whp/313tq
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            2005 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon (Sold)
            2002 Jeep Wrangler Sport (Sold)
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            Comment

            • Grecy
              Senior Member
              • Nov 2010
              • 487

              #7
              Originally posted by PGT
              Don't forget the golden rule about brakes; If you can engage ABS, you don't need more brake....you need more grip.
              I'm not sure I agree with that.
              Even the crappiest brakes I've ever driven with will lockup / engage ABS no problem at all. (i.e. my rust bucket 91 Subaru)
              I've always thought the reason to go to bigger diameter rotors/bigger calipers is for more control, not more outright clamping force.
              i.e. imagine one of those hand gripper things for exercising. Imagine the hardest one you can just jam shut with all of your might, and hold it there. You don't have a lot of control, like you can't open it a few millimeters and hold it there, then close it again and do that repeatedly for half an hour. It's too much effort for you to have that level of control and endurance.
              Now Arnie comes along (bigger calipers/rotors). He can still jam it shut just like you, but he has the extra power to be able to have extremely fine control over opening/closing it for basically as long as he wants without fatiguing. That's the benefit of the bigger calipers & rotors, you have so much more control and input before the brakes lockup, rather than just clamp on/off.

              ----

              I've always been surprised you can't get calipers and rotors from some other Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/RAM to bolt up.

              Surely someone has found something that works.

              -Dan
              Last edited by Grecy; 06-04-2013, 12:00 PM.
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              Comment

              • kacos
                Senior Member
                • Oct 2010
                • 105

                #8
                Originally posted by Grecy
                I've always been surprised you can't get calipers and rotors from some other Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/RAM to bolt up.

                Surely someone has found something that works.

                -Dan
                Who says you can't?

                I swapped my brakes (mopar code BRW) with the BR6 (Heave Duty ones):

                68044865AA ADAPTER, DISC BRAKE CALIPER $27,99 x2
                68049018AA PIN KIT, DISC BRAKE $6,99 x2
                68044862AA CALIPER ASSEMBLY RIGHT $70,99 x1
                68044863AA CALIPER ASSEMBLY LEFT $70,99 x1
                68044866AA (new) 68044866AC PAD KIT FRONT $152,99 x1
                68040177AA 13" ROTOR FRONT BRAKE $85,99 x2
                68045998AB Master Cylinder new# 68091278AB $101.99 x1
                68045999AB BOOSTER, Power Brake $121.99 x1

                The only problem is that you have to order the parts and wait 2-3 weeks for delivery (or at least I haven't found anyone with these parts in stock).
                PS: The Booster & Master Cylinder are the BR6 parts from the 2011+ JK models ;-)

                The whole thing is plug and play, and you do see an immediate improvement. Btw these are single but huge piston calipers and the rotors are of a 13" diammeter and weigh a mere 11 kilos each !!!














                I tried the old brake pads on and they seem to fit (photo above), but I preferred to keep the new ones on. I also installed a set of Gorillas

                Next mod is swapping the brake lines with a set of these ..

                Comment

                • kacos
                  Senior Member
                  • Oct 2010
                  • 105

                  #9
                  FYI

                  Mopar BRW vs BR6 rotors (Old/new):



                  and these are the Terraflex ones vs stock:


                  Comment

                  • PGT
                    Senior Member
                    • Mar 2012
                    • 831

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Grecy
                    That's the benefit of the bigger calipers & rotors, you have so much more control and input before the brakes lockup, rather than just clamp on/off.
                    Pads have a LOT to do with that. Piston size, clamping force, etc....pretty basic engineering formulas. Now, add in repetitive stops and that's where more swept area and thermal capacity comes into place.

                    Don't get me wrong...I've had upgraded factory brakes and/or Brembo's on most of my cars in the last decade whether or not they were equipped that way from the factory. I'd like an OEM option for the JK just because; that said, pads alone alleviated my concern about diminished performance from 35" tires.
                    2014 Mercedes Benz E550 4Matic - Gloss White
                    2013 BMW 328i M-Sport with Sport Automatic - Estoril Blue II
                    2012 Chrysler 300C SRT8 - Gloss Black SOLD
                    2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon MW3 - SOLD
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                    2010 Infiniti FX35 AWD Sport Pkg (Sold)
                    2008 Subaru WRX STI (Sold) - 303whp/313tq
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                    2002 Jeep Wrangler Sport (Sold)
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                    Comment

                    • PGT
                      Senior Member
                      • Mar 2012
                      • 831

                      #11
                      Originally posted by kacos
                      The Booster & Master Cylinder are the BR6 parts from the 2011+ JK models ;-)
                      so, on a '12 everything but the booster and MC are what's needed? Or, did the '11+ get upgraded calipers, rotors and pads, etc?
                      2014 Mercedes Benz E550 4Matic - Gloss White
                      2013 BMW 328i M-Sport with Sport Automatic - Estoril Blue II
                      2012 Chrysler 300C SRT8 - Gloss Black SOLD
                      2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon MW3 - SOLD
                      2010 Mercedes E550 Coupe (Sold)
                      2010 Infiniti FX35 AWD Sport Pkg (Sold)
                      2008 Subaru WRX STI (Sold) - 303whp/313tq
                      2006 MINI Cooper S (Sold) - 240whp/202tq
                      2005 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon (Sold)
                      2002 Jeep Wrangler Sport (Sold)
                      2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport (Sold)
                      1991 Honda CRX Si (Sold)

                      Comment

                      • kacos
                        Senior Member
                        • Oct 2010
                        • 105

                        #12
                        Originally posted by PGT
                        so, on a '12 everything but the booster and MC are what's needed? Or, did the '11+ get upgraded calipers, rotors and pads, etc?
                        I think from 11+ the brakes are indeed improved, but there are at least three brake codes (instead of the two BRW & BR6). Depending on the model, there are the normal BRW, the heavy duty BR6 and one for the models with start-stop engines. So I guess you should do a little research first to see if you need to upgrade or not.

                        Comment

                        • PGT
                          Senior Member
                          • Mar 2012
                          • 831

                          #13
                          there are also differences for USDM vs the Euro market. I believe AEV has said their upgraded brake kit is from Euro market parts so we may not have access to those here. It would be nice to have someone with Mopar parts experience to give us USDM guys a verified list of what's needed. The tools aren't there for me to do it like I could do for BMW's or MINI's (i.e. www.realoem.com)
                          2014 Mercedes Benz E550 4Matic - Gloss White
                          2013 BMW 328i M-Sport with Sport Automatic - Estoril Blue II
                          2012 Chrysler 300C SRT8 - Gloss Black SOLD
                          2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon MW3 - SOLD
                          2010 Mercedes E550 Coupe (Sold)
                          2010 Infiniti FX35 AWD Sport Pkg (Sold)
                          2008 Subaru WRX STI (Sold) - 303whp/313tq
                          2006 MINI Cooper S (Sold) - 240whp/202tq
                          2005 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon (Sold)
                          2002 Jeep Wrangler Sport (Sold)
                          2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport (Sold)
                          1991 Honda CRX Si (Sold)

                          Comment

                          • kacos
                            Senior Member
                            • Oct 2010
                            • 105

                            #14
                            Originally posted by PGT
                            there are also differences for USDM vs the Euro market. I believe AEV has said their upgraded brake kit is from Euro market parts so we may not have access to those here. It would be nice to have someone with Mopar parts experience to give us USDM guys a verified list of what's needed. The tools aren't there for me to do it like I could do for BMW's or MINI's (i.e. www.realoem.com)
                            the upgraded brakes are for export but I haven't seen them in Europe - I think they have them either down under or in S.Africa.
                            Anyway, I was just looking at the 2011 parts manual (page 66/67 of 673) and the rotor/caliper etc part #s are the same. I guess you have the small ones but you can still upgrade to the 13" disks. And yes, you can find these parts in the US (that's where I got mine from) but you need to order them.
                            Last edited by kacos; 06-04-2013, 02:07 PM.

                            Comment

                            • PGT
                              Senior Member
                              • Mar 2012
                              • 831

                              #15
                              so, 07+ is the same down low but 11+ has upgraded BB and MC, leaving the "upgrade" path to ALL THE ABOVE for '07-'10 or EVERYTHING BUT BB and MC for 11+? Did I follow that logic correctly?

                              Side note; where in Greece are you? I was born in Athens and hope to make it back some day (I'm American but was born overseas).
                              2014 Mercedes Benz E550 4Matic - Gloss White
                              2013 BMW 328i M-Sport with Sport Automatic - Estoril Blue II
                              2012 Chrysler 300C SRT8 - Gloss Black SOLD
                              2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon MW3 - SOLD
                              2010 Mercedes E550 Coupe (Sold)
                              2010 Infiniti FX35 AWD Sport Pkg (Sold)
                              2008 Subaru WRX STI (Sold) - 303whp/313tq
                              2006 MINI Cooper S (Sold) - 240whp/202tq
                              2005 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon (Sold)
                              2002 Jeep Wrangler Sport (Sold)
                              2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport (Sold)
                              1991 Honda CRX Si (Sold)

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