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rear disc conversion.. is it worth it???

RootBreaker

RootBreaker

3/4 ton status
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Ok so I have had all the parts to do my rear disc conversion.. havent done it yet but will... so today I am cruizin down the road and the road goes from 2 lanes to merge over and into 1... well a turd expedition floors it and cuts me off... well being a nice guy I want him to remember I am behind him... so I locked up the brakes to get those nice hawgs growlin.... well the good news is they growled VERY LOUD... bad news is the truck slid as the back locked up and the front didnt....


ok so my brakes work great at the moment.. at least the rears... so I am going to assume that with the rear disc conversion the benefits are...
1. no drums so less weight
2. no adjustments as pads not shoes
3. quick brake replacements

so is that mainly it?
if so that is a good reason to do it...

but what about the front.. the front should be able to lockup right? maybe not blead good?
I passed inspection.. the guy said that I passed better than the truck before me.. a chevy on 10" leafs and 39.5 boggers... he said my brakes were alot better but he wasnt going too fast..

I need to get the truck to the point where if I need to stop hard I dont take up 2 lanes and side swipe whomever is next to me....

p.s. it was funny as the guy kept looking at me through his side mirror... to which I was givin him the finger and right ON HIS ASS at ALL lights...
yeah I know I could have gotten tailgating tickets if the cops saw.. and if he thought about tapping his brakes I would have hit him and was prepaired to floor it into the back of him.... if im gonna do it im gonna do it good!!!!
 
When you apply your brakes most of the weight from the truck shifts forward most is their anyway if you have a pickup. Thats why your back will lock up first less weight. I would think that you would have to be flying to lock up you front and some really good brakes and you would have 0 control, with the backs locked you can still turn. Disc's in the back work better cause disc fade less with heat. They are lighter and easier to maintain.
 
where do you go to get inspected. i had a "friend" do it this time, but he said he might not be able to do it with the lift in


and im not running emissions anymore?


just did the reard isc swap and love it. if your ever near belmar, let me know and you can swong by and check em out yourself
 
I know I am ordering disc brackets for my Eaton rearend because the brake guts are getting harder to find and a little pricy.
 
everytime you guys from new jersey post, it reminds me how good i have it...

all this inspection stuff must be a pain in the ass...
 
Silver84k5 said:
everytime you guys from new jersey post, it reminds me how good i have it...

all this inspection stuff must be a pain in the ass...
Click to expand...

it is. even worse is that they are busting more and more guys balls that do the private inspections. im not sure if i can get a waiver or not for not having the emissions, but well see.

sorry for the hi jack
 
1 more area of improvement:
I feel that rear disks work better if you are backing down a hill - you know the situation where your front brakes lock up and you slide unable to steer unless you let off the brakes?? :blush: Seems to not be an issue any more now that I have disks in the rear. Think it has something to do with the pads being closer to the rotor than shoes are to a drum = more precise, refined system and better balanced....?
 
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with the backs locked you can still turn.
Click to expand...

If you steer any with the rears locked up you're gonna swap ends so fast it'll make your head spin. The most effective and safe braking is at the threshold of locking up, not fully locked up, and definitely not with only the rears locked up.

I found the big 13" one ton drum brakes were way too much brake for the rear of my K5 and would lock the rears up very easily...and way before I could get any serious braking done with the front brakes. Once I swapped to disc's I get almost perfectly balanced braking. The fronts will begin to lock a hair after the rears do in a panic stop. It's very easy to threshold brake now, which translates into a very effective and controlled stop when needed.

The weight savings is nice, but in all honesty makes zero difference in a 5800 lb truck. I like the better braking, simplicity of service and swapping pads ocassionally is much cheaper than shoes and all the other junk you have to do with drums.

Rene
 
If You Want Control Over Front And Rear Brakeing Power Install An Adjustable Proportioning Valve :)
 
1. no drums so less weight
2. no adjustments as pads not shoes
3. quick brake replacements
4. They look AWESOME!
Click to expand...

Added to it for ya'
 
I didn't care about any peformance benefits of rear disc, I was just sick and tired of having to tear the rear drums apart after every ride to clean and readjust them. Here in the midwest almost all of our trails require some mud and water which the drum brakes just can't handle. It wasn't unusualy for me on a particuliarly muddy trail to have basically no rear brakes by the end of the trail.
 
Ive never had any service issues with the drums I have (they were new when I got them...) so for me, the only real benefit is weight reduction. Ive never lifted one, but just looking at a ff14b drum I can tell they are heavy biatches.

j
 
wraenking said:
where do you go to get inspected. i had a "friend" do it this time, but he said he might not be able to do it with the lift in


and im not running emissions anymore?


just did the reard isc swap and love it. if your ever near belmar, let me know and you can swong by and check em out yourself
Click to expand...

Plane and simple.. my truck is 100% NJ Inspection passed via the state.. Winslow inspection in Ancora... the guy there is great.. I passed.. he didnt check my ebrake cable so makes me wonder if I needed the caddy calipers..

however I do have all the stuff to do it so I will be doing it... when it gets warmer again and on a saturday.... :cool1:
 
Silver84k5 said:
everytime you guys from new jersey post, it reminds me how good i have it...

all this inspection stuff must be a pain in the ass...
Click to expand...

personally pass inspection and get the paperwork and the cops leave you alone..
I went through a rolling inspection on the black horse pike through belmawr yesterday.... cop just looked at me and I gave the Jeep wave.. you know hand at the top of the wheel and just raise it like your waving.. :grin:

If they pull me over and harass me I can press charges.. the only thing they can get my truck for is that I took the rear a$$ flaps off... so that is a cheap ticket.. yeah NJ lift laws suck but being legal is nice...
 
wraenking said:
where do you go to get inspected. i had a "friend" do it this time, but he said he might not be able to do it with the lift in


and im not running emissions anymore?


just did the reard isc swap and love it. if your ever near belmar, let me know and you can swong by and check em out yourself
Click to expand...

Cool.. sounds good.. when the weather breaks yall wanna stop by here and assist me? will have beer.... ;)

also we can head out to atco and hit a few mudholes!!! like the one in my video of the jeep getting stuck in it!!!!:grin:
 
go on you know you want to . give in to the pure pressure . we all have done it . its good you wont want to go back, its not cool to go back.:grin: :D


1 of the best mods i did. and if ebrake is needed get driveline ebrake setup. i cant remember who has it. but some one will.
 
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