2wd brake upgrade write up

[fastfreddys454ss]

New to the forum. Saw that there was someone who started a write up on brake upgrades, but they abandon the write up. I noticed there was a lot of interest. Let face it because of the virus, I have a lot more time on my hands. Although I own a 454 ss this should apply to any of theses trucks. Some upgrades may very depending on options and years. Some may not agree with what I have done. This is based on my years experience. Some may already know this, but other are new to these trucks and need information. I will start out for people with very small budgets and gradually increase from there.

 

[fastfreddys454ss]

First off most of these trucks have crap for brakes. It takes a lot more effort to stop them then it should. The first thing i did was remove the rear abs. I won’t get into the in and outs of that now. There are a few good write ups on how to accomplish that on this forum.Right then and there my brakes stop better. If your are not comfortable with removing the abs. It’s not necessary. I got these pics off hefftones write up on this forum.

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[fastfreddys454ss]

I upgraded my front pad to ceramic for about $30 and put on new rear drum brake shoes on for about $20. That seemed to help a lot and increase my braking ability even more. At this point it’s a good idea while replacing pads and shoes to turn the surfaces of your disc brake rotors and or drums to make sure the surfaces are smooth, true and clean. If you have groves in them it is necessary. It cost me more money but i decided get new rotors for $80 each and drums for $40 each.

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[fastfreddys454ss]

The next thing I did was upgrade to drilled slotted front rotors. I got mine off eBay for $100 a pair. I have ordered several different brands and have had luck with all of them. If you go to autozone or summit racing they are about $100 to $150 a side.I noticed even more stopping power.

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[fastfreddys454ss]

The next thing I did was replace the rear brake cylinders for $25 each and front calipers for $25 each and notice more stopping power. At this point I bought me spring and hardware to replace the old ones in my drums for about $10 a side. Because of the age of my truck one of my front calipers started to stick and my rear brake cylinders were a little damp. I painted my calipers red but if you want them powder coated red power stop has them for $100 a pair on Amazon’s.

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[fastfreddys454ss]

For even more noticeable stopping power. I upgraded to ebc brake pads. For $100 a set. I started with red stuff but didn’t like them,so I went with ebc yellow stuff pads. Don’t forget these brakes pads and the ceramic one I bought earlier need a short break in period. It pretty simple.I just drive my truck to 40 mph then hit the brakes and get down a slow roll, but not stop about 10 to 15 times. They will stink and possibly smoke a bit. Then I park it for about a couple hours. For next few days they will still smell hot while driving around

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[fastfreddys454ss]

I suppose I could have just done the drilled slotted rotors/yellow stuff brakes, new drums/shoes, new calipers/wheel cylinders and saved a bunch of money. But I did this over a period of a year. After this I still wasn’t happy. I have more upgrades done and the write ups are coming up

 

[df2x4]

A quick note in regards to the EBC pads... The Yellowstuff pads that fit these trucks are an EE DOT code, meaning that the pad material is not particularly aggressive. If you really want more stopping power you'd be better off with Raybestos Element3 EHT369H pads, they're a GG code. (And much cheaper than the EBCs) Picture proof and more info on DOT codes in here:

https://www.gmt400.com/threads/ebc-yellowstuff-brake-pads-worth-it.47903/

 

[Supercharged111]

You could have just hydroboosted garbage pads/shoes and called it a day.

 

[fastfreddys454ss]

Those Raybestos EHT369H brake pads sound good. my fear is they may be a little aggressive for drilled slotted rotors. I have always had luck with yellow stuff ebc pads. There the most aggressive with lowest brake dust and noise I’ve tried.With no wear on the rotors. I don’t want to wear out my new rotors. It always seems like more aggressive the pad the more wear you get on the rotors. Price is sure better.