Brake Upgrades

[sam0822]

I just bought my first truck, 1998 GMC c1500. Brake pedal is really soft after changing fluid and replacing front pads and rebuilding the rear drums. Anybody know of kits that give it a little more stopping power that aren't crazy expensive?

 

[Frank Enstein]

Make sure the contact points where the shoes touch the backing plates are smooth and lubricated LIGHTLY with Brake lubricant.

Make sure the rear brakes are adjusted properly.

Make sure the brake pads are bedded in (worn in) per the manufacturers instructions (it seems that every brand is different).

Make sure the calipers are floating smoothly on their mounts by assembling the caliper to the steering knuckle with no pads.

If the calipers cannot be pushed in and out with one finger find out why and fix it.

Do the other things first and then maybe then spend money on the goodies.

I recommend Braided brake hoses, Earl's Solo-Bleed bleed screws, and Power Stop Z16 pads.

 

[df2x4]

If the pedal is super soft there's something going on, most likely air in the system somewhere. IMO the best thing that you can do to improve brake pedal feel in these trucks is to bleed the brakes properly (including the ABS module) with a bi-directional scan tool. The braided stainless soft lines seem to help a little as well.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Make sure the contact points where the shoes touch the backing plates are smooth and lubricated LIGHTLY with Brake lubricant.

Make sure the rear brakes are adjusted properly.

Make sure the brake pads are bedded in (worn in) per the manufacturers instructions (it seems that every brand is different).

Make sure the calipers are floating smoothly on their mounts by assembling the caliper to the steering knuckle with no pads.

If the calipers cannot be pushed in and out with one finger find out why and fix it.

Do the other things first and then maybe then spend money on the goodies.

I recommend Braided brake hoses, Earl's Solo-Bleed bleed screws, and Power Stop Z16 pads.

And that the caliper sliding surfaces are clean and lubed with brake lubricant. If not, they can stick and eat up the pads and eventually the rotors. But I agree with everyone else; if the pedal is soft, there's air somewhere it doesn't belong. Brake fluid does not compress, but air does.

 

[DonYukon]

I recommend Braided brake hoses, Earl's Solo-Bleed bleed screws, and Power Stop Z16 pads.

THIS THIS THIS. I chased a mushy pedal for weeks only to find out my worn out front lines were swelling too much once the fluid built up any sort of heat. I swapped to SS lines and haven't had a issue since

 

[GoToGuy]

When my parents bought the new truck she allways complained about the soft feeling pedal. Dealer said its fine. Few yesrs later there gone on vacation. I get the truck a gallon of new brake fluid and four new russel speed bleeders. I get my son to pump the brakes and really go through alot , a gallon or more. And guess what.. Alot of bubbles came out. And it had a much better feel to it. Firmer not the "is this really braking foot feel?". Who knows it stops so its good right? My idea was if i really overflush over bleed by moving alot of volume can I make any improvement? It worked. Your results may be different, the whole brake hydraulic system is all new fluid. Which will improve fluid and seal life. Reduced or zero moisture. Win win. Good luck.

 

[df2x4]

Once you're sure that everything is bled properly and you're running the braided stainless soft lines, if you still want to improve stopping power then look into a good set of pads and shoes. There's some good info on that subject in this thread:

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

Long story short, there's a two letter code stamped on every set of pads/shoes sold in the US which indicates their cold and hot coefficient of friction. Basically the higher the letter, the more aggressive the friction material, therefore the faster you'll stop. Raybestos and Powerstop both have good GG code options for front pads. The most aggressive rear shoe options I've found for the smaller 10" 10 bolt rear brakes are FF code.

Also some bonus info about performance brake fluid:

https://www.gmt400.com/threads/brake-fluid-recommendations.53269/

 

[red98]

Once you're sure that everything is bled properly and you're running the braided stainless soft lines, if you still want to improve stopping power then look into a good set of pads and shoes. There's some good info on that subject in this thread:

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

Long story short, there's a two letter code stamped on every set of pads/shoes sold in the US which indicates their cold and hot coefficient of friction. Basically the higher the letter, the more aggressive the friction material, therefore the faster you'll stop. Raybestos and Powerstop both have good GG code options for front pads. The most aggressive rear shoe options I've found for the smaller 10" 10 bolt rear brakes are FF code.

Also some bonus info about performance brake fluid:

https://www.gmt400.com/threads/brake-fluid-recommendations.53269/

Make sure you factor in your rotors when selecting upgraded pads, I've heard bad things about mixing pad/rotor material and quality, for instance if you have cheapo rotors and high end aggressive pads, your rotors will be chewed a lot quicker than usual (or vice versa), and other things of this nature that can sneak up on you when upgrading.
I think I've heard the high end pads on standard rotors is worse than high end rotors and standard pads, but I'm sure someone with more experience knows for sure.

If the it bites harder it will wear harder, harder bite typically trades off with more brake dust - and wearing down faster needing to be replaced more often.

(not saying don't upgrade, but do it right and know what you're trading off)

 

[Erik the Awful]

After years of crapcan racing and talking with the teams that run heavier vehicles (we have a lightweight E36 BMW with yuuuge brakes), I'm a fan of stock rotors and Raybestos Service-Grade ceramic pads. I autocross with them on my Mustang, and for a cheap pad, they're hard to beat. They also wear pretty long without tearing up the rotors unnecessarily. Your choices for shoes are a bit more limited.

More Information for RAYBESTOS SGD369C

 

[Reega]

What stainless lines are people running on K2500s. The Russel’s on my K1500 don’t share the interchange….it’s strange it looks like the rubber lines are the same part number