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Best brake rotors for towing and mountain driving?

Big T

Big T

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Location
Fullerton, CA
I have Napa premium brake rotors on the '99 and they're warped (2nd time) from all the mountain driving I do. I'm looking for the best rotors for mountain driving and towing. Drilled? Slotted? Cryogenic? Willing to pay up to avoid warping.

I have about 35K miles on this set of brakes and CV axles. The CV axles are Dorman remans. The LF boots have only 4 ribs with a flat spot, while the RF boots have 6 ribs. The LF boots cracked in fairly short order and the outer is now leaking. The RF boots are fine. Rockauto had some new CV axles that were about $25 more than the Dorman remans a d we installed those on Colby's '94. They're nice. I'll replace the LF axle with one of those.

The brake pads are about 1/16" away from the feeler on the LF side. The RF brake pads have more meat on them. Always wondered what is causing the uneven wear, as there is no pulling to one side when braking. Should I consider replacing the calipers?

The brake backing plates have cancer from their prior life in Illinois. I have solid backing plates from the '94, but they're in place on the steering knuckle as we could never get those bearing bolts out. I'm going to soak those knuckles in a bucket of ATF for a week or so and then go at them with the impact wrench.

Fun stuff.

I got the 3rd row seat from the '95 wreck sold and the guy is coming back for the 2nd row seat. He's local and he's installing them in a beautifully restored 1969 Suburban. Colby wants the AC blower motor from the '95 as the one in the '94 is starting to make noise. So we're really down to harvesting the engine, Trans, transfer case, front differential and rear axle, then we tip that pig over onto a flatbed and haul it away for scrap. Never have found a buyer for the doors, even at $25 apiece.
 
Drilled rotors crack. Slotted is the way to go. I have used Cryogenic in the past and can't say I noted a difference, but, the set I used was trouble free.

Slotted or drilled will catch you off guard on a exit ramp as they cool down the brakes and rotors more than you expect. You enter the cold friction zone and have longer stopping distances with short drives depending on the pad. Otherwise they really get with it and stop when you need every bit of performance. 1/2 ton's with GM's undersized brake system I went from shot pads every 12K to every 17K with drilled or slotted rotors.

Depending on the exact wear difference I would replace both calipers. You will always have some difference. Usually, but, not always more wear on the passenger side closer to the dust from the edge of the road. You don't have dusty road edges in a city. I assume you already did the rear brakes and proportioning valve update? (As not doing the rear update will cause front brake issues.) My 1993 wears the driver side more even with rebuilt calipers.

You have to creep on those hot brakes after a hard stop. You will heat treat the red hot rotors if you leave the red hot pads over one area while the rest of the rotor cools. Move a couple feet forward every 10 seconds and leave room to do so when stopping. If you can see a pad outline of hardened metal in the rotor this is from a panic stop and sitting on hot rotors. It heat treats the rotor making the spot under the red hot pads very hard and wear proof. The rest of the rotor will wear or warp from this abuse. Turning cutters just bounce off these hard spots making turning a rotor like this a job that comes back in 3000 miles with pedal pulse from the 'high' hard spots. A hanging caliper will make sure you always have hot brakes.

I hate ceramic brake pads on this application - semi metallic is the way to go.
 
Yes, I've replaced the proportioning valve and installed the larger diameter rear brake pistons from the 1 ton dually.

Any brand to recommend on slotted rotors?

I'm using metallic pads. When I say uneven wear,
I'm comparing the two outside pads. The driver's side outside pad is more worn than the passenger side outside pad.
 
I'm also reading that slotted rotors wear out the pads sooner.

Are the slotteds really worth it? Will they prevent warping, or am I better of with high quality plain rotors? It so, which plain rotors?
 
I've got RAYBESTOS on mine and they seem to be holding up pretty good. And make sure and run a GOOD quality brake pad, those from AZ and ADVANCE tend to be garbage and chew up rotors for breakfast. RAYBESTOS also makes a set of rotors with a wave like slot pattern in them to help with gassing under hard braking.
 
The slots gave me 5K more miles on pads under extreme use. Aka undersized brakes on GM's 1/2 tons.

Warping is usually caused by getting the rotors and pads really hot, that the slots help keep cooler, and leaving the hot pads over a section of the rotor without creeping forward on the rotors. It is also caused by the rotors being too thin by wear or cheap design. China brands have been known to widen the cooling vanes and thin out the rotors to save on cast iron...

Slots were worth it on everything I put them on. :thumbsup:
 
THEFERMANATOR said:
I've got RAYBESTOS on mine and they seem to be holding up pretty good. And make sure and run a GOOD quality brake pad, those from AZ and ADVANCE tend to be garbage and chew up rotors for breakfast. RAYBESTOS also makes a set of rotors with a wave like slot pattern in them to help with gassing under hard braking.
Click to expand...

I installed the Raybestos pads you had recommended previously.

Are these the Raybestos rotors you speak of:

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=2768608&cc=1353406

I think I'll give them a try.
 
In the fleets, we had good numbers from factory pads, do they not hold up well under towing? My 01 burb gets good life from them. I don't tow much with it - car trailer and 2axle camper about 10 x a year total is all.
 
The top Raybestos metallic pads work well.

I did a test hard stopping at 15 mph. My ABS is not working. The right front wheel locks up, not the left. However the left side pads are worn the most. No pull in the steering. I'm going to get new calipers. Which are stock type are the best?
 
Will L. said:
In the fleets, we had good numbers from factory pads, do they not hold up well under towing? My 01 burb gets good life from them. I don't tow much with it - car trailer and 2axle camper about 10 x a year total is all.
Click to expand...

The '01 Burb has the GMT-800 truck style dual piston calipers with larger pads. Those pads last at least 100K and I've heard of numerous instances of over 200K and one that went 300K miles. I would like to convert my Burb to those later style brakes, but have been too busy with other projects. I need a quick, but good stock fix for now as I'm using the Burb for hauling stuff up to our remodel project at Big Bear Lake. That's a 7,000' climb, so my truck gets a regular work out. Hoping to finish the remodel by the end of the year.
 
Alittle highjack FWIW, I did the newer 99-?? Dual front piston caliper convertion on my Suburban, but in a 6 lug. I like the wheel choices and bigger brakes too. Its 2wd.
Another member here did his 4x4. He had to get a special reamer for the spindle IIRC.
 
Burning oil said:
Alittle highjack FWIW, I did the newer 99-?? Dual front piston caliper convertion on my Suburban, but in a 6 lug. I like the wheel choices and bigger brakes too. Its 2wd.
Another member here did his 4x4. He had to get a special reamer for the spindle IIRC.
Click to expand...

Longer term, the 4x4 mod using the reamer is the direction I will go.
 
"I have about 35K miles on this set of brakes and CV axles." :hypnotized:

Ok I missed that. 35K is really good life out of 1990's GM stuff. I get less than 20K out of the front pads on the 3/4 and spit pads off the backing plate...

So the rotors should last longer. But with that life maybe the cryo rotors is the way to go with optional slotting. IMO rotors are a throw way item even with the pound out the lug nut difficulty in swapping them. The rotor set that was trashed by the bad pad had 50K on them and were fine otherwise.

Your ABS test is saying either one caliper is sticking on or the other is refusing to release. I would replace the front brake hoses if you haven't already. Check the brake line for any dents or crushing. Both calipers also need to be swapped out with the best you can get. I have had the pads taper wear from a bent rebuilt caliper... Don't overlook the bolts and sliders on the bolts. Mismatched bolts can change the friction from side to side. Last, the caliper can hang up where it slides on the ends in the spindle.
 
"Your ABS test is saying either one caliper is sticking on or the other is refusing to release. I would replace the front brake hoses if you haven't already. Check the brake line for any dents or crushing. Both calipers also need to be swapped out with the best you can get. I have had the pads taper wear from a bent rebuilt caliper... Don't overlook the bolts and sliders on the bolts. Mismatched bolts can change the friction from side to side. Last, the caliper can hang up where it slides on the ends in the spindle."

The ABS is not working. Light is on in the dash. Been this way for awhile. When I last had the code pulled it said open circuit on RF wheel sensor. I've replaced the sensor 2x, including new bearing. I've tried the harness from the '95. Nothing has worked. Periodically, I will get a drive where the ABS works.

Brake lines are braided stainless, about 2 years old. All hard lines are stainless, same age.

I think the sliders are sticky on the LF caliper. I'm going to replace both calipers. New advanced technology semi metallic Raybestos pads, New Raybestos slotted rotors, new CV axle for LF.
 
I assume it is the city driving that chews up brakes? nearly all my trucks are on original brakes. I am not very picky on performance, but they do seem to do just fine.
 
GM Guy said:
I assume it is the city driving that chews up brakes? nearly all my trucks are on original brakes. I am not very picky on performance, but they do seem to do just fine.
Click to expand...
also driving habits, if your the kind of person that zooms up to a stop sign and then jams on the brakes you will eat them up a lot faster then someone who coasts down a lil before applying the brakes
 
GM Guy said:
I assume it is the city driving that chews up brakes? nearly all my trucks are on original brakes. I am not very picky on performance, but they do seem to do just fine.
Click to expand...

I don't know about heavy towing or all hiway miles,thats why I asked about factory stuff. We ran boat loads of miles in city driving low load trucks ( those 200,000+ mile per year trucks) and had best numbers with factory pads, hands down. Of coarse there was freeway driving like maybe 40 miles from yard or shop to beginning of their route.

To get better life out of rotors we had to go to slotted & cross drilled ones that were 3 -4 times the cost. We had multiple trucks that ran identical routes 24/7-365. If weight is the issue I have to say ok, I have nothing to base an opinion on. but for dd pickup not loaded heavy I always recommend factory.

I wish I had input for Big T , but my experience is opposite of what he is asking. Well, mountain driving was involved a bit , but not heavy towing.
 
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