- Staff
- #1
I know many out there are less than thrilled with the performance of there stock brakes, so I figured I would do this thread to post up what stock parts can be easily swapped in to improve the braking performance of our trucks.
First things first, make sure your brake system is up to par, meaning you have done all of the TSB's and such(rear brake linings if you have the big drum brakes, and roportioning valve if you have a SUBURBAN). Making sure you have the core braking system up to par is crucial for ANY of it to work. Next I like stainless braided brake lines as they take away all that sponginess to the pedal. And at teh age of our trucks, the rubber lines are for the most part getting past time to replace just due to age.
I'm going to start with the rear brakes. I know many want disc brakes, but if you're on a budget you do still have options for many of us if you have a 14 bolt axle. The 9.5" semi float and 10.5" full float both share wheel cylinders. The 9.5" semi float rear axle for the most part got 1" wheel cylinders(RAYBESTOS #WC37781). The 10.5" full float axle if it was single rear wheel got 1 1/16" wheel cylinders(RAYBESTOS #WC37290), and dual rear wheeled trucks got 1 3/16" wheel cylinders(RAYBESTOS #WC37337). So if you have a single rear wheeled truck, you can for very little money swap in a set of 1 3/16" wheel cylinders from out of a dual rear wheeled truck and get a noticeable increase in rear braking. As to linings, the TSB from GM calls for the switch to the DURASTOP rear shoes if you have the 13X3.5" shoes(AC #17452R, but should be the same as RAYBESTOS #452PG). Also for many with 2.5" wide shoes, check your drums as many have found they had the 3.5" wide drums with 2.5" wide shoes. Sorry guys with 6 lug trucks and the 10 bolt axle, I'm unaware of any brake upgrades for them.
Now on to the front brakes. This info all pertains to 4x4 trucks, sorry 2 wheel drives, GM didn't make things simple for them. 6 lug trucks used a 2.94" diameter piston in the front calipers, 8 lug single rear wheeled trucks used a 3.15" diamter piston, and dual rear wheeled trucks used a 3.285" diamter piston. For those with 6 lug wheels, you DO have an easy to swap in factory brake upgrade in the 8 lug single rear wheeled pads and calipers. GM offerred these from the factory on TAHOES sold for police and fire department use, and will work with your stock rotors. Also of note is that the 8600 GVWR 8 lug calipers actually provide more clamping force than the SSBC dual piston calipers at a fraction of the cost. And since it was a factory option, it all just bolts on, and is available at most any auto parts store for cheap. Next up is those of us with 8 lug trucks and single rear wheels. As many of us know the rotors go behind the hub bearing, so they are not fun to change, and the factory rotors tend to warp easily if you actually use your truck and get the brakes hot. But were in luck, the 3500 dual rear wheeled trucks use very similiar brakes, but the rotors are roughly a 1/4" thicker, the pads are nearly identical except for thicker backing plates, and again, it all just bolts on. So you can easily and cheaply upgrade the brakes as well on 8 lug single rear wheeled trucks(but you MUST use ALL the DRW brake parts to do so. The calipers are roughly a 1/4" wider where they sit down over the rotor to accomodate the thicker rotor). If you have a dually though, you already have the biggest brakes available from the factory.
And to those doing the GMT-800 front brake upgrade, the 3.285" single piston caliper actually provides MORE clamping force than the dual 2.25" diamter pistons of the newer calipers, BUT they win out because of the greatly increased friction area of the MUCH larger pads. Now on to some pics I took.
DRW on the left, and SRW on the right, you can clearly see theres ALOT more meat i nthe DRW rotors but they are the same exact height.
DRW on the left, and SRW on the right
Heres a side by side pic of the 3 different pads. On the left is the 6 lug pads, middle is 8 lug SRW, and on the right is DRW pads.
Also, if you happen to have an older 94-99 DODGE 2500/3500, alot of this info applies to you as well. DODGE bought there brakes from GM back in the early days, so alot of our stuff directly bolts onto theres. They used a 7500 GVWR though for the 3.15" calipers, and went to the 3.285" calipers for anything over that. BUT DODGE never used bigger than a 1 1/16" rear wheel cylinder, so the GM 1 3/16" is a popular bolt in upgrade for them.
Leaving this one open for now, but please lets keep it to technical info and responses since it is a sticky. And if anybody sees a mistake, please point it out so we can keep this info as correct as possible.
First things first, make sure your brake system is up to par, meaning you have done all of the TSB's and such(rear brake linings if you have the big drum brakes, and roportioning valve if you have a SUBURBAN). Making sure you have the core braking system up to par is crucial for ANY of it to work. Next I like stainless braided brake lines as they take away all that sponginess to the pedal. And at teh age of our trucks, the rubber lines are for the most part getting past time to replace just due to age.
I'm going to start with the rear brakes. I know many want disc brakes, but if you're on a budget you do still have options for many of us if you have a 14 bolt axle. The 9.5" semi float and 10.5" full float both share wheel cylinders. The 9.5" semi float rear axle for the most part got 1" wheel cylinders(RAYBESTOS #WC37781). The 10.5" full float axle if it was single rear wheel got 1 1/16" wheel cylinders(RAYBESTOS #WC37290), and dual rear wheeled trucks got 1 3/16" wheel cylinders(RAYBESTOS #WC37337). So if you have a single rear wheeled truck, you can for very little money swap in a set of 1 3/16" wheel cylinders from out of a dual rear wheeled truck and get a noticeable increase in rear braking. As to linings, the TSB from GM calls for the switch to the DURASTOP rear shoes if you have the 13X3.5" shoes(AC #17452R, but should be the same as RAYBESTOS #452PG). Also for many with 2.5" wide shoes, check your drums as many have found they had the 3.5" wide drums with 2.5" wide shoes. Sorry guys with 6 lug trucks and the 10 bolt axle, I'm unaware of any brake upgrades for them.
Now on to the front brakes. This info all pertains to 4x4 trucks, sorry 2 wheel drives, GM didn't make things simple for them. 6 lug trucks used a 2.94" diameter piston in the front calipers, 8 lug single rear wheeled trucks used a 3.15" diamter piston, and dual rear wheeled trucks used a 3.285" diamter piston. For those with 6 lug wheels, you DO have an easy to swap in factory brake upgrade in the 8 lug single rear wheeled pads and calipers. GM offerred these from the factory on TAHOES sold for police and fire department use, and will work with your stock rotors. Also of note is that the 8600 GVWR 8 lug calipers actually provide more clamping force than the SSBC dual piston calipers at a fraction of the cost. And since it was a factory option, it all just bolts on, and is available at most any auto parts store for cheap. Next up is those of us with 8 lug trucks and single rear wheels. As many of us know the rotors go behind the hub bearing, so they are not fun to change, and the factory rotors tend to warp easily if you actually use your truck and get the brakes hot. But were in luck, the 3500 dual rear wheeled trucks use very similiar brakes, but the rotors are roughly a 1/4" thicker, the pads are nearly identical except for thicker backing plates, and again, it all just bolts on. So you can easily and cheaply upgrade the brakes as well on 8 lug single rear wheeled trucks(but you MUST use ALL the DRW brake parts to do so. The calipers are roughly a 1/4" wider where they sit down over the rotor to accomodate the thicker rotor). If you have a dually though, you already have the biggest brakes available from the factory.
And to those doing the GMT-800 front brake upgrade, the 3.285" single piston caliper actually provides MORE clamping force than the dual 2.25" diamter pistons of the newer calipers, BUT they win out because of the greatly increased friction area of the MUCH larger pads. Now on to some pics I took.
DRW on the left, and SRW on the right, you can clearly see theres ALOT more meat i nthe DRW rotors but they are the same exact height.
DRW on the left, and SRW on the rightHeres a side by side pic of the 3 different pads. On the left is the 6 lug pads, middle is 8 lug SRW, and on the right is DRW pads.Also, if you happen to have an older 94-99 DODGE 2500/3500, alot of this info applies to you as well. DODGE bought there brakes from GM back in the early days, so alot of our stuff directly bolts onto theres. They used a 7500 GVWR though for the 3.15" calipers, and went to the 3.285" calipers for anything over that. BUT DODGE never used bigger than a 1 1/16" rear wheel cylinder, so the GM 1 3/16" is a popular bolt in upgrade for them.
Leaving this one open for now, but please lets keep it to technical info and responses since it is a sticky. And if anybody sees a mistake, please point it out so we can keep this info as correct as possible.
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