Replacing OEM rotors with PowerStop rotors?

[RLTW175]

I did a search for this topic (or just replacing the rotors in general) and found nothing on point. Its about time to replace my rear pads/rotors, and I'm looking at possibly replacing them with the PowerStop Z36 kit. My concern is that doing so will affect the electronic control of the braking function or the electronic parking brake. I'd like to get some marginal increase in stopping power but don't want to spend $4k on a big-brake kit

Anybody done something like this, or heard of anyone doing this on the Gen14 trucks?

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[Je1279]

Personally, I am not a fan of slotted and cross drilled rotors for anything other than track use. I would recommend sticking with the stock rotors or something similar and find some brake pads with a higher friction coefficient than the factory pads. Just make sure they will work well when cold, as well as hot. I am a fan of both Wagner OEx and PowerStop Z23 brake pads. I've never used the PowerStop Z36 pads, but they are likely good as well.

 

[RLTW175]

Solid intel. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[My 2ND Ford]

Slotted rotors are fine, but probably not needed. Cross drilled tend to crack . Yes to finding a better pad, also as Je1279 said, make sure the pads work when they are cold.

 

[My 2ND Ford]

Personally, I am not a fan of slotted and cross drilled rotors for anything other than track use. I would recommend sticking with the stock rotors or something similar and find some brake pads with a higher friction coefficient than the factory pads. Just make sure they will work well when cold, as well as hot. I am a fan of both Wagner OEx and PowerStop Z23 brake pads. I've never used the PowerStop Z36 pads but they are likely good as well.

I take it that you have also had pads that didn't work when cold and wet. I had factory pads, high performance Brembo, that when they were cold and wet, didn't stop worth a damn until they warmed up and squeezed the water off the rotors. The pucker factor was high for a few moments.

 

[Je1279]

I take it that you have also had pads that didn't work when cold and wet. I had factory pads, high performance Brembo, that when they were cold and wet, didn't stop worth a damn until they warmed up and squeezed the water off the rotors. The pucker factor was high for a few moments.

Yeah the high performance pads are great once you get heat into the them but they can be downright scary when you are first leaving the house on a cool damp morning. The same holds true for high performance tires.

 

[DT444T]

Slotted and cross drilled reduce one-time stopping performance. You are reducing the amount of contact area with the pads.

Where slotted and drilled rotors shine is repeated braking efforts, like at the track. Sure, you might give up a small amount of area, but they will cool better for the next turn's braking zone. And the loss of braking ability can be made up with more aggressive pads. But...

More aggressive pads wear out not only themselves but the rotors more quickly.

For road use, I would still with solid "blank" rotors. And personally, I would go OEM.

Also, how many miles do you have that you need new brakes already? I'm at 49,000 and mine are fine.

 

[My 2ND Ford]

Yeah the high performance pads are great once you get heat into the them but they can be downright scary when you are first leaving the house on a cool damp morning. The same holds true for high performance tires.

High perf tires and brakes, scary times on wet roads. Good thing I learned how to drive in the early 70's, with big block engines, rear wheel drive and bias ply tires.

 

[Eskram]

Back in my 'performance' days with my WRX, I went with Brembo blanks (or OEM) and good pads. As already noted, slotted/drilled rotors reduce mass and pad contact surface over solid discs - things you don't want when braking. More disc mass == better heat absorption/dissipation; more pad surface area == more friction to grab.

All the brakes in the world won't matter if you don't have tires that can effectively utilize the braking force until the tire reaches its limit. Tires matter more than brakes (to a point), IMO. Let's be honest, the tires we're all running aren't meant for performance, so there's only so much that can be gained by brake upgrades alone.

 

[redline]

I ran stoptech rotors and stoptech sport pads, good stopping power cold and great life overall, and improved perfromance when towing the trailer

 

[RLTW175]

Slotted and cross drilled reduce one-time stopping performance. You are reducing the amount of contact area with the pads.

Where slotted and drilled rotors shine is repeated braking efforts, like at the track. Sure, you might give up a small amount of area, but they will cool better for the next turn's braking zone. And the loss of braking ability can be made up with more aggressive pads. But...

More aggressive pads wear out not only themselves but the rotors more quickly.

For road use, I would still with solid "blank" rotors. And personally, I would go OEM.

Also, how many miles do you have that you need new brakes already? I'm at 49,000 and mine are fine.

Your last question is important. I have about 20k on the truck. I do a fair bit of towing, and most of my driving is in town with lots of stoplights and stop signs, speed limits lower than 55. I was pretty damned surprise to get two different recommendations for replacement rear brakes.

To be honest, the brakes in my truck have always felt a bit spongey. But more so the past month or so. Now I'm looking for a way to improve pedal feel and stopping power since, apparently, I need new rotors/pads.

 

[DT444T]

Your last question is important. I have about 20k on the truck. I do a fair bit of towing, and most of my driving is in town with lots of stoplights and stop signs, speed limits lower than 55. I was pretty damned surprise to get two different recommendations for replacement rear brakes.

To be honest, the brakes in my truck have always felt a bit spongey. But more so the past month or so. Now I'm looking for a way to improve pedal feel and stopping power since, apparently, I need new rotors/pads.

Yeah, I would say about 30% of my miles are while towing.

Ask 10 car guys about something and get 10 different responses.

Spongy brakes seems to be a pretty common complaint. I don't think they're anything special but the PowerBoost brakes are never going to have amazing feel with the regenerative braking. The Ranger 5G guys complain about the brakes but I thought they were ok.

If you can lock up your brakes, you are already at max stopping power. The limit, then, becomes traction (your tires).

 

[HammaMan]

No need to swap rotors, just change to a more aggressive pad. You will end up with more dust, but a rotor swap isn't needed. The factory brakes are more than enough however. Swap pads and follow the bedding procedure.

 

[Canadianeh!]

So has anyone ever installed theses power stops yet. I’m trying to see what people think about them. And how are they for rust

 

[amschind]

They work fine as of 10k miles.

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