Upgrading my brakes

[Jewel or Jalopy]

Let me see if I can cover the questions that have come up so far. Ok, to start with, as I have stated before in several threads. Putting new rotors and pads on is only PART of the required service. To get the most benefit out of your hard parts you MUST, let me repeat, you MUST: clean and grease your caliper guide pins VERY well; you MUST use new hardware (I don't sell many Hawk pads at all so I was unaware that they did not come with the hardware); you MUST seat them in properly. The parts come with piece of paper in the package explaining how to do this, but if you have a shop perform the installation, this step may get skipped without your knowledge; you NEED to grease the back side of the pads, while it may seem like overkill, this is another vital part of avoiding squealing/squeaking; and for those trucks that are quipped with hydroboost, I HIGHLY recommend also FULLY flushing the power steering AND brake fluids. This is also a VITAL part of the installation of new hard parts, without this step, the calipers themselves will not provide the proper clamping pressure to function at 100%.

The Posiquiet pads are a full ceramic formula that are "Pre-scortched" to eliminate the need for an actual "break in period", but they do still need to be properly seated to the rotors. With proper installation and a full service of EVERYTHING in the braking system, I have yet to have anyone complain of squealing. In every single case of squealing complaints, there were steps in the servicing that were skipped, whether in the interest of saving time or money or whatever the case may be, there has always been something that wasn't done. If you have installed or had installed new parts of ANY brand and have missed ANY of these steps, you NEED to go back through the installation process to ensure that you do them ALL. This is necessary not only to avoid squealing, but also to ensure the longest possible longevity of the parts as well.

As for the parts for the 6.2L Denali, ALL 07+ models use the same brake parts. Anyone wanting brake parts for their 07+ model Tahoes, Yukons, etc should look the parts up as if looking for an 07 model. This is the only model year that the R1Concepts catalog shows all the available parts for. Anyone who cannot find what they are looking for should contact me directly so that I can help you find what you need. This way I can get you taken care of without questions as to whether the part #'s are correct.

Also, for those that have ordered the Eline series rotors, but are looking for the black "look". Painting will help, but you need to make sure to use high temp paint. But for those that want that "look", their Premium rotors are not only a higher quality rotor, they are also coated with a military grade electrocoating for corrosion protection.

As for the stickers, anyone who would like to have an R1Concepts decal can message me and I will get one to you. I have been after R1Concepts about including a decal in with every order, but they have not yet come around to my way of thinking. I mean, it is afterall, free advertising...lol

ALL of that being said, we are actually providing another 20% off discount for those that have been waiting for one. Now thru July 31st, anyone ordering through me or through the catalog can use PROMO CODE AC2013 to receive the 20% off discount. Additionally, I am ALWAYS available for questions, concerns, complaints or anything else for that matter. That is what I am here for and I am MORE than happy to help with anything anyone needs at all.

Kelly,

Can you recommend a pad compound for someone who tows occasionally? I don't want to give up cold stopping bite, but want to make sure that coming down a mountain with our trailer (which does have brakes) that we don't experience fade.

Would the Pos-Quiet semi-mettalic be a better choice? And will it have reduced capabilities cold?

Thanks,
Ian

 

[Freedom Motorsports]

Actually, I have run the full ceramics on my 03 Dmax for over four years now. The first two of which were my last two years of hauling Christmas trees out of Sparta NC on highways 21S and 18S. My "Average" load total gross weight (truck, trailer and load combined) weighed in around 35K lbs. Those two highways are also both 6-9% down hill grades, 21 is about 5 miles and 18 is about 15 miles of bad corners and switch backs on a two lane road. In the years before installing the Premium rotors and posi ceramic pads, the pads and rotors would be metal to metal. But not only did the posi's eliminate the fade that I had with the stock brakes, the original stuff I put on four years or so ago are STILL on the truck today with well over 50% of the pads left.

In a nutshell, I truly believe they will perform VERY well with anything you could possibly haul behind your Tahoe. Without any fade or issues of any kind. It is because of my personal experience with using those pads on everything I own that I recommend them so highly. I have NEVER had ANY issues out of them at all. I have also never had complaints from ANYONE that performed a complete and proper brake system service during the installation of the new parts.

Below is a pic of one of my largest loads, this load weighed in at around 34K lbs TGCVW. The truck and trailer together weigh in at 14,440K lbs empty.

 

[Jewel or Jalopy]

I've also read great things about the Centric Fleet Performance pad. Would love to hear your opinion on the difference in noise/dust and fade between the two.

Either way I need to get home and see how my rotors look and then I'll be calling. Thanks!

 

[Freedom Motorsports]

I honestly can't provide any real dependable data for comparison between the two. I have heard good things about the Centric pads and while I have not sold many sets of them, I have also never really heard anything bad about them at all.

However, R1Concepts prides themselves on the quality of all the parts they sell. I highly doubt that anyone would have issues, problems or otherwise with the Posi's, Centric, Hawk or any other parts they offer.

 

[08grey]

I recently installed the hawks on my fronts,with prem card/slot. During the seating procedure I really heated up those rotors and fluid smokin hot and they still stopped well. On my old ss a rough break in like that would have left me with no breaks and would have had to give the truck a rest on oem pads.

Absolutely no noise at all from them not a peep.
I have the posi quiet arriving on Monday for the rears. I will advise on those when I get them installed.

 

[TheFuzz]

I have had some high pitched squealing going on with mine during partial (light pedal) braking, but admittedly I didn't have time (or the open runout space needed) to bed them in properly. I only made one 65 pass, one 55 pass and two 45mph passes. Tonight on my lunch break I really romped on them, made several more 65>10, 55>10 and 45>10 passes. One thing I'll say is that these pads and rotors are a wicked combo - they had NO problem bleeding off speed with my 285-70-17 NTG's installed, I damn near locked them up at 60mph. I actually had to back off the pedal for fear of flat-spotting my brand new tires! Wow.

Truck is cooling in the parking lot now, off work in about 90 minutes. I'm hoping the run tonight solves the issue. My own fault for not doing it enough to begin with.

 

[TheFuzz]

Well, the squealing subsided for about a day, then came back. Guess I'll have to live with it or buy new pads again.

 

[08grey]

I have the blue hawk pads. So far no noise with the r1s

 

[Freedom Motorsports]

Well, the squealing subsided for about a day, then came back. Guess I'll have to live with it or buy new pads again.

I talked to R1Concepts yesterday about this and was told that if the proper "seating procedure" wasn't followed at the time of installation, leading to possible noise, that if you provide a break in period of between 4-800 miles, the noise would subside once the pads were indeed finally seated in properly to the rotors.

I must stress again, proper attention to detail during installation of new brake parts, regardless of brand, will lead to a better overall experience with those parts. New parts installed without following a full and complete brake system service can lead to issues that may at times make it seem as if the new parts themselves are not all that they were promised to be. With that said, in the past 5-6 years that I have been selling these same packages, for Tahoes, Yukons, 3/4 & 1 ton diesel trucks and even class 8 trucks; I have never once had a customer have issues with the parts not performing as promised when a proper brake system service was completed during installation.

 

[08grey]

So I got the rear eline rotors yest. Definitely a noticeable quality difference between the premium and eline.

 

[Freedom Motorsports]

So I got the rear eline rotors yest. Definitely a noticeable quality difference between the premium and eline.

There is no doubt, the Eline series rotors are not as high a quality rotor as the Premiums. The Premiums are cast from a higher grade iron (G3500 vs G3000), coated with a military grade electrocoat corrosion protective coating, are "double drilled", meaning that they have actually two rows of drilled holes between the slots instead of one row like the Eline's.

However, I will also say that I have actually tested the Eline's on my wife's 04 Denali with great results. I installed them on the Denali to test how they would work on our larger vehicles. They have been on the truck for about 18 months and around 17K miles and not only do the hubs still look good, the pads still have about 90% of the pad left. Brake fade was eliminated after the installation and has actually saved the wife a couple of times in tight spots. One in particular was when coming home from work one day in a hurry, she came around a blind curve and met a police check point and had to slam on the brakes hard to get stopped. I have am actually thankful I installed them because she barely got stopped without running through them, so if I hadn't installed them, she may have wound up in ALL KINDS of trouble. It was actually a good thing that she/we grew up with most of the cops because they jokingly told her to slow it down a bit and let her go on. But can you imagine if she had experienced the same brake fade as in the past? Yeah, it could have turned bad in a hurry.

My recommendation stands as this. If you are one that uses your Tahoe/Yukon for every day driving, never really hauling anything at all. The Eline series rotors would be just fine on your truck. If you however, are one that pulls boats, campers or whatever. You may want to choose the Premiums just because of the better cooling from the increase in drilled holes while also resisting warping better due to the higher grade iron. We don't haul or pull anything at all behind the Denali because I have other trucks for that, so in regular daily driving the Eline series have been GREAT rotors.

Let me say something else about the PosiQuiet pads. Although they are a low dust formula that hasn't dusted the rims hardly at all on my other vehicles; my 05 Silverado has the Eline rotors and Posi's on the front and drum brakes on the rear. Having the drum brakes on the rear has made a difference in dusting. The front pads, while not a ridiculous amount, have caused a little more dusting on the rims than on any other vehicle we have. So if you have drum brakes, you may see some dusting from the pads. I just wanted to put that out there.

 

[TheFuzz]

I talked to R1Concepts yesterday about this and was told that if the proper "seating procedur't followed at the time of installation, leading to possible noise, that if you provide a break in period of between 4-800 miles, the noise would subside once the pads were indeed finally seated in properly to the rotors.

I must stress again, proper attention to detail during installation of new brake parts, regardless of brand, will lead to a better overall experience with those parts. New parts installed without following a full and complete brake system service can lead to issues that may at times make it seem as if the new parts themselves are not all that they were promised to be. With that said, in the past 5-6 years that I have been selling these same packages, for Tahoes, Yukons, 3/4 & 1 ton diesel trucks and even class 8 trucks; I have never once had a customer have issues with the parts not performing as promised when a proper brake system service was completed during installation.

Thanks for the followup, Chris. I did seat them REALLY hard the other night, so I can't imagine the pads needing anything further as far as that goes, but if its actual break-in time they need that's fine.

Overall I am very happy with the eline setup for the money, night and day performance difference over stock. I also very much appreciate the level of CS I've gotten from you so far. Thanks again!

 

[akbrener]

So these rotors really just help dissapate heat, the pad is the real hero when stopping right?

Wouldnt holes and slots actually give the pad less surface area to grab and stop?

 

[08grey]

Holes and slots actually add resistance and add some bite. Pm ckkelly he is the man for r1 parts. I am happy with them on my denali.

 

[Freedom Motorsports]

So these rotors really just help dissapate heat, the pad is the real hero when stopping right?

Wouldnt holes and slots actually give the pad less surface area to grab and stop?

The holes themselves help with dispersing heat while the slots help improve pad bite and also keep the pads clean and help eliminate pad and rotor "glazing". The R1Concepts diamond slot design (how they actually cut the slots/grooves) help to do this in such a way that actually helps to also extend the life of the pads.

Installing ceramic pads on stock oem rotors or blank rotors, while being an improvement over regular oem or "lifetime" pads, will not net the same benefits as installing them with upgraded rotors as well.

 

[jonfo]

I installed my R1 Concepts rotors and pads on front and rear. The rear pads had a lot of life left on them, but the right rear inside pad was completely gone. I had always noticed a smell coming from the right rear when I would get out after driving for a while. I am wondering if cleaning and installing new pads and clips will fix this problem, or if I have to rebuild the right rear caliper?

Also, I was given 4 rear lines, and I only see two to replace. I attached a picture if you can let me know if this is actually the correct part that was shipped.

Thanks!

 

[JeRM number 9]

I installed my R1 Concepts rotors and pads on front and rear. The rear pads had a lot of life left on them, but the right rear inside pad was completely gone. I had always noticed a smell coming from the right rear when I would get out after driving for a while. I am wondering if cleaning and installing new pads and clips will fix this problem, or if I have to rebuild the right rear caliper?

Also, I was given 4 rear lines, and I only see two to replace. I attached a picture if you can let me know if this is actually the correct part that was shipped.

Thanks!

I had read through this thread bc my brakes were squeaking and I was considering upgrading. I decided to inspect what I had first. I don't need to replace anything, just clean and grease and we are all set no more squeak. But any way I had noticed 2 soft lines above the rear diff and had wondered if they were included in the pkg in this thread. Glad to hear they are. I may eventually splurge and get em.
If you take off the wheels you will see the soft lines at the caliper follow the steel line to around the diff and you will see the others.

---------- Post added at 10:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:02 PM ----------

Jonfo, if it is just 1 pad that has excessive wear, remove and grease your caliper guide pins that will probably take care of your wear problem. If your investing in premium pads, rotors and lines you should be doing that to all 4 calipers anyway.

 

[Freedom Motorsports]

I installed my R1 Concepts rotors and pads on front and rear. The rear pads had a lot of life left on them, but the right rear inside pad was completely gone. I had always noticed a smell coming from the right rear when I would get out after driving for a while. I am wondering if cleaning and installing new pads and clips will fix this problem, or if I have to rebuild the right rear caliper?

Also, I was given 4 rear lines, and I only see two to replace. I attached a picture if you can let me know if this is actually the correct part that was shipped.

Thanks!

Sorry I missed answering this until now. Yes, you should have four lines for the rear. Two lines for the calipers and two lines for over the differential. Exactly as stated above, he hit the nail on the head for the lines and for the one pad with excessive wear. Servicing the calipers can help that and should be done whether you are trying to keep using the old pads or replacing them with new pads.

 

[Danzigman]

Which direction should you install the slots on the rotors?

 

[Freedom Motorsports]

Which direction should you install the slots on the rotors?

Either way will work, but I have found and heard that installing them so that the slots are like this / toward the front of the truck. Some have seen better longevity out of the pads with them in that direction. The key thing to keep in mind is to make sure to perform a proper complete brake system service and then properly maintain the fluids often and you should be good to go with them installed either way. I have them installed both ways on my vehicles to test this theory, but they are all wearing so well that it is taking a long time to complete that testing.