page305 Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 If my pads seem to be lasting too long, is there a chance I'm missing out on stopping power? Maybe calipers not set right? I know that sounds like a complaint of "the gold's too heavy", but I'd rather change them more often and stop better. I'm dumb as a brick when it comes to brakes so any info or opinion would be great... How many miles do you get from a set on your SS? How would you rank your stopping power? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F1SSS Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Mine are at 64k, still work but need to be replaced asap. I do not drive hard and give plenty of room (3-4 lengths) to the car in front of me. My rears have worn out quicker than my fronts. Truck is not on the road so I cannot give a stopping power rating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 I just think with your driving style you do not employ your brakes as much as the rest of us. But I can promise you the factory brakes will let you down, they are not at all what I would call 'performance' brakes. Mr. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black2003SS Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Rears frequently wear out faster than fronts on our trucks. How many miles are on the stock setup? Have you had the rears looked at recently? My stock rotors started rotting from rust from the michigan winters before the pads wore out so they got replaced. If you have less than 60-70k miles and dont drive in salt/snow often, you could still be ok. Also if you dont do any towing. Towing takes it toll much faster on brakes as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman31 Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 There have been several people here as of lately reporting over 100k on the original brakes. Once brakes get this old, you can plan on replacing the rotors as well...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
page305 Posted July 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Bought it at 31K.... just turned 107K (changed the pads at about 105K)... so AT LEAST 76K miles on one set.... I'm not sure when the last time they were changed (if ever) before I bought the truck from the dealership. Okay, must be paranoid... For some reason I thought they'd only last about 30K miles... guess it's okay. I do a lot of highway driving too... makes sense. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billybeer Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 There have been several people here as of lately reporting over 100k on the original brakes. Once brakes get this old, you can plan on replacing the rotors as well...... I was one of those but it must have jinxed myself. I had my driver front caliper fail the other day. The seal failed letting loose when I was braking causing me to swerve into a yard under hard braking, I pulled all the pads and the caliper that failed for rebuilding and bought new pads and ordered a re-build kit. I'm just trying to patch it until the new ZO6 brake brackets are up for sale, but I measured the old pads and there was about 1/4 " left and the new ones have about 9/16". So they still had alittle more than 1/2 material and about 1/8" till it hit the indicator. Fireman, You are right about the rotors, they are shredded. There is about 1/16" to 1/8 grove on both sided from the sweep of the pad to where it has not touched. 1/8 inch would more than probably put it out of spec for re-surfacing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman31 Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Fireman, You are right about the rotors, they are shredded. There is about 1/16" to 1/8 grove on both sided from the sweep of the pad to where it has not touched. 1/8 inch would more than probably put it out of spec for re-surfacing them. It really isn't even an issue of the rotors being scored from years of use, it is an issue of rotor rot.....trucks with original rotors from '03 and '04 are pretty much guaranteed to have rotor rot, not only because of age but also because GM put crap rotors on these trucks..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaymz Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 just change them quick, they're really cheap and easy to do Prevent rotor/drum/caliper issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadillacbob Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 EVERYONE in this post is right! I can relate and totally agree with all of the replies... I am going to 14" rotors and braided lines next pad change (soon)... I figured it is the best bang for the buck... Our brakes are borderline pathetic...put a 2,000 or 3,000 trailer behind our trucks then get ready to pray the rosary if you need to stop on a dime... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackout03 Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Speaking of Rotor Rot... sheesh fireman you ain't kiddin'.. Just completed full around brake job. My previous brakes where apparently garbage. The rear rotors exhibited a lot of rot and the semi-met pads were extremely glazed. The whole rear end backer plates where so rotted they flaked and were falling apart! Only did I realize you need to pull the rear hubs to remove the backer plates did I swear and throw tools all over.. Cut them off with a sawzall and tin snips.. I live in the north east (mass) and do a lot of driving on 87N and all though the New York Adirondacks and north country (near st. lawrence seaway).. All that salt from winter driving maybe rotted my brakes and plates out quick! Anyone else have this trouble? Does anyone know if backer plates are really required?? I would imagine most remove them to fit big brake kits in the rear? Rotors: Centric Cryo Stop http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brakes.jsp?...&perfCode=S Pads: Adaptive One Ceramics w/Nulok from NAPA http://www.adaptiveone.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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