Once again lets talk about some performance issues with the stock configuration of your truck. This time lets examine the braking system.
Back to the cows in the road scenario. This time lets say you round that turn and the cows cover both lanes and your forced to slam on your brakes to avoid running into them. This is where a brake upgrade could save your life because we all know that the stock braking system is kind of lacking when it comes to handling this type of situation.
Enter Baer Brake System.These guys have some awesome products! From their Top of the line AlumaSport Systems to their new Sport-Touring brake pads . All of their products are top rate, high quality stuff. Baer has been very popular in the performance world for years but I have found that they excel for us guys in the outdoor market as well.
Their motto is “Performance You Can See” and let me tell you what, their products not only perform exceptionally but they look great doing it. The following is from their web site. “From the ultimate in complete performance brake systems to OE brake rotor and pad upgrades, Baer has the market covered! Track-tested and road-proven for virtually every type of automotive passion, including yours!”
After doing extensive research I went with Baer’s EradiSpeed system, part number 2301049 for the front of my Chevy. This particular system comes with 15 inch zinc-coated, cross-drilled, slotted rotors that are cast out of quality iron materials for improved performance. These rotors are 3 inches 
larger than the stock 12 inch rotors, more surface equals more stopping power. Also in the package are caliper relocation brackets While I was at it I also installed a set of stainless steel brake lines.
For the rear brakes I decided to stay with the stock drum setup because they work better for towing, according to all the research I did, due to the fact that there is more pad surface in the drum over the disc. I did however upgrade my stock pads.
The installation is very easy and straight forward and can be done with only a few basic hand tools. The total time it took me in my garage was just a little over 2 hours and this included stopping to have a quick bite to eat for lunch.
The instructions included are very well put together so I wont go into too much detail concerning the installation. I placed blocks at the rear wheels to avoid it rolling backwards then of course I jacked the truck’s front end up and placed it on jack stands, removed the wheels and then the calipers. One note of caution here. Do NOT let the calipers hang from the brake lines. Instead, tie them up with some wire or anything strong enough to support their weight. I used some 50 pound Maxima line myself.
It was at this point that I wanted to make my calipers look good so I removed them because I also installed new stainless steel brake hoses. I cleaned the calipers with a wire brush followed by brake cleaner. I taped things off to avoid over spray onto any of the fittings and applied 3 coats of Duplicolor Caliper paint in red.
Next I removed the anchor brackets that hold the caliper’s from the back of the spindle. FYI, the factory bolts have some kind of thread-locking compound on them, so it takes some pressure to crack them loose. I elected to use a breaker bar for more leverage. Make sure to keep the two little caliper sliders that align the brake pads as well as the factory hardware. You will be transferring these pieces to the new parts.
Now the rotor should slide off of the hub. with the exception of the little washers, shown in the instructions. If it is being a little stubborn just smack it with your hands a few times. The reason you don’t use a hammer is because you don’t want to bend any of the parts and chances are that its just some crud that is causing it to stick so it does not take much force.
To make room to install the new brake pads use one of your old brake pads and a C-clamp to retract the pistons back into the caliper. Be sure to tighten it slowly. I removed the master cylinder cap and paid close attention to it, making sure it didnt over flow.
The new 15-inch rotor just slid on the hub, like the factory rotors. Be sure to notice that the Baer rotors are directional, make sure to use the left for the driver side and the right for the passenger side. Baer marks the rotors with stickers as well as stamped arrows to make sure you install them correctly
Attach the caliper sliders on the new parts then install the pads. Once the clips and pads are securely in place, put a little bit of thread lock on the bolts then install the bracket. Use a torque wrench and tighten them to 148 lb-ft. Place the calipers on next and tighten them to 80 lb-ft.
My truck came stock with 20’s, which I switched out to a set of lighter Centerline rims however I still did run into an issue. Because of the large 15 inch rotors and the calipers being re-located further out after putting my wheels on and spinning them my valve stems hit the calipers. There are 2 different ways to fix this issue. 1 is to buy wheel spacers and longer studs or find some shorted valve stems. I elected the stem route. I managed to find some trick metal stems that were short and had a 90 degree angle to them. My Centerlines have the valve stems on the inside of the rim so the 90 degree angle also made it easier to air up my tires.
After installing everything I wanted to see how the upgrade helped. My truck stopped much faster on the very first try, almost 3 feet less distance than before. The more times I tried it the better the stopping distance got. By the 5th time my stopping distance decreased by just under 18 feet from my stock configuration. Which I feel is a considerable amount.
Am I praising Baer Brake Systemjust because they are a sponsor?
No. I can honestly say that even if they were not a sponsor, especially knowing what I know now I would not hesitate to upgrade my stock braking system with the Baer products. I highly recommend anyone doing the same upgrade, especially if you tow a boat. I can promise that you will not be disappointed.
I’ve talked about suspension and braking upgrades as well as some minor performance gains. Next, how to REALLY INCREASE your POWER and TORQUE!
Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon!
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
[tags]Baer Brakes, Baer Braking System, Braking Systems[/tags]
