Advice on brake pads for towing

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I have had my 2003 suburban for about a year, when i bought it, it needed rotors and pads all way around because my buddy knew he was selling it. He helped me install all new before i purchased it though on my dime which was fair.

I am towing a trailer loaded with a sidebyside up and down twisty mountains and hills to get to my riding destination and the braking power isnt much..takes a long way to get slowed down if a deer or critter crosses my path let alone an emergency stop.

I put all new rotors which have no warpage, but i went with the cheap pads from a brick and mortar.


So my question is would switching pads to a semi-metallic or ceramic be best? Should i opt for severe duty pads? Is AC Delco better than house brands?

I am not saying what is on there now to not jade the advice.
 
Good semi-metallic are best for towing and ceramic are best for keeping wheels clean and quiet brakes.

Raybestos has a hybrid pad sold at rockauto that I have installed on some trucks. They complained about brakes when towing or hauling a lot of weight. Its a good middle of the road between both that seems to work well.
 
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Trailer brakes? I've had the best luck with the NAPA severe duty pads, has it ever had the brake fluid flushed?


No its a 6X10 single axle trailer. So no trailer brakes.

Yes last week i busted a brake line (pushed the pedal hard to get to a stop at a yellow light)..So i had to flush all the old out.
 
Pads have friction ratings... FF, GG etc. Higher is better.

Will it lock 'em all up if you stomp on it? Sounds like something's subpar.
 
Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Trailer brakes? I've had the best luck with the NAPA severe duty pads, has it ever had the brake fluid flushed?


No its a 6X10 single axle trailer. So no trailer brakes.

Yes last week i busted a brake line (pushed the pedal hard to get to a stop at a yellow light)..So i had to flush all the old out.




"No trailer brakes"...........Put brakes on it or use another trailer with brakes. You're trying to compensate for a deficiency. Just putting on better pads won't make enough difference if the whole system is weak.

Are those drums on the rear? If rear discs, are they vented?
 
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I would say semi-metallic fleet/police pads if they fit your calipers. But there's a small catch and people here will point this out - temperature/friction coefficient rating - the 2-letter code in a brake pad's edge/plate markings. It's a measure of how well a brake lining can handle heat before brake fade happens.

Even though semi-met pads are better at handling heat than a organic pad("ceramic" pads fall into the NAO category), most of them are EE-rated but marketed as heavy-duty. It may or may not better with a reputable brand. I installed 2 sets of Wagner ThermoQuiet semi-mets into a friend's Explorer that sees some of the same duty your truck is getting and they seem to be working fine despite the EE-rating. YMMV. You could also try a ceramic upgrade in ThermoQuiet or Akebono but those pads work differently on a friction level. The big difference would be cleaner wheels and less brake fade.

http://faculty.ccbcmd.edu/~smacadof/DOTPadCodes.htm

AC Delco sources friction from various suppliers - AFAIK, they get their friction from BPI/Raybestos in the Professional/Advantage lines.
 
I think trailer brake laws vary from state to state but from your description of the mountain roads and poor braking you need trailer brakes regardless of whether you may be legally required to have them.

About your vehicle, I use Hawk Performance pads on my F250 and they work well for towing, but I also have brakes on my trailers. Easy to add brakes if your axle has the backing flange for them. Etrailer.com sells the necessary parts and there are plenty of other trailer parts dealers.
 
Without a trailer my suburban is about 5800lbs.

My sidebyside and trailer only weighs 1100lbs.

So without a trailer it still takes a while to stop.
 
2014_Carry-On_6X10_Utility_Trailer_uBdfDa.jpg


This is the kind of trailer i have just a small utility trailer..
 
Wagner Severe Duty. Meant for commercial heavy duty applications. They're semi metallic, try to find the best price online and if not they're available at pepboys.
 
Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Trailer brakes? I've had the best luck with the NAPA severe duty pads, has it ever had the brake fluid flushed?


No its a 6X10 single axle trailer. So no trailer brakes.

Yes last week i busted a brake line (pushed the pedal hard to get to a stop at a yellow light)..So i had to flush all the old out.



Which brake line, and how did you fix it ? I had same thing happen on a 97 Suburban, and used nicop to fix it.
 
Brakes on a trailer that small are the Band-Aid... not trying to improve your vehicle's brakes to stop well empty or lightly loaded.

I put Napa Premium rotors and, IIRC, SS pads on my '85 C3500 about 2 years ago and I'm pleased with their performance. No shortage of braking power from the front end.
 
Put PowerStop Truck & Tow pads on Callahan slotted rotors … 9 months now and they been far better than stock …
No rust like factory rotors either …
 
Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
I have had my 2003 suburban for about a year, when i bought it, it needed rotors and pads all way around because my buddy knew he was selling it. He helped me install all new before i purchased it though on my dime which was fair.

I am towing a trailer loaded with a sidebyside up and down twisty mountains and hills to get to my riding destination and the braking power isnt much..takes a long way to get slowed down if a deer or critter crosses my path let alone an emergency stop.

I put all new rotors which have no warpage, but i went with the cheap pads from a brick and mortar.


So my question is would switching pads to a semi-metallic or ceramic be best? Should i opt for severe duty pads? Is AC Delco better than house brands?

I am not saying what is on there now to not jade the advice.



The Pads I like the most for towing so far are the HAWK LTS light truck sport pads. Ive had good luck with Stillen and Rotor pros rotors , as well as frozen rotors.

If you want anything you buy to work its best dump the old brake lines and put a SS line kit in. If you have a buddy stomp the brake you can feel the line expand in your hand.

Its cheap and helps a notable amount.


UD
 
Originally Posted By: rubberchicken
Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Trailer brakes? I've had the best luck with the NAPA severe duty pads, has it ever had the brake fluid flushed?


No its a 6X10 single axle trailer. So no trailer brakes.

Yes last week i busted a brake line (pushed the pedal hard to get to a stop at a yellow light)..So i had to flush all the old out.



Which brake line, and how did you fix it ? I had same thing happen on a 97 Suburban, and used nicop to fix it.


The front steel line that goes along the front frame rail is the one that burst. They were rusted pretty bad. There are stainless steel braided lines coming from the master cylinder to a junction block then they went steel after that OEM. The rears are housed in rubber. I went back with steel and spliced in all the rusty stuff in the front while i was at it.
 
If the truck is taking long to come to a stop, I'm thinking you may have a bigger issue than just pads. Try bleeding the brakes and see if you get a strong stream of fluid. Bad rubber hoses or bad calipers can cause issues w/braking. I grew up in Morgantown, WV and am familiar with the mountains of WV. I had a bad rubber hose that kept me from having decent braking power.
 
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
If the truck is taking long to come to a stop, I'm thinking you may have a bigger issue than just pads. Try bleeding the brakes and see if you get a strong stream of fluid. Bad rubber hoses or bad calipers can cause issues w/braking. I grew up in Morgantown, WV and am familiar with the mountains of WV. I had a bad rubber hose that kept me from having decent braking power.


i just had to bleed them all due to the damaged line and ran almost a gallon of fresh fluid thru the system.
 
i just thought of something. My buddy put on the new brakes and rotors for me before i took it home... i bet he didnt clean the oil off of the rotors and my pads are probably glazed.
 
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