Extra weight- Better brake?

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HoffmanMark

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I have an 04 4Rnr LMTD v8. The added extras- rock slider, roof rack, HiLift, drawer system build out of 1/2” plywood, fridge and slide and pull out kitchen. I have upgrade to power stop brakes, but feel my brake pedal has some play and I have to really get on the brakes to brake. Is there a way to get the brakes to start grabbing earlier in the pedal stroke? Would upgrading to a Tundra brake booster a possibility?
 

smritte

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A few questions for clarity.
Do you want more stopping power, the brakes to grab further up on the pedal stroke or both?

Stating that you upgraded to power stops is good but what compound? Brakes are like sand paper. If (for example) Stock was like 250 grit and you "upgraded" to 500 grit, it will take more effort to stop (less friction). Just installing a name brand doesn't mean you have the correct friction material.

Any time you add weight you need to consider upgrading brakes. Larger tires are worse because they add leverage against the caliper. I've added about 600 pounds to my cruiser and several sizes larger on my tires. The pads I went to are super grabby. The next issue was, I eat stock rotors. Upgrade to a stronger rotor and now I'm happy. The down side is, I wear pads out in about 7500 miles. If I wasn't happy, I would need to go to a larger diameter rotor to counter the leverage from the tires.

Next is brake lines. When you stop, a good part of the force is absorbed by the flexible brake lines expanding. The fix for this is Braded brake lines. They almost don't expand. That will make your pedal more sensitive and bring the brake engagement up on the pedal stroke.

Adding a diffrent booster is only the answer if you cant generate enough force in the brake system. That would be the last thing I would mod.

We start with the correct brake material, upgrade the rotors if necessary. If you went with longer brake lines, upgrading to steel braded is necessary or install them for a harder pedal feel. BTW, never buy cheap braded lines. You want the Kevlar reinforced lines only.

Big Brake kits are brutally expensive. If you went to 37's you may consider that. other then that, start simple.
 
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MidOH

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You'd be startled how rubber lines can balloon with age. Might not need steel braided, just fresh rubber.

Ebc make$ $ome good pad$.
 

smritte

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They dont "balloon" per say but expand. This is also not an age thing. Without getting into the why, the lines will harden with age making them less flexible. Braded lines use a Teflon core with steel braid and Kevlar layered over it. Almost no flex.
Here's an experiment.
Four wheel disc vehicle. Engine off. Pump the brake pedal several times and bleed off the booster reserve. Press firmly. The average brake pedal will move about an inch. You have now clamped the pads to the rotor and removed all slack in the hardware.
Keep your foot on the brake and start the car. The pedal moves about three inch's farther.
Considering you cannot compress a liquid and you just displaced about three times the fluid, where did it go?
That is the line expansion. Its factored into the build. Replacing the lines with something that barely expands makes a firmer more sensitive pedal.
 

bgenlvtex

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The most common and significant impingement on braking is larger(circumferential) tires, bigger tires and more weight will definitely affect braking regardless what design they are..
 

ThundahBeagle

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Semi Metalics not ceramic and rebleed your brake system with new fluid.
Zim
^^^ THIS as a first step. None of the other guys is wrong, but check the simple stuff first. When comms are down, first check you turned the radio on, right?

It's an 04, and you didn't state much about its history. If that brake fluid has never been changed, it can be a problem. If then a good, two-man bleed has not performed, nothing you do will help.

If I'm not wrong, Power Stop has 2 to 3 different tiers of pads. I'm gonna have to agree with Zimm here, the semi metallics seem to "grab" better than ceramic.