Posting for a friend who uses his 1998 Chevy 1500 4x4 to tow his trailer and antique cars (he owns a really cool Model T).

He has warped rotors before, and is looking for front rotors that are better than OEM. I am clueless regarding Chevy's, so am turning to PBB for help.

Is there anyway he can upgrade to better / thicker front rotors without redoing the front end?

Suggestions?

REcommendations?

TIA

There's really no good upgrades out there other than Powerslot rotors and that's just giving you slotted rotors, not more mass to resist excessive heat input and rotor warp.

I did have a problem warping rotors on my Chevy 1/2 ton and it ended up being that the threads the caliper pins mated with in the knuckle had been stripped on one side at some point in the trucks previous life. It was a really aggravating problem until I found that and it cured my rotor warping.

There are a lot of kits out there that he could go with. (Brembo, ssbc, wilwood, etc...) If it were mine, I would just go with some cross drilled and slotted brake rotors with some decent semi metallic brake pads.

I know everyone is talking about ceramic brake pads. They are great but they direct heat to the rotor instead of absorbing any heat. If he is already having trouble warping rotors I would advise aginst the ceramic brake pads.
There is a reason that heavy trucks use metallic brakes.

I've been selling brake jobs for years and have seen what brings out the comebacks for warped rotors.

From what I've seen, never cut rotors it's a patch not a repair.

Also, you get what you pay for if you buy a $10 autozone rotor and expect factory quality from it you should be thrown down an elevator shaft just for being so damn ignorant.

I could go on and on about brakes and how stupid customers piss me off when they dont know what their talking about. :mad3:

Thanks for the info. I will probably go with one of the Wilwood kits then, as I have had a great history with their products on other vehicles. I also have a good hookup for Wilwood stuff, TCE in AZ.

I was hoping for something as simple as "just bolt on the 3/4 ton rotors" but now know that aint possible.

thanks

The simplest answer is get good trailer brakes!

I went through three sets for rotors and pads on my C1500 before I got a trailer with electric brakes. That should solve his problems and not waste money on just buying a big name companies brakes which will just wear out as well. My stockers have lasted quite a while now with trailer brakes!

Stay away from cross drilled rotors. They WILL CRACK. Slotted rotors are worthless too. Less braking surface for the pads to grab. All you have to do is find a good set of brake pads.