My own JK 'Big Brake' research:

Great work man! You have really done your homework, and look forward to future updates!
 
SDG said:
Great work man! You have really done your homework, and look forward to future updates!
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Thanks, man! Hope that all this helps us all and makes our rigs even safer - that's been an important driving force for me because it's my DD and my kids are in it always. I have the 37" tires sitting in the garage and they don't go on until I have brakes that can stop them better than stock. Their safety is worth the effort! :)
 
Getting really close on the caliper selection... I think for now I'm gonna stick with that 14.2" rotor that I posted with pics recently. I think it's our best choice for now. I think I will likely have to have a caliper adapter bracket custom machined. Checking on the cost of that now. If this all works, the only custom part we might need is this adapter bracket. I will keep you all posted.

BTW... the caliper I'm experimenting with is a 4-piston model... :eek: BEEFY....

In the end, wouldn't it be great to literally be able to lock up all 4 wheels, running 37s, on pavement, on command (with ABS disabled, of course)?? I think that would be proof of 'improved braking capabilities'...LOL...

As soon as I can verify that all of this works, I will post up the OEM part numbers. I don't want people running out and buying stuff prematurely and then finding out we all wasted our money! :)
 
Unfortunately I think the next phase of this project is simply buying a caliper now... wish I could find a salvage one...hmmm....

So, just to keep people interested: The price of a theoretical system, if the parts I'm investigating work out, thus far is:

For 14.2" front rotors, 4-piston calipers (painted, too!), and an upgraded master cylinder: $520. Only remaining cost is the cost for the caliper adapter brackets.

For comparison, the TF kit, if you bought the master cylinder, too, would run about $880. The cool thing is that for the extra dough you save, I'm gonna try to see if I can do the same type setup for the rear, too.

Not too bad so far, right?? Especially seeing that all the components can be bought at your local AutoZone. Keep your fingers crossed!!
 
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Majik said:
Unfortunately I think the next phase of this project is simply buying a caliper now... wish I could find a salvage one...hmmm....

So, just to keep people interested: The price of a theoretical system, if the parts I'm investigating work out, thus far is:

For 14.2" front rotors, 4-piston calipers (painted, too!), and an upgraded master cylinder: $520. Only remaining cost is the cost for the caliper adapter brackets.

For comparison, the TF kit, if you bought the master cylinder, too, would run about $880. The cool thing is that for the extra dough you save, I'm gonna try to see if I can do the same type setup for the rear, too.

Not too bad so far, right?? Especially seeing that all the components can be bought at your local AutoZone. Keep your fingers crossed!!
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That's a great price!
 
I think so, too! It would be even cheaper if I downgraded the calipers, but I figure that its worth it. This is gonna be a bad-ass setup if it works! Way, way, way more powerful than the TF setup... (no offense to them)
 
You stun me with what you find every time! This is amazing! Keep up the awesome work!


Sent from my iPhone
 
Oh, and one other detail which I hinted at earlier but didn't elaborate on... for those running 5 on 5.5" bolt pattern and locking hubs, it's about $50 (total for both rotors) extra to bore the hub on the rotor, and double drill the extra bolt pattern. It's what I'm planning to do shortly...

Gonna have one helluva weekend of building soon...brakes, axle sleeve and gussets, hub conversion, ring and pinion swaps, driveshafts, new axles, wheels and tires.... and it's all sitting in one giant stack in the corner of my garage, LOL! Talk about a tease....
 
Majik said:
Oh, and one other detail which I hinted at earlier but didn't elaborate on... for those running 5 on 5.5" bolt pattern and locking hubs, it's about $50 (total for both rotors) extra to bore the hub on the rotor, and double drill the extra bolt pattern. It's what I'm planning to do shortly...

Gonna have one helluva weekend of building soon...brakes, axle sleeve and gussets, hub conversion, ring and pinion swaps, driveshafts, new axles, wheels and tires.... and it's all sitting in one giant stack in the corner of my garage, LOL! Talk about a tease....
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that's a helluva weekend! makes me feel lazy looking at the small stack of stuff I need to install :beer:
 
Majik said:
I think so, too! It would be even cheaper if I downgraded the calipers, but I figure that its worth it. This is gonna be a bad-ass setup if it works! Way, way, way more powerful than the TF setup... (no offense to them)
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What are the rotors off of? The 2500?
 
Majik said:
Oh, and one other detail which I hinted at earlier but didn't elaborate on... for those running 5 on 5.5" bolt pattern and locking hubs, it's about $50 (total for both rotors) extra to bore the hub on the rotor, and double drill the extra bolt pattern. It's what I'm planning to do shortly...

Gonna have one helluva weekend of building soon...brakes, axle sleeve and gussets, hub conversion, ring and pinion swaps, driveshafts, new axles, wheels and tires.... and it's all sitting in one giant stack in the corner of my garage, LOL! Talk about a tease....
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Its nice to see the stockpile of mods, aint it? :clap2:

I am looking forward to seeing the final product...cant wait!
 
Sounds awesome! As for the custom brackets, can you take preorders from us on here and just have a batch made so that we don't have to rely on local machine shops? Plus I have no idea what it would look like... Haha. You're the expert now!
 
Prime8 said:
Sounds awesome! As for the custom brackets, can you take preorders from us on here and just have a batch made so that we don't have to rely on local machine shops? Plus I have no idea what it would look like... Haha. You're the expert now!
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Rofl! Once I have my set bolted on, sure! I have an awesome local machine shop lined up already for any work I need. And the owner seems pretty excited too! Really nice guy...on my last project he let my 5 yr old come in the shop and showed him how everything worked. My son doesn't believe me that I used to work with machines like that before I went to med school... lol.
 
bmeredith1 said:
What are the rotors off of? The 2500?
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Actually, no. I found a better rotor. The 2500 rotor comes predrilled 8 on 6.5 bolt pattern. The problem with that is this: If you want to double drill a second bolt pattern, like 5 on 5, or 5 on 5.5, you can't. Some of the holes would cut into each other. With a rotor that comes stock with a '5 on ....', meaning 5 lug holes of any size, you can drill a second 5 on .... half way in between the original holes with no loss of structural integrity. That's why I nixed the ram 2500 rotor idea. This other one I'm experimenting with is just as big and nearly as thick.

Don't worry...I'll disclose the details very soon. I don't want to muddy this by having people running out and buying things prematurely only to determine that I have to change a selection a week from now because of a conflict.

Right now I'm doing calculations of MC bore size / surface area compared to the piston surface area of each caliper. These ratios affect pressures and flows of fluid and I'm trying to maintain equivalent front/rear ratios to stock. (or minor changes to improve pedal feel from the mushy stock one)
 
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