Brakes Insufficient?

waumo1 · January 21, 2015

Interesting thread that will make me carefully test the brakes on a new truck if I decide to trade. My 1998 Silverado brakes were as bad as the previous posters say. My 2011 Sierra brakes are good, I'd say adequate. Compared to our other 2 vehicles though the Sierra brakes - well they don't compare.

Spurshot · January 22, 2015

From my perspective, the required pedal pressures on the OEM brakes are very high vs stopping energy. Of course, this is only a evident at the higher levels of braking (high speed). I further aggravated this by putting a 305/60-18 tire on the truck. I'd go so far as to say that a person (maybe a lady) not used to driving it, may not be prepared to put enough force on the pedal to get maximum braking in a high energy (freeway speed) deceleration. Frankly, I was worried that my wife wouldn't mash the pedal hard enough if she got into to situation needing hard braking at freeway speed. Unfortunately, driving the freeways of Socal, the situation arises often enough.

So, I chose to spend what some may think is too much money to address the issue. But that same amount of money spent on engine performance enhancement parts or wheels and tires, doesn't get so much as a second thought.

Brake enhancements don't get much attention in most circles. Everyone wants to go faster, not slower. Parts are not cheap and they don't show off well.

Better braking is a performance enhancement. But it isn't everyone's favorite performance enhancement.

haider320 · January 22, 2015

Having owned numerous pickups, 6 Mustangs including a Cobra, and my police interceptor Taurus; the brakes in my 14 Sierra are outstanding compared to a lot of vehicles I have owned! Some of you might want to get your dealer to bleed your brakes system or something. Mine bite and slow my heavy ass truck down pretty dang good.

Dunc · January 22, 2015

I just picked up a sierra on Satuday and I noticed that right away. There seems to be no feel with these brakes and they do indeed feel a little on the weak side.

I would like to revise this statement. The brakes feel stronger than they did when I first picked it up.. the car already had 232 miles on it so it was not because the brakes were not yet bedded. There also seems to be a little more feeling. My guess is that I'm just used to them now. Comparatively to my other vehicles I currently own and past vehicles I've driven I would say there could be some improvement.

nards444 · January 22, 2015

not sure a 20in wheel dictates HD caliber brakes. Brakes are enginered for weight of the truck as well as its rated tow and payload. 20s are only a fraction heavier than standard 18in wheels.

Spurshot · January 22, 2015

I believe there is only one brake system for the 1500.

Horacio · January 22, 2015

The brakes on my '15 Denali 6.2 are marginal at best. It's almost as if the rear brakes are doing the majority of the work over the fronts. Not sure everyone can relate to that feeling, but if you come from or are in the automtive field, you sure will.

Spurshot · January 23, 2015

The brakes on the 1/2 ton trucks are vacuum boosted like a car. Vacuum boosted brake systems commonly generate line pressures under 1500 psi. The HD 2500/3500 trucks run a hydro-boost system that is powered by a hydraulic pump, most commonly the power steering pump. A hydro-boost system can generate line pressures well over 2000 psi. Drive a 2500. Pedal pressures seem lower to me. I actually gave some thought to putting a hydro-boost on my truck until I realized there's no power steering pump on these new 1500s...all electric steering. LOL. I'd have to get the engine brackets to mount the pump and a pump as well as the hydro-boost. Certainly can be done.

M J · January 24, 2015

ive towed thousands of miles with my 5.3 with a 6" lift and 35s on 20s. about 6k pounds each time, through texas hill country. didnt feel like i needed better brakes at any point. and thats without a trailer brake controller too

T-Town-Z · January 24, 2015

I felt the brakes on my truck were "adequate" when it was new and stock, but once I had the larger/heavier tires installed, the brakes really feel inadequate now !

GTD · January 24, 2015

I got to believe there's one brake system for the 1500 trucks, add factory 20 or 22 inch wheels/tires and brakes become marginal.

bdbake01 · January 24, 2015

I got to believe there's one brake system for the 1500 trucks, add factory 20 or 22 inch wheels/tires and brakes become marginal.

All 1/2 tons have same brakes. Other than the weight of the vehicle itself, only two things have a large impact on brake performance. Overall wheel + tire diameter (larger = more moment arm force on brakes) and wheel/tire combo weight. Factory 20's and 22's have same OD, so this doesn't make any difference. 22's have a lower profile sidewalk maintaining tire height. The 23's are (I believe) just a tad bit heavier, but this has VERY little affect since the % change in weight is almost negligible.

calgator73 · January 24, 2015

Apparently with the enhanced grade braking the truck can also calculate the brake temperatures and use more powertrain braking to assist in certain modes. When I tow my 10K lbs, 11'8" tall, 37' long and 8' wide travel trailer...I have zero issues with braking. Aerodynamic drag is awesome. I dial the gain to max (not even close to TT brake lockup). I was given an infrared thermometer for Christmas. I'm going to record brake temps under a variety of conditions. http://www.acdelcotechconnect.com/pdf/TechConnect_SepOct_2013.pdf

Jon A · January 25, 2015

For those who find the brakes insufficient, I must ask--for what? Driving around empty on the street?

If so, they would be dangerous towing even a small trailer and it would be pure suicide to tow a trailer that triples the weight of the vehicle. Since these trucks are tested for braking per SAE J2807 with trailers at the max weight without trailer brakes, this certainly isn't the case with the stock brakes if they are working properly.

The stock brakes are more than strong enough to lock up the tires or hold them near lockup on dry pavement when empty. This means aftermarket pads, rotors and even entire braking systems aren't going to have much effect on stopping distances as the brakes are not the limiting factor. Differences in initial pad bite, modulation, etc, can make some marginal differences around the edges, but nothing significant for the first or second stop.

The performance improvement you get from a larger aftermarket braking system is exposed in repeated stops. They will keep stopping in the same distance many times in a row, long after the stock system has begun to fade. If you're autocrossing or more likely running a roadcourse you will really notice a difference a good braking system provides. Of course virtually nobody does that in these vehicles. The other area of improvement, more applicable to trucks, is towing a heavy trailer down a long grade. If your brakes are fading while doing that, a larger aftermarket system could definitely help.

Personally I haven't noticed any fade doing the later. Of all the people who have towed heavy trailers on this board, I haven't noticed anybody complaining of fade while doing it. The brakes on these 1500's are as good as the brakes on 3/4 tons were just a few years ago and the grade braking works really, really well taking much of the load off the brakes.

If what you want is significantly shorter stopping distances on your first stop, the single best thing you can do is replace your tires with a performance-street-pavement oriented tire (I don't think you'll find any roadracing tires in our sizes but they are the best) because they are the limiting factor. Next, lower your vehicle. Then of course, reduce the weight of the truck as much as possible.

Those are the things that will make a real difference. There is no braking system in the world that will allow a lifted truck on mud tires to stop worth a damn. The laws of physics won't allow it. The brakes are not the limiting factor. If you want short stopping distances, drive a sports car, not a lifted truck on mud tires.... There are compromises with any choice we make in what vehicle to drive, this is just one of them.

Now with all that said, as an old roadcourse guy I would never speak ill of somebody for upgrading his brakes. I've always been one to encourage it--especially before/instead of engine mods. While I do think it makes more sense and is more likely to be useful on a car, there are a lot of less useful things to spend your money on, even on a truck with "adequate" stock brakes.

Also, keep in mind above I was only speaking of actual performance--distances, deceleration rates, etc, you'd measure with data acquisition. Pedal feel certainly can be changed dramatically when you change things in the braking system. That might be reason enough alone for somebody to feel the money is well spent. Looks certainly matter as well. There's nothing wrong with that. There are lots of different ways mods can make us happy, and in the end that's all that matters.

I'm just trying to keep people from having unrealistic expectations of what spending money on the brakes of these trucks will do. Because the most common thing people "think" they will do--dramatically decrease stopping distances--is the one thing they really won't do at all.