Praise Dyno Stage II Brake Review

[Ray from NJ]

Praise Dyno Stage II Review

 

99 GMC Suburban 1500 4WD 5.7L

Praise Dyno Stage II cryo slotted rotors, drums, pads, shoes, spring kit.

http://www.praisedynobrake.com

Earl's Stainless Steel Hyperfirm brake line kit 28A260 from Summit Racing

http://www.summitracing.com

Motive Brake Pressure Bleeder http://www.motiveproducts.com

2 quarts of Castrol DOT3-4 fluid

 

This is the brake package my Suburban SHOULD have come equipped with.

I commute in rush hour traffic and experience several 50-60 mile an hour panic stops a week.

I used to worry if I had enough stopping distance to the guy in front of me.

With the PD brakes I can stop as well if not better than the econo cars around me.

 

I installed the stage II package and Earl's stainless steel brake lines in two separate weekends so I could see the difference between the front and rear upgrades.

Front pads were typical install. (Opened up the bleeder valve and used a c-clamp

to compress the cylinder so I would not damage the ABS components.)

Installed the brake lines. Used a torque wrench on all the hardware and followed the proper specs. (Make sure you have the compression washers on correctly)

Pressure bled the system. I used about 5-7psi from the Motive unit to get a good flow of fluid out of the valve.

Installed the rotors which are MUCH better than stock. Slotted surface area was larger too.

There is a left and right rotor. I guess if you put them on backwards the slots would shred the pads.

Put the wheels back on and properly torqued the lugs. The first thing I noticed was that the new brake lines were rubbing on the wheel. The stock lines had a bit of a curve where they came out from the fitting attached to the frame, so I reached in and replicated the stock bend by bending the SS lines to match. No more rubbing.

Bedding them in is a series of moderate braking from 30mph to about 5mph,

never stopping while they are getting hot. Make only a few stops like this and then drive them to cool them off. Then harder stops with cooling off drive. Finally very hard stops with cooling off drive. Best to do in cool evening with little traffic.

Significantly better braking when properly bedded in too.

With the new front brakes installed you feel as if you can stand the truck up on its nose.

They are that good.

The SS brake lines make the pedal feel rock solid too.

 

Installed the rear drums, shoes and center SS brake line the following weekend.

I really HATE brake drum designs. Those springs and adjusters are a PITA. Yes, I had to go back to the other side a couple of times to make sure I was doing it right. Got the system bled again and adjusted the shoes until they just started to rub on the drum. Bed the new shoes in the same way as before.

You need to go back and re-adjust the shoes a second time after the bedding procedure.

The rear brakes were not as dramatic a change as I was expecting. I was under whelmed.

Better than stock but not the "wow" feeling I got from the change in the front brakes.

No fault of PD though, drum brakes are just not as good as disk brakes.

Overal a great system from Praise Dyno.

If I was on a tight budget and wanted to get the most bang for the buck, I would just get the front

pads and rotors, and Earl's SS lines.

 

Ray

[Jersey Tahoe LT]

Welcome to the site.

How much was the system? I have a 99 tahoe that I would love to upgrade.

 

Where in Jersey are you from? I live in Northern NJ. In a small town called Kinnelon.

 

Later,

Brandon

[Ray from NJ]

Hi Brandon,

I'm located in Freehold NJ.

Cost is around $800-900 for full Stage II depending on the specials running at the time.

Paid for itself several times already.

 

Ray

[Jersey Tahoe LT]

Cool thanks. So where can I find their link. I would like to read more about them.

 

Later,

Brandon

[Bish]

Try Praise Dyno

 

I love mine.

[Magnumb]

I just installed same kit with Earl's lines and made a HUGE difference. Just had to make sure threads of brake lines are soaked in oil before tightning. Only use under 10 PSI on Motive bleeder or you will blow out master cylinder seal like I did....WHAT A MESS.

[Lincoln30]

I've had the PD brakes and custom SS lines (no prebuilt were available for 4wd stock height when I got mine made) on my 99 for almost 100K miles and it's probably the best upgrade I've done to the truck. I can't believe the pads are not worn out yet but they are getting close. BTW: Mine is 4w disc.

[99silverado1500]

bringing back the past again, at least this one is only 4 years old, the other one was 6.

[Magnumb]

Past, Present, Future.? I see myself posting about a new Black 2010 GMC Yukon with ride height adjustment. Can't wait.

[Ben]

I've been a huge fan of Praise Dyno Brake for years. Great to fantastic change

and the rears too (need to manually tighten them)

 

John (owner) also sells stainless hoses, or at least they used to. Shortages

often, as they supply the Hummers and other vehicles over in Iraq. So when

they get a military order, they 'have' to take it off the production line. Okay

with me, they need it more than I do.

 

Key to the drums is to manually adjust them at each engine oil/filter change.

Not to shop manual spec, but tighter. Almost too tight and can be over done.

The rears will smoke and the whole vehicle will shudder on the freeway if too

tight. Going in reverse & nailing the brakes several times self adjusts, but not

tight enough.

 

PD's friction material takes longer to bed in (cure and deposit outgased friction

material onto the cast iron), as it's harder or higher performance.

 

Slots should have the leading edge, be the small dia to spin out. Pic is of mine

after the accident (busted joint & upper A-arm rivets).

 

This pic is of my 1980 Silverado C10 with Praise pads at about 27K miles. Notice

that they still have the tapper, so about half worn.

 

 

This is the "C" clamp method of bleeding mentioned above and is my favorite.

Can bleed the two front calipers in about 20 minutes.

 

This is my 3/4 ton Suburban's rear Praise shoes at about 55K miles on them.

 

Took the drums off and cleaned it for some experimental changes to the self

adjusters to see if I could improve their performance....did...but they now

self adjust too good and over tightens them. Skids the rears to initiate ABS

even on a normal stop. Now have to back them off every once in a while.

 

Folks with 1500's some times has the rear drum backing plate not punched

out (adjusting screw access slot). This is one I helped install Praise Dyno

brakes on. Drill out both ends of the slot (it's stamped, but not through)

with a 1/4" drill, then jig saw the web left between'm. "HELP" racks will

have the rubber plugs to keep stuff out after you are done. Paint it. Left

side is still there and the right side has just been drilled & sawed & painted.

[Magnumb]

How come you only drilled out one side. I am thinking of doing this but not sure what screw you are talking about. I know of a sproket that can be adjusted.

[Ben]

How come you only drilled out one side. I am thinking of doing this but not sure what screw you are talking about. I know of a sproket that can be adjusted.

 

Look at the pictures of the adjuster (also referred to as the 'star wheel').

 

Notice that it is offset to one side, that is why the 'other' slot isn't

needed on 'this' side.

 

The 'other' side has the other slot cut out.