rear brake pad upgrade

kickass audio · December 12, 2018

I tried to find this online and could not find it all and I know it was mentioned in the past. What part # did members upgrade to for the rear brake pads on the K2's? I'm pretty sure I need to get new rear pads this spring since last fall I was down to maybe a little over 1/4 of the life left on them. My fronts have plenty of life and maybe are at 3/4 of their life left on the pads. I know my pads and calipers are not sticking at all because the rotors are the same temp while driving and stopping as well as I just bled out the fluid in the brake lines this past summer and regreased all of the slide points and slidepins on the brakes both in the front and rear with napa silicone grease. I figured my pads are worn down with the fluid in the master cylinder reservoir being down past the full mark quite a ways since I topped off the fluid after I bled all 4 cylinders out with new fluid so it wouldn't rust out the lines.

I looked at NAPA and their pads in the picture seem to have more material that goes further to the outside where the ears are. What part # did everyone use with the factory ones? I don't really haul heavy loads all that often so the stock brakes are fine but I figured that maybe if I had more contact area on the rear pads, I wouldn't be throwing my money away with replacing them all the time.

JimCost2014 · December 12, 2018

1 hour ago, kickass audio said:

I tried to find this online and could not find it all and I know it was mentioned in the past. What part # did members upgrade to for the rear brake pads on the K2's? I'm pretty sure I need to get new rear pads this spring since last fall I was down to maybe a little over 1/4 of the life left on them. My fronts have plenty of life and maybe are at 3/4 of their life left on the pads. I know my pads and calipers are not sticking at all because the rotors are the same temp while driving and stopping as well as I just bled out the fluid in the brake lines this past summer and regreased all of the slide points and slidepins on the brakes both in the front and rear with napa silicone grease. I figured my pads are worn down with the fluid in the master cylinder reservoir being down past the full mark quite a ways since I topped off the fluid after I bled all 4 cylinders out with new fluid so it wouldn't rust out the lines.

I looked at NAPA and their pads in the picture seem to have more material that goes further to the outside where the ears are. What part # did everyone use with the factory ones? I don't really haul heavy loads all that often so the stock brakes are fine but I figured that maybe if I had more contact area on the rear pads, I wouldn't be throwing my money away with replacing them all the time.

Try the GM Fleet website. I would imagine that they still use a more aggressive braking system on Police and Government vehicles, not sure if you can buy the parts, but does not hurt to check.

Edited December 12, 2018 by JimCost2014

kickass audio · December 12, 2018

I did see some ac delco police ones on rock auto but they were semi-metallic as opposed to the OEM ceramics the truck came with and they had the same problem where the pads were not covering a good deal of the backing plate.

JimCost2014 · December 12, 2018

Have you thought about aftermarket, replacing rotor and pads with something better? You would think you could get just pads from EBC, Willwood, Baer, etc.

Supreme Pizza · December 12, 2018

You would have to search around a little, but they probably make this kit for your rig. The drilled & slotted rotors stay very cool, and the carbon fiber ceramic hybrid pads grip the rotor extremely well. I have put these brakes on several rigs, including my own. I always replace the brake fluid at the same time just for good measure. You will have VERY responsive brakes, that can outperform OEM parts. I really like these a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/Approved-Performance-Silverado-Avalanche-Escalade/dp/B00KLOCVZ2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1544652656&sr=8-2&keywords=Approved+Performance+2014+Chevrolet+Silverado

kickass audio · December 13, 2018

i'm not sure how slotted/drilled rotors would hold up to the mountains of salt that gets put on the roads in Western New York.

The rotors are perfect on my truck with 45k miles on them so I just wanted pads only. If I had the money and was hauling stuff I would definitely upgrade the calipers and everything with some Wilwood big brake kits.

edit: Does that also seem like a norm for these trucks to have rear pads serviced sooner than the fronts? I don't know what the previous owner of my truck did for service/use on the truck since it was a lease but it seems odd that at 45k i'm getting close to needing rear pads. Is it maybe due to having the stabilitrak kick on a ton but that seems unlikely that it would burn out the pads that fast.

Edited December 13, 2018 by kickass audio

Ozer · December 17, 2018

I just ordered PowerStop z36 kit for front and back and also got the parking brake shoes and spring kit and every hardware needed that didnt come with the kit.

Over the weekend my right rear INNER pad decided to go metal to metal, the Outer pad still had plenty of life left. I should have checked these before it was too late but being busy and all, things get overlooked.

Anyways. i had to drive like that for a day and a half, was away at my sons hockey tournament and its been raining on and off. When i got home and saw my right rear aftermarket wheel was all RUST!!

Ahhh, all that metal dust started to rust. Took me a good hour to clean 99% of the rust and i replaced the right rear pads so i can drive it until my brake kit comes in the mail.

I will have to use iron remover to really get all that rust off the cracks and corners of the wheel asap.

lesson learned, do periodic look over at pads. Sound like my caliper wasnt sliding freely, which is why o ordered new sliders to make sure.