Hello, a few weeks ago I was on the trail on some heavy mountains (Copper Canyon) and with all the uphills and downhills my brakes overheated (I felt the brakes not braking properly and a bit of smoke was present) I had to stop a while to let them cool (they are disc brakes, since it is a rubicon).. I have never had any issues with my braking system overheating, (I run 33's with oem rotors), so my question is.. Since the only time I have had this issue was on a heavy trail should I upgrade the full system with rotors and pads? or if I get @mrblaine 's black magic pads would be enough? my current pads are some unbranded crap that the PO put in but (obviously) I dont want to spend more than what is needed.. thanks!
Overheating brakes in the mountains
- Thread starter Don Bulee
- Start date
Pads will be enough if you use them with some premium rotors. More than enough.
Black Magic pads are the best, odds are they will solve your poor braking. Be sure to break them in exactly (!) per the included instructions. That is mandatory, not done they won't brake nearly as well. Done properly they'll get hot enough during the break-in that you'll smell them. I've been running them at least 15-16 years on two different TJs, they are superb.
LONGJP2
TJ Expert
At slow speeds on trails, it seems odd to overheat the brakes.
Are you sure you didn't have a stuck piston?
with poor braking you mean the overheating? because they usually brake well enough... they just overheated in this ocassion, once they cooled off... they keep braking good enough..
te
yes I'm sure that was not the problem... it was the constant braking from the downhills that caused them to overheat.. I put my foot on the brake pedal constantly for several minutes (the slope was very steep)
so I need to replace rotors and pads.. the black magic pads would not help me with the overheating if I keep my oem rotors?
Do you know the condition of the rotors? Have they been turned down in the past? Can you measure the thickness? Premium rotors and Black Magic Brakes pads are reasonably affordable. Don't try to save a buck on steering or braking components.
The Black Magic Brakes work better/are more aggressive so you wouldn't have to brake as hard. And next time you're on a steep downhill grade downshift to take advantage of engine braking.
If what you are describing is accurate I would have to believe your current rotors are warped or damaged. They are reasonable to buy new in the states
that's the intention.. new pads and have them flat and pretty in the machine shop..
I was not in 4lo because the np241 is 4:1 and I would need to go extremely slow... and it is an auto... I was in first gear but didn't help...
once I knew they were overheating I used the 4lo to help the rotors cool faster with the air flow
Blaine correct me if i'm wrong ! but every time I've had rotors turned they warp within 10k miles, so now I just change them out .... am I doing wrong ?
kinda what I thought. any brake is going to get hot and smoke if your on it for a long time. if it's that step that your holding the brake the whole time it's time to find a lower gear !
They're probably not actually warped even though the pulsating brake pedal seems to indicate that. Its more likely to be brake pad material transfer to the rotors which builds up like a washboard road does. Doing limousine stops or holding the brakes on hard at stop lights is the usual reason for the problem.
I would just get the rotors from Blaine at the same time and be done with it.