Black Magic brakes

I'll let the TJ brake guru @mrblaine chime in on this one.

I have had the Black Magic Brakes for several months now so I can't comment on how long they last, but I can say that so far they don't eat rotors at all and the braking from them is absolutely second to none.

If you need new brakes there is no doubt in my mind you should most definitely go with the Black Magic Brake pads. You're in for a real treat if you do!
 
I love them. There was a huge difference in braking after they were installed. At the same time I opted to buy the package from Blaine that included rotors and calipers just to ensure that everything was new.

I can't tell you how long they last or if they eat rotors, but I can tell you that after all of the research I never came across one person that complained about wear.
 
Who's running Black Magic brakes and how do you like them? Any gotcha's? How long between brake jobs? Do the pads eat rotors?
You want the long answer or the short one? First though, you have to answer another question. What is the number 1 item on your priority list when it comes to brakes?
 
When I've been running up in the hills all day, and I'm heading back home I want my brakes to work. Well. Brake fade is my number one concern.

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When I've been running up in the hills all day, and I'm heading back home I want my brakes to work. Well. Brake fade is my number one concern.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
It's almost impossible to get the Black Magic brake pad into hot fade which happens at 1500°F. That said, a lot of compounds have high resistance to fade, but they still don't work that well. The magic is to get a pad that works well and resists hot fade with a very high cold bite. Something the BMB pad does very well.
 
Very nice. So, what's the recommended protocol with the installation? Pads, rotors and? What about rear brakes.

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Me too, although I've read that you need to brake somewhat aggressively to keep them in good working order. Any truth to that? Reason being, I drive my TJ pretty darn gently. Not sure they would be good for me.
 
Me too, although I've read that you need to brake somewhat aggressively to keep them in good working order. Any truth to that? Reason being, I drive my TJ pretty darn gently. Not sure they would be good for me.
Not surprisingly, all brakes do not respond the same and since I do a lot of installations with my helper, we evaluate everyone and compare them. #1 for no particular reason other than being a large kit on a smallish rig belongs to a friend so it's easy to keep his performance fresh to see if he has been displaced by a better performing installation.

#2 belongs to "Jack". Jack suffers from a lack of ability to retrain himself when he makes mods to his rig. I first met him when his brake kit didn't work after he installed it. He said he had bled it many many times and the pedal was still rock hard. (think about it for a minute)

Jack had already purchased parts from me to do a rear disc conversion because he felt his drum brakes weren't doing enough. Then he bought the Super 16 Vanco Kit which is a whole bunch of brake for a rig on 33's. He gets in touch to see if I can check the kit out. He pulled it in and we went through the install bit by bit and found it to be perfectly installed. I hopped in to take it for a test drive and didn't even leave the driveway before I backed it up and told him what was really wrong was his booster was shot and that's why he couldn't get the kit to work.

We replaced his booster, I took it out and broke in the kit and he now has beyond awesome brakes. It only takes a bit of enthusiastic driving to keep them working because of how big the kit is.

He contacts me again about every 2 months or so and wants me to check out why his brakes don't work. He brings it out, I take it for a drive, break them in again and then have a chat with him. Jack, you can't baby them. You CAN'T do long coasting stops with as much brake as you have. Every warning, caution, and bit of advice is met with the same answer, I was taught to drive very cautiously, do long coasting stops, and to save my brakes. Jack, you can't do that and keep them working. Again I get, "that's not how I was taught to do it".

I told him I would trade him straight across for a smaller kit that would have to work harder in hopes that his gentle braking habits might keep it broken in and I would do the install for free. Nope, I gotta have the biggest I can get.

The funny part is he only needs pads and rotors and not a big brake kit. The worst part, is he changed from drums to discs to improve braking, stock front to a big brake kit, paid me to monkey with the prop valve to get more rear braking and all he had to do is fix the bad booster. There is simply no need for all of that on a smallish rig on 33's.

There are a few morals here. Don't always trust that you know how to diagnose a brake issue. Don't ignore the advice of someone with lots of brake knowledge. Don't start tossing parts at something until you are sure you are fixing the problem. And lastly, know your braking style and build accordingly.

Size the brakes for your habits and if you are a long coaster that drives like a little old lady, perhaps another selection is best. That said, it only takes moderate enthusiasm to keep them broken in and no aggressiveness.
 
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Thanks mrblaine! Sounds like I should stick to a more stock style pads/rotors. I drive a bit little old lady-ish.
 
Good stories mrblaine. Informative. Went out to the Black Magic web site again and looked everything over carefully (again) and I think that with what you have shared here and what was on the site I have just barely enough information to make an informed decision on my particular Jeep and for my uses.
 
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Are the pads black?
There is a reason for this question but I will wait for an answer first lol
 
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Ok, reason I asked about the color, new project 05 LJ had a surprise for me. Got it home and started pulling stuff apart for new ball joints and steering upgrade and shocks. Was pleasantly surprised to find brand new black pads and new rotors front and rear. I had never seen black disc pads before, everything else I have done or seen while rebuilding something had gray or light colored pads.
 
Ok, reason I asked about the color, new project 05 LJ had a surprise for me. Got it home and started pulling stuff apart for new ball joints and steering upgrade and shocks. Was pleasantly surprised to find brand new black pads and new rotors front and rear. I had never seen black disc pads before, everything else I have done or seen while rebuilding something had gray or light colored pads.

Looks like maybe you got lucky!?
 
Kind of what I thought. Some things done or not done on this jeep don't make sense. Like all new brakes and rotors but put wire rod through the back window hinges? $60 for new hinges was a better deal for me than all the brake work done so not complaining there.
 
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Kind of what I thought. Some things done or not done on this jeep don't make sense. Like all new brakes and rotors but put wire rod through the back window hinges? $60 for new hinges was a better deal for me than all the brake work done so not complaining there.

Gotta love some of the shitty things previous owners do to vehicles!
 
You know, I don't really look at it that way. I read alot of threads where somebody is cussing the po. Let's face it, if you want a TJ, or in my case, another LJ, you are going to buy used. My 2000 TJ, I bought new but thats was then. Both LJs I have had, I did my due diligence and looked at everything that was important to me. Motor appears solid, trans is solid and body is solid. Tires weren't important nor was stuff I couldnt see into like brakes or stuff I planned on redoing anyway. I got a good deal on this one because of the little things like hinges and ball joints that I used as leverage. When somebody complains about hidden things the po didn't tell them about probably didn't investigate very well before pulling the trigger imo.
 
I got lucky, most of the other cars I've purchased in the past had some very weird things the POs did. In the case of my TJ though it must have been very well taken care of. It's got 76k miles and I can't find anything wrong with it.