Where are Black Magic Brakes made?

[Chris]

That's the same 2nd acr (toujours pret) (sic)I was with, but at the time they were an experimental light cavalry unit stationed at ft. Polk Louisiana. We ran Humvees with 50 cal, mark 19 and tow missile setup. Each platoon had one squad of infantrymen, and the rest were all scouts.

That is them indeed! They were based out of Fort Polk in Louisiana, but relocated to Fort Lewis, WA.

I always found it funny that I was the only 11B in a unit of all scouts!

I guess they ceased to exist entirely though, since it became the 4th brigade of the 2nd ID.

Anyways, I guess we've really managed to derail this thread

We didn't even need @Squatch's help either!

 

[mrblaine]

Thats not it at all and im choosing to keep my theory to myself at the moment.

In the brake industry sir, there is a number that designates the pad shape, thickness, etc. That is the industry pad number. If you look at any brake pad, you will find commonality between certain vendors who use the industry pad number and others who don't but generate their own number. Lets explore the options for the front of the TJ which is the industry pad number 477.

Centric uses the industry pad number along with a 3 digit prefix in front of the . to denote compound, and then 5 places after that. The first 4 places are for the IPN, the last place is for a code that represents a difference to the pad number that changes the pad standard in some way.

Here are some screen shots of the selections on Rock Auto.

It is common for some to use the IPN with a D and in the D52 pad for the GM front caliper that is so common. If you peruse the offerings, you see some common numbers. 477, 964, 981 in the various part numbers.
477 is 90-06 Wrangler, ZJ, MJ, YJ, XJ, so on and so forth. If you want to check, click on the blue part number and it will bring up a buyer's guide that shows you all the models that part is used on.
964 is a rear pad on the TJ and others, mostly Liberty.
981 is also a rear pad and is a substitute for the original 964.
What you also note as missing on RA is the . after the first 3 numbers that Centric uses to signify compound.
What I find interesting is just how many pad shapes there are. Just exploring Jeep options they have them up to 1405.
I use the industry pad number because it is common and easy and there is never any confusion as to what the pad shape is. I'm going to type this from memory- 833 Sport Trac. 1084 Ram front 08, 1273 JK front, 652 Explorer, and on and on. The only thing that means it what the pad shape is, no more, no less.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

In Vietnam 11B was known as 11-bush.

 

[BuildBreakRepeat]

This thread is completely derailed but that’s what we do here Then again.....
So here I go:

 

[mrblaine]

In the brake industry sir, there is a number that designates the pad shape, thickness, etc. That is the industry pad number. If you look at any brake pad, you will find commonality between certain vendors who use the industry pad number and others who don't but generate their own number. Lets explore the options for the front of the TJ which is the industry pad number 477.

Centric uses the industry pad number along with a 3 digit prefix in front of the . to denote compound, and then 5 places after that. The first 4 places are for the IPN, the last place is for a code that represents a difference to the pad number that changes the pad standard in some way.

Here are some screen shots of the selections on Rock Auto.

It is common for some to use the IPN with a D and in the D52 pad for the GM front caliper that is so common. If you peruse the offerings, you see some common numbers. 477, 964, 981 in the various part numbers.
477 is 90-06 Wrangler, ZJ, MJ, YJ, XJ, so on and so forth. If you want to check, click on the blue part number and it will bring up a buyer's guide that shows you all the models that part is used on.
964 is a rear pad on the TJ and others, mostly Liberty.
981 is also a rear pad and is a substitute for the original 964.
What you also note as missing on RA is the . after the first 3 numbers that Centric uses to signify compound.
What I find interesting is just how many pad shapes there are. Just exploring Jeep options they have them up to 1405.
I use the industry pad number because it is common and easy and there is never any confusion as to what the pad shape is. I'm going to type this from memory- 833 Sport Trac. 1084 Ram front 08, 1273 JK front, 652 Explorer, and on and on. The only thing that means it what the pad shape is, no more, no less.

View attachment 78355

View attachment 78356

View attachment 78357

To continue since I got interrupted. This is how Centric designates the same IPN with a difference between them as I indicated above. This is the 05 Dodge 3500 rear which is a 702 but it is thinner than the standard 702 so they use the 5 digit past the . to make that known and that makes it a 7021. The standard 702 is used on the Ford F-150 03 year model and has a 0 as the 5th place digit to show it is the standard, not the modified version.

 

[billiebob]

thanks guys! i was just curious cause i like buying USA made stuff if possible..

Everyone does. But no one wants to pay USA wages so many USA manufacturers move manufacturing off shore just to be competitive. AEV did this with their wheels.... no one wanted to pay the USA wages, land costs, utilities cost to support "Made in the USA".

Flat out, globalization, free markets, kill local manufacturing. We are so caught up in letting corporations run our government we have forgotten who the voters are.

 

[mrblaine]

Flat out, globalization, free markets, kill local manufacturing. We are so caught up in letting corporations run our government we have forgotten who the voters are.

Boy, that is a strange connection of the dots to arrive at a conclusion.

The corporations running the government has exactly zero to do with it. We as the consumer are our own worst enemy because we demand and support cheaper pricing across the board for nearly everything we consume. We caused the problem, we created the monster that is the global economy and by and large, few of us care enough to shop differently. If that were not the case, Walmart, Target, Amazon, and 1000's of other retail outlets would not be in business. We demand lower prices. We don't demand better quality, location specific manufacture, we just demand lower price. We never go to a place that says they charge more than the next guy, we go to the next guy that has the lower price and it is pretty much okay if the lawnmower won't last 2 summers where the one our parents used was handed down to them by their parents and still works today. We want the lowest price. We did it, not the corporations running the .gov.

 

[billiebob]

i was just curious cause i like buying USA made stuff if possible..

Then do not shop at WalMart

 

[astjp2]

Back on track, I have found that there are also 2 different size pads that GM used for their 4wd calipers and at least 5 different calipers dating from the mid 70's until the mid 90's, I found that the ford explorers calipers interchanged with the Grand Cherokee dual piston stuff, so there are lots of configurations for the same products. Most of the GM calipers had 3 different piston sizes so if you need to get a replacement, you need to verify all of the criteria. I have been known to return a different core on a few things to the parts stores, the people at the counter just know if it is a steering box, has no idea if it is inside or outside the frame rail...

 

[billiebob]

We as the consumer are our own worst enemy because we demand and support cheaper pricing across the board for nearly everything we consume.

Very true .. but our corporations drive jobs off shore and our open free trade policies pull off shore products into our markets. With 1.4B people in India, another 1.4B in China, North America is becoming irrelevant to any company looking at global growth. We used to be affluent world leaders. Not so much today.

Wal Mart is scary the way they target local competition. Amazon??? is just way too big, brilliant, best marketing in the world... but becoming a monopoly is never healthy.

 

[JT Stapes]

Yes, they do indeed. When I was there it was only 11B and 11C (mortars), no 11H (maybe they got rid of that MOS when I was in?).

It was also men

Do they still only train 11 series MOS at ft Benning? I was 11h (two missile gunner)

I believe that all 19 series train there as well since Fort Knox no longer is a training base (Basic Training/AIT)

 

[Squatch]

Boy, that is a strange connection of the dots to arrive at a conclusion.

The corporations running the government has exactly zero to do with it. We as the consumer are our own worst enemy because we demand and support cheaper pricing across the board for nearly everything we consume. We caused the problem, we created the monster that is the global economy and by and large, few of us care enough to shop differently. If that were not the case, Walmart, Target, Amazon, and 1000's of other retail outlets would not be in business. We demand lower prices. We don't demand better quality, location specific manufacture, we just demand lower price. We never go to a place that says they charge more than the next guy, we go to the next guy that has the lower price and it is pretty much okay if the lawnmower won't last 2 summers where the one our parents used was handed down to them by their parents and still works today. We want the lowest price. We did it, not the corporations running the .gov.

Please don't make "We" so all encompassing. There are still some of us who do pay more for the better quality stuff, with the desire that it be made in the U.S. our first choice. I don't claim to know who started this downhill slide we're on in this country, but I do know that it gets harder and harder to find the U.S. made product...to find the quality that's still worth a damn...yet I do my part to the best of my abilities. Sometimes the price for the better quality stings a bit, but I pay it. I don't disagree with your general assessment, I just think that for those of us who realize what's happening, and go against the grain by not being (as much as we can) a participating part of the problem, hearing the use of the word "We" like that is, at the very least, inaccurate.

 

[Chris]

Back on the subject of brake pads (let's try not to derail this thread anymore, I apologize for my part in that). I had no idea what those numbers meant on the pads, but to be honest, I never really paid much attention to them.

In my mind, when I buy something like a brake pad online, I never pay much attention to the photo. I always assume that if there is a photo, it's not an actual photo, and just a photo of a random brake pad that they make for who knows what vehicle (could be a Ford Taurus for all I care).

That being said, I wouldn't even care if I saw a photo of the brake pad. Now a big brake kit, that's something I'd want to see actual photos of!

 

[mrblaine]

Please don't make "We" so all encompassing. There are still some of us who do pay more for the better quality stuff, with the desire that it be made in the U.S. our first choice. I don't claim to know who started this downhill slide we're on in this country, but I do know that it gets harder and harder to find the U.S. made product...to find the quality that's still worth a damn...yet I do my part to the best of my abilities. Sometimes the price for the better quality stings a bit, but I pay it. I don't disagree with your general assessment, I just think that for those of us who realize what's happening, and go against the grain by not being (as much as we can) a participating part of the problem, hearing the use of the word "We" like that is, at the very least, inaccurate.

Not sure why there always has to be one, but there does, here's your sign.

 

[mrblaine]

Then do not shop at WalMart

I'll bet pretty decent amounts of money that no one engaged in this form of electronic communication is able to do so with a device Made in the good ole US of A. It just isn't possible, is it?

 

[jeepins]

Wanna buy a steering knuckle for a Vanco Big Brake kit? 100% made in USA from the casting engineer in Montana, to the foundry in Los Angeles, to the machine shop in Cerritos, to me in Quail Valley.

Now that doesn't sound like a plastic blinking' doohickie.. that sounds like Merica.

 

[mrblaine]

Now that doesn't sound like a plastic blinking' doohickie.. that sounds like Merica.

"Merica, god damn right. Now for the fucking flip side of that shit. We make and sell our Wizard bracket kit for flipping calipers to the front side of the rear axle and making the parking brake work. I just placed an order, my new cost less hardware, is exactly the same as what I am selling them for now. "Merica, god damn right!!

 

[Chris]

"Merica, god damn right. Now for the fucking flip side of that shit. We make and sell our Wizard bracket kit for flipping calipers to the front side of the rear axle and making the parking brake work. I just placed an order, my new cost less hardware, is exactly the same as what I am selling them for now. "Merica, god damn right!!

Not making a dime on them, huh?

Why not raise the price a bit? Would people not be receptive to a price more than they currently are?

 

[mrblaine]

Not making a dime on them, huh?

Why not raise the price a bit? Would people not be receptive to that?

No, I am making our standard 30% on them now. I'll have to raise the price to 30% above what we have them listed for now plus the cost of the hardware.

 

[Chris]

No, I am making our standard 30% on them now. I'll have to raise the price to 30% above what we have them listed for now plus the cost of the hardware.

So then that begs the question: Why not just have the made overseas (or somewhere cheaper)?

I don't know your market clearly as well as you do. Would people actually be up-in-arms if they found out they weren't made in the U.S.?