Upgrade to Max Tow Rear Brakes?

[imnuts]

Has anyone without a max tow equipped truck upgraded the rear brakes/rotors to the to those that come on a max tow truck? If so, what parts are needed and are any Forscan changes required to make sure ABS works properly after the upgrade?

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[HammaMan]

Has anyone without a max tow equipped truck upgraded the rear brakes/rotors to the to those that come on a max tow truck? If so, what parts are needed and are any Forscan changes required to make sure ABS works properly after the upgrade?

You're just nuts. Different axle, caliper bracket, etc....

and the gain (drum roll)

+2% in friction area!

Edit 6-Dec-2024
Max tow rotor swap -- needs rotor, caliper, pads, and caliper mounting bracket to make it work per another recent post that's escaping me right now.

 

[imnuts]

Why is a different axle required?

Also, my understanding is that the max tow brakes have better cooling properties and are slightly larger in diameter. The larger diameter will give better braking despite an almost equal contact area, and improved cooling will keep them operating longer.

 

[Chease44]

Why is a different axle required?

Also, my understanding is that the max tow brakes have better cooling properties and are slightly larger in diameter. The larger diameter will give better braking despite an almost equal contact area, and improved cooling will keep them operating longer.

The Max Tow trucks are equipped with a different axle than the regular F150’s. So the odds of the mounting points being the same are slim to none I would say.

 

[amschind]

I have a set of EBC front rotors that I'm not using. I'll send them your way for the cost of shipping. Get some EBC Yellowstuff or Greenstuff pads and you'll have better brakes than a stock Max Tow.

 

[hotrodmex]

slightly larger in diameter.

It's not the diameter, but the large increase in width the helps in cooling.

Like other said, the axle housing is different, so while possible, it's unlikely a simple swap.

Get some EBC Yellowstuff or Greenstuff pads and you'll have better brakes than a stock Max Tow.

Do you have part numbers for these, by chance? I've search briefly but haven't come up with anything. I've been using EBC pads for years on street (red/yellow) and at the track (blue).

 

[amschind]

It's not the diameter, but the large increase in width the helps in cooling.

Like other said, the axle housing is different, so while possible, it's unlikely a simple swap.



Do you have part numbers for these, by chance? I've search briefly but haven't come up with anything. I've been using EBC pads for years on street (red/yellow) and at the track (blue).

No because I tried to order them with my truck in 2021 and got 10 months of "it will ship in 1 month", finally cancelling the order. The Powerstop people said "give us a month" and it arrived a month later. I used EBC rotors and Greenstuff pads on my old Exploder and it stopped REALLY well. The old 4.0L V6 needed words of encouragement to reach 70 MPH, but man it would get to ZERO MPH in a hurry. In all seriousness, EBC's website HAS a product finder, but is a giant pain to find and use. Set aside 30 minutes to navigate their website and you'll get the right stuff. A word of caution: use EBC's website, as bad as it is. Everyone else is absolutely garbage at getting the part numbers right, even if they are usually trustworthy. I found that out the hard way with a set of rear rotors.

 

[imnuts]

Like other said, the axle housing is different, so while possible, it's unlikely a simple swap.

Even if the mounting is different, a "custom" carrier should avoid needing to swap the axle. I'd think brake lines would connect right up and rotors should be an easy swap.

When I had my Audi, it was very common to pull brake parts from other models/brands and a different carrier was all that was needed for most.

 

[Pedaldude]

VW/Audi/Porsche has been doing stuff like that for decades and it’s sweet to be able to swap out brakes and/or suspension for a newer or better iteration but that’s not common at all amongst manufacturers.

Ford has been historically screwy in the other direction and changes parts compatibility for no apparent reason and still keeping the same part numbers from generation to generation. Making it important to know a dealership with a good parts guy.

I think that the big difference is that one group is striving for better parts and the other is looking at making more parts cheaper.

The Maxtow brakes don’t just share a different axle housing; the notorious 3/4 floating axle, new in 2021 and known best for breaking axle bolts. They also have a different axle.

That being said, they still have the same bolt pattern for the brake disc and not having a drum style parking brake might make things easier. So if there’s room axially for a custom caliper mount, it’s doable.

Like you said though; the big question is if you can change the brake bias for the new brakes, if it’s needed and if the new ABS pump style master cylinder can accommodate all this.

I also feel that the ABS is flawed and kicks in, at least in the dry too soon. Braking performance is one of the big disappointments in my truck which weighs in at 5,020LBS with me in the truck and a mostly full tank.

I have the Max Tow brakes and thankfully I haven’t needed to test maximum braking performance while heavily laden or towing. They really won’t help though when empty, since the front brakes are going to be doing most of the work.

If people do start messing around with their ABS modules, it would be useful information to know if it can be programmed for more aggressive braking.

My guess is that it’s not really worth it and might not have much of an improvement when it comes to stopping distance unless you are towing heavy.

Good luck either way!

 

[HammaMan]

It's not the diameter, but the large increase in width the helps in cooling.

Width doesn't do much for cooling unless the cooling vanes were where the larger thickness was. Given how larger brakes are I suspect you'll find that to not be the case.

 

[hotrodmex]

Even if the mounting is different, a "custom" carrier should avoid needing to swap the axle. I'd think brake lines would connect right up and rotors should be an easy swap.

When I had my Audi, it was very common to pull brake parts from other models/brands and a different carrier was all that was needed for most.

Yes, you can fab any adapter to make something work. As an enthusiast of 90's low volume cheap Japanese fun cars I have many hours into catalog combing, so I get the sentiment. But at that point I'd just start looking for other pieces given the tiny improvement for MaxTow. There may be none, I haven't looked, just where I was coming from.

Width doesn't do much for cooling unless the cooling vanes were where the larger thickness was. Given how larger brakes are I suspect you'll find that to not be the case.

This caveat is correct. I've seen plenty that go both ways. Looking at the product images from Powerstop, taken at a poor angle, it appears to be the face thickness in this instance, or at least not a significant increase in vane.

I personally will look towards cooling ducting and pad selection for upgrades. From track experience this has been the best dollar to performance modification aside from pad selection. Even something like a simple deflector scoop like you can find on Porsche or GT-Rs would probably help significantly.

 

[imnuts]

I don't remember where I read it, but the max tow rear rotors are larger in diameter, thicker, and part of the increased thickness is due to cooling vanes in the rotor to help avoid heat build up. Not sure if that is the case or not. Looking at specs on the two rear rotors, the "heavy" brake rotors weigh about 10 lbs more each (almost double the weight), so it is a decent size/weight difference.

 

[FORDTEXAS]

the max tow brakes aren’t even all that lol.. my truck struggles braking with a 3000 pound trailer around town. i couldn’t imagine how bad it would be if i didn’t have max tow brakes lmfao

 

[hotrodmex]

I don't remember where I read it, but the max tow rear rotors are larger in diameter, thicker, and part of the increased thickness is due to cooling vanes in the rotor to help avoid heat build up. Not sure if that is the case or not.

4 mm thicker overall. I don't like that the scale is off, but there are some application pictures on Rock Auto.

STD on the left, HD on the right

Contrasted with the 34mm wide fronts.

Looking at specs on the two rear rotors, the "heavy" brake rotors weigh about 10 lbs more each (almost double the weight), so it is a decent size/weight difference.

Where'd you see this?

 

[Big Dog Daddy]

If you really want to upgrade your brakes, try this it's a bolt on kit for the F-150.

Brembo F-150 GT Series 8-Piston Front Big Brake Kit with 16.20-Inch 2-Piece Cross Drilled Rotors; Red Calipers 1Q1.9626A2 (21-23 F-150, Excluding Raptor) - Free Shipping

https://www.americantrucks.com/brem...ss-drilled-rotors-red-calipers-1q19626a2.html

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