99 ranger, looking to upgrade front brakes

[mooty]

I've got a '99 ford ranger xlt rwd. The stock brakes are adequate but I've been pondering a brake upgrade via better rotors(slotted/vented/drilled) and/or perhaps bigger calipers with larger pads.

I'm guessing a lot of folks have looked into this and I'm wondering if perhaps similarly aged v8 explorers have better brakes that I can swap in... or am I stuck with aftermarket part premiums?

Sent from my SCH-I545PP using Tapatalk

 

[don4331]

Mooty:

Assuming you have 11.28 rotors in your '99, you're at end of line.

V-8 Explorers (rwd) used same set up. 4x4s are completely different.

Historically, a couple individuals did upgrades but demand isn't there anymore...

 

[pjtoledo]

it depends, do you have coil springs or torsion bars up front?

if coils you are indeed at the end of the line. unless you do some custom work for a radial mount caliper.

if you have torsion bars you may be in luck. the 2001 2wd Sport Tracs had 12" front rotors. it is the steering knuckle that makes the difference, and they can be swapped. However...
the big issue is the size of the stud on the upper ball joint. coil systems have a small stud, the torsion systems have a larger stud. I don't have the numbers handy right now.
you cannot interchange the 2 sizes of upper control arms/ball joints, it throws the camber off way past the adjusting range.


are you anywhere near northwest Ohio? I have a set of the 2wd Sport trac steering knuckles.

 

[mooty]

it depends, do you have coil springs or torsion bars up front?

if coils you are indeed at the end of the line. unless you do some custom work for a radial mount caliper.

if you have torsion bars you may be in luck. the 2001 2wd Sport Tracs had 12" front rotors. it is the steering knuckle that makes the difference, and they can be swapped. However...
the big issue is the size of the stud on the upper ball joint. coil systems have a small stud, the torsion systems have a larger stud. I don't have the numbers handy right now.
you cannot interchange the 2 sizes of upper control arms/ball joints, it throws the camber off way past the adjusting range.


are you anywhere near northwest Ohio? I have a set of the 2wd Sport trac steering knuckles.

I'm in the greater Seattle metro area, and I have coil springs.

Do you think a vented/slotted rotor would be a waste of money in my case?

Sent from my SCH-I545PP using Tapatalk

 

[pjtoledo]

your rotors are vented, not sure if slots or holes would be much help. kinda depends on how you drive I guess.

if you want to go with some fabrication, the 12" rotors from the 2001 Sport trac will fit. they are exactly the same as Ranger 11.28" except for the increased diameter.
HOWEVER, there are no known caliper/bracket combinations that fit!!!
the stock brackets would need extra material added to move the mounting holes out 3/8". recent discussions say that cannot be done safely.
or radial-mount calipers with a 1-off mounting bracket would be doable, for a price.

if you come up with something let us know, I've been wanting bigger brakes on my '05, coil springs, for a while.

 

[BUGNUT]

Mooty:

Assuming you have 11.28 rotors in your '99, you're at end of line.

V-8 Explorers (rwd) used same set up. 4x4s are completely different.

Historically, a couple individuals did upgrades but demand isn't there anymore...

I have a '00 Ranger XLT supercab with coil springs and have 10.25" front rotors and 10" drums in the rear. Is there a direct swap in for the 11.28" rotors for the 00' Ranger?

 

[Mac]

I have a '00 Ranger XLT supercab with coil springs and have 10.25" front rotors and 10" drums in the rear. Is there a direct swap in for the 11.28" rotors for the 00' Ranger?

As mentioned above, If you have the coil suspension, you're at the limit.
Dave

 

[55trucker]

I've wanted to do this as well, I own a 98 XLT Splash, it has lite duty suspension,

talking strictly 2wd front coils... what differences are there in the the knuckles used on the smaller 10 1/4 (260mm) rotor setups vs the larger 11 1/4" (285mm) rotor set ups?

Rockauto lists both a 10 1/4" & 11 1/4" rotor for both '95 thru to 2011 that are used on either the Mazda/Explorer/Ranger.

To the best of my knowledge the calipers are the same, I'm aware that the brackets used with each of those setups are not the same so the knuckles for each setup are different castings?

 

[don4331]

55trucker:

I can tell you will 100% certainty, that the 4x4 knuckles are different between those with the 285mm (11 1/4") and those with 305mm rotors (12"). The part numbers for both calipers are the same; Superlift provides 2 set of holes in their lift knuckles for you to choose which rotors you have.

For coil spring Rangers; I am not so certain. Based on the attached pictures, I would swear the bracket for the 260mm rotors is 7.5mm shorter than those for 285mm. Let me go check something...

 

[55trucker]

while in Rockauto I too was looking at the pics they supply for the various brake arrangements...two supplied photos for either the 2001 & 2008 (samples) years, both 2wd, the older year is for 10 1/4" ...the later 2008 is for 11 1/4" rotor. Both are designated as 2wd suspensions. The 1st pic is the later truck, 2nd pic the older truck

I'm assuming that there are two different knuckle castings for the 2wd trucks seeing as the bracket castings are different (mounting hole center to center are not the same).

Steve

 

[don4331]

Late braking (intentional pun).

Knuckles are indeed different - I had a 260mm rotor knuckle in garage...

As seen in the attached, the mounting holes for the 260mm rotor are 173mm apart, while those of 285mm rotor are about 144mm apart. (and that might actually help me with my adapter for Crown Vic rotors).

 

[black06xlt]

rear disc conversion would help. drilled and slotted rotors and ebc pads would improve the front

 

[don4331]

Drilled and slotted rotors helped in '60's when pads were made out of asbestos and binding compounds were prone to off gassing/glazing... But 50 years later, asbestos isn't used and binding compounds don't off gas/glaze near as easy. Therefore, all drilling and slotting does is increase risk of rotor cracking, reduce surface area = reduced braking and perhaps add bling.

Explorer axle conversion helps in that is has 31 spline axles which allows for more weight/power, but if you can lock the rear wheels with the drums (which ABS/RABS will then modulate), what is rear disc buying you? (besides bling).

 

[pjtoledo]

for what its worth, my 2005 "fleet truck" 2.3 reg cab 2wd coil springs uses the exact same calipers and brackets as my 2000 ext cab 3.0 4x4. both had 11.25 rotors from the factory.
on the 2000 4x4, I used the 2000 factory calipers/brackets when I replaced the front knuckles with '04s to get the 12" rotors.

depending on the brand there can be a slight height difference between Ranger 11.25 pads and Explorer 12" pads, the Exs being a bit bigger.

 

[pjtoledo]

Drilled and slotted rotors helped in '60's when pads were made out of asbestos and binding compounds were prone to off gassing/glazing... But 50 years later, asbestos isn't used and binding compounds don't off gas/glaze near as easy. Therefore, all drilling and slotting does is increase risk of rotor cracking, reduce surface area = reduced braking and perhaps add bling.

Explorer axle conversion helps in that is has 31 spline axles which allows for more weight/power, but if you can lock the rear wheels with the drums (which ABS/RABS will then modulate), what is rear disc buying you? (besides bling).

better wet performance, better fade resistance.
us 'ol dudes remember when front drum brakes would get wet and stopping would be a challenge. our hearts sometimes stopped before the car did.