Tom, are we going to get more GoPro video from testing days? I really enjoyed those.
SteveG wrote:The point? It's amazing these front ends go down the road straight in any form! The TTB is brute. A broad sword and not a scalpel. That's why I love it!
ChaseTruck754 wrote:Love the minty green "patina" on the hubs!
Yup, that's exactly what it is... PATINA! One of my favorite descriptors. The ole BajaF250 is full of patina!
By the way, that paint is maybe 20-years old... I have no idea where I got it and I've never found any like it since... I suppose I should just go get some mixed up.
Last edited by BajaF250 on Wed Apr 18, 2012 8:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Silverslk wrote:Tom, are we going to get more GoPro video from testing days? I really enjoyed those.
Really? I didn't think anyone looked at those. Ok, I'll break out the Go Pro and get the batteries all charged up for my next testing session. Which, I hope is soon... I really need it.
I apparently missed a great opportunity this week... Bill and Mike Julson were out in the desert at the beginning of the week testing a few customer's trophy trucks and I was off the grid and unavailable... bummer!
Silverslk wrote:Tom, are we going to get more GoPro video from testing days? I really enjoyed those.
Really? I didn't think anyone looked at those. Ok, I'll break out the Go Pro and get the batteries all charged up for my next testing session. Which, I hope is soon... I really need it.
I apparently missed a great opportunity this week... Bill and Mike Julson were out in the desert at the beginning of the week testing a few customer's trophy trucks and I was off the grid and unavailable... bummer!
I found them and thought they were awesome and so did a buddy of mine.. he sent me the link and I was like "DUDE! That's the Minty Green Monster!"
SteveG wrote:The point? It's amazing these front ends go down the road straight in any form! The TTB is brute. A broad sword and not a scalpel. That's why I love it!
Just a quick update and driver's impression on the new brakes. The bottom line, they are great and have worked out exceptionally well.
I'm using Wilwood's PolyMatrix A-compound brake pads. They are a very aggressive high temperature pads. The pad characteristics (from their website):
• Ultimate high friction compound with aggressive initial response.
• Long wear rate for severe duty, sustained high temperature braking.
• Immediate low temperature response for qualifying laps, restarts, and any other applications requiring high response at low temperatures.
• Compatible with iron, steel, and titanium rotors.
Driving impression:
• One the first braking of the day after the truck has been sitting over night, the initial braking is not very good (as with most high performance pads). But after only a few blocks of driving, the pads have sufficiently heated and respond exceptionally well. I'm running 2-lb residual valves off my master cylinder and the slight drag they provide warms up the brakes nicely.
• Once warmed up, they have a very nice feel, they do not grab, very nice pedal response and when needed, the brakes can stop the truck on a dime. Something I've not been able to do since I switched to 35's. I can lock up the front tires as well... again, something I've not been able to do for a very long time.
• Of course, the improved braking comes at a cost (anticipated), the rotor wear is very agressive and these are not 100,000 mile pads and rotors by any stretch... I suspect I'll have to change rotors every 6-months if I stay with this aggressive compound.
• Very dirty brakes... the pads produce quite a bit of brake dust... again, fully anticipated, but noted none the less.
• Every once in a while, I will get a little brake noise at slower stopping speeds. Not consistent and nothing annoying.
2-Thumbs up! Overall, I'm exceptionally happy with the conversion and the resultant stopping power and increased braking performance I'm getting with the new setup. It's not a cheap endeavour, the total cost to me was just about a grand which was for the calipers, pads and stainless steel brakeline components. All of the fabrication costs were nill since I did all the designing machining, fabrication and installation myself.
Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY, I don't know why it's taken me so long to do it in the first place!
**edit, spelling**
Last edited by BajaF250 on Sun Apr 22, 2012 11:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
Beautiful work, Tom You will probably find the Polymatrix pads will always work better the hotter they are. With any hi=po brake pad, dust will be a problem, just make sure to not let it sit too long on your aluminum wheels, or it will be a pain to remove later. I have also found the cryo treated and slotted rotors give the best life / stopping power / wear rates for your money. Maybe you should look into them for your next rotor replacement. Anyway, fantastic they do the job and more for you. Cant wait to see the Minty Monster again when I get there.
AussieRod wrote:Beautiful work, Tom You will probably find the Polymatrix pads will always work better the hotter they are. With any hi=po brake pad, dust will be a problem, just make sure to not let it sit too long on your aluminum wheels, or it will be a pain to remove later. I have also found the cryo treated and slotted rotors give the best life / stopping power / wear rates for your money. Maybe you should look into them for your next rotor replacement. Anyway, fantastic they do the job and more for you. Cant wait to see the Minty Monster again when I get there.
Thanks Rod... yup, I expected all of the things I noted... interesting note on cryo treated rotors... I've been talking to Bill about that and he has a fair amount of experience on cryo treating the race rotors... he did it on his TT prerunner. His experience is that they don't last that much longer... he's come to the conclusion that it's not worth the money. One cool thing is that my rotors are not very expensive and very easy to replace. So, I'm not too worried about rotor changes.
tcm glx wrote:Off the charts Tom, another job well done on the brakes. Now, when is the shock tuning going to happen?
Hey T,
As a matter of fact, it happened today... just got back from plaster city (it was really nice down there by the way... got outta there before it broke 90°). The new shock setup works, simply put superb! In just a few adjustments, I dialed out all the rear porpoising and smoothed it out considerably. But, I've now unmasked another problem... I have too much spring in the rear (which I sorta knew, but the shock control issues masked the springs). So, I need to adjust my rear spring pack down some (gotta run the math to figure our what spring rate I'll drop it down to).
So now starts the quest to dial in my set of rear leaf springs!
**Sorry Andy, not Go Pro ready yet... need to build some new mounts!
I am going to try and run 13" dodge rotors all the way around, but put them on the outside of the hub vs inside. It's a shame too because I really like these 15x37 Goodyears.
I don't really have braking problems now, as my truck will lockup the front tires at 80mph on pavement. I'm curious about what is different on my truck vs everyone else's.
My guess is that Minty Freshness is just a tad heavier than the Bronco(s) (7,100lbs vs 4,800lbs... 2,300lbs is a lot of difference) and with that added weight the old green truck shod with 35's just didn't like to stop.
The stock brake rotors on the truck are 12.50"x1.25" and I really can't increase the diameter with 16's... But it I jumped up to 17" rims, I'd be able to put on 14" rotors. But, the way the truck stops now... I'm very happy.
philofab wrote:I am going to try and run 13" dodge rotors all the way around, but put them on the outside of the hub vs inside. It's a shame too because I really like these 15x37 Goodyears.
I don't really have braking problems now, as my truck will lockup the front tires at 80mph on pavement. I'm curious about what is different on my truck vs everyone else's.
Hey Philo,
I'm not making the connection between the dodge rotors and the goodyears. Why can't you run the dodge rotors with the 15x17 goodyears? Going to a different rim?
You will probably find the Polymatrix pads will always work better the hotter they are. With any hi=po brake pad, dust will be a problem, just make sure to not let it sit too long on your aluminum wheels, or it will be a pain to remove later. I have also found the cryo treated and slotted rotors give the best life / stopping power / wear rates for your money. Maybe you should look into them for your next rotor replacement. Anyway, fantastic they do the job and more for you. Cant wait to see the Minty Monster again when I get there. 
