Standard duty brakes upgrade to heavy duty

[peterk9]

This is not accurate. I have a March 2013 build that definitely has Std brakes. I have replaced the rotors and pads myself and can confirm the 325mm fronts.

Just repeating what has been posted here many times. BTW, I just corrected my post. The dates were reversed.

Peter

 

[metroplex]

Are the rear Standard Duty and Heavy Duty pads the same form/fit? I couldn't tell the difference from the photos. Some aftermarket vendors offered only 1 model of rear pads without differentiating SD or HD. Is it just a different pad compound?

 

[Explorer75]

Standard and HD brake parts are not interchangeable.

 

[metroplex]

Standard and HD brake parts are not interchangeable.

Only Motorcraft makes a distinction between the 2 types of pads.everyone else carries 1 type of pad so I was thinking the pads have the same form and fit. Is that not true? I know rotor thickness is different as at the calipers and anchor plates.

 

[Explorer75]

Only Motorcraft makes a distinction between the 2 types of pads.everyone else carries 1 type of pad so I was thinking the pads have the same form and fit. Is that not true? I know rotor thickness is different as at the calipers and anchor plates.

I can see that visually the Std and HD rear pads are almost identical, do you know which brakes you have, Std or HD 100% sure?

I have the Std brakes and my rear pads are MOTORCRAFT BRF1531, HD rear pads are MOTORCRAFT BRF1539 .

 

[metroplex]

I can see that visually the Std and HD rear pads are almost identical, do you know which brakes you have, Std or HD 100% sure?

I have the Std brakes and my rear pads are MOTORCRAFT BRF1531, HD rear pads are MOTORCRAFT BRF1539 .

110% sure SD because it is a 2018 XLT and Ford only equipped Limited and higher with HD rear for 2018. Non vented rear rotor.

 

[metroplex]

Also I'm not sure I am going to go with Motorcraft pads. I do notice that the HD Motorcraft pads have more contact surface area than the SD pads, or it might be an illusion from the photos. I see that Bosch has rear pads with the "GG" edge code, so I'll give those a try.

 

[Explorer75]

Also I'm not sure I am going to go with Motorcraft pads. I do notice that the HD Motorcraft pads have more contact surface area than the SD pads, or it might be an illusion from the photos. I see that Bosch has rear pads with the "GG" edge code, so I'll give those a try.

Interesting, let me know you the Bosch pads hold up.

Thanks

 

[Explorer75]

I upgraded mine myself a while back and the links below show all the parts needed. Huge improvement in braking and no more warped rotors!!! One note, find the police interceptor calipers instead as they have a higher heat resistant sillicone in the calipers. I left a comment in the reviews in the links below that lists that out.

I ordered most from livernois and found some parts cheaper on ebay but hopefully this parts list helps you out.

Ford Explorer Sport Brake Upgrade Kit -- Front Set (Part No: EXPLSPRTFRTBRK)

Ford Explorer Sport Brake Upgrade Kit -- Rear Set (Part No: EXPLSPRTREARBRK)

Hi

I have a 2013 (built march 2012) so I have the Standard. I´m thinking of this conversion, which police interceptor calipers you used, do you have the part no. ?
Also can you explain a bit more the benefits of the bigger brakes, initial bite is better?

Thanks in advance

 

[metroplex]

I've done a lot of research into this as I did the brake pad change on my 2018 XLT... The SD vs HD rear rotors yield a size increase (13 vs 13.6 IIRC) but the pads are the same. So while the HD rear rotors are vented and slightly larger, the pad surface area is roughly the same because they can use the pads interchangeably. I looked at a bunch of Explorer tests from Car and Driver and Motor Trend where they do 60-0 or 70-0 stops, and it's always been relatively the same between the Limited, Sports, etc... whether it was SD or HD brakes. There was not a statistically different stopping distance to indicate one set of brakes was better than the other. The Ford part #s for the rear pads are different, but it's because of the pad compound and the chamfering/cut of the pads - but all the aftermarket rear pads are generally designed for either type of caliper.

To me, the HD is a bigger rotor with the same size pad. So the larger vented rotor is great for repeated hard stops or maybe towing, but Ford didn't include the HD rear brakes for the 2018-up Tow packages, you had to get Limited or higher. Insert question mark emojicon.

 

[Explorer75]

I've done a lot of research into this as I did the brake pad change on my 2018 XLT... The SD vs HD rear rotors yield a size increase (13 vs 13.6 IIRC) but the pads are the same. So while the HD rear rotors are vented and slightly larger, the pad surface area is roughly the same because they can use the pads interchangeably. I looked at a bunch of Explorer tests from Car and Driver and Motor Trend where they do 60-0 or 70-0 stops, and it's always been relatively the same between the Limited, Sports, etc... whether it was SD or HD brakes. There was not a statistically different stopping distance to indicate one set of brakes was better than the other. The Ford part #s for the rear pads are different, but it's because of the pad compound and the chamfering/cut of the pads - but all the aftermarket rear pads are generally designed for either type of caliper.

To me, the HD is a bigger rotor with the same size pad. So the larger vented rotor is great for repeated hard stops or maybe towing, but Ford didn't include the HD rear brakes for the 2018-up Tow packages, you had to get Limited or higher. Insert question mark emojicon.

You have saved me several hundreds of dollars. If the difference is so marginal in the books or numbers and real life tests don´t actually reveal a real difference I will stay away.
One thing did catch my attention, I have a friend who has a´16 with HD brakes and recently had to replace front rotors and pads because of vibrations when braking at 60+ MPH. The OP also stated that he wanted to upgrade to HD brakes because of the same problem, however he turned out to have HD brakes all along. So having HD brakes isn´t a cure for warped rotors, better performance is marginal at best, cost/benefit doesn´t justify this upgrade.

Thanks!