brake fluid

[tomthecomic]

I have 45,000mi, the peddle is spungy but I have 20's so it might be normal. I have new hawk pads would a fluid change help stoping power?

 

[410Fortune]

why does wheel size effect braking? the tire diameter is the same as stock.
Vehicle weight effects braking

With 45K miles changing the fluid is not your answer.
if you feel the braking is not what it used to be with the new pads I would start off by finding out if they bled the system (whoever did the brakes) sounds to me more like you have some air in there, and if they bled the system then you already have new fluid.

A spongy pedal can be a leaking brake booster or a engine vacuum leak. It can be blow calipers, air int he line, a bottomed out master cylinder, or these new pads just dont feel the same as the old, stock ones.
I like Bendix fleet grade pads or Raybeastos semi metallic myself. The "green" pads and ceramic pads are allright too, but the green pads dont stop well and the ceramic ones chew up your rotors.

 

[TheJMan]

Wheel size will affect braking because generally, 20" wheels are much heavier than 15 or 16" wheels. This makes it more difficult to get them to move, either accelerating or stopping. T

There was an article in a Motor Trend issue about a year ago in which they had a bone stock Navigator with stock wheels. They switched out the stock 18" in favor of some 23" wheels. Just that change increased 0-60 times by one second and increased 60-0 dramatically.

I'm not sure there is really much you can do other then spend some big bucks and upgrade the braking system with bigger rotors and calipers.

 

[ExplorerDMB]

Wheel size will affect braking because generally, 20" wheels are much heavier than 15 or 16" wheels. This makes it more difficult to get them to move, either accelerating or stopping.

410 is right. A mushy/soft petal should not be an after-effect of adding bigger/heavier wheels. You are simply talking about stopping distance - ten bucks the petal still felt the same. I put bigger tires on mine, and the only that changed was stopping distance...not the way my pedal feels. Bleed the system -- if that does not work, look for a leak, and watch out for the rubber lines, they can absorb the fluid which will cause a crappy petal.

I'm not sure there is really much you can do other then spend some big bucks and upgrade the braking system with bigger rotors and calipers.

There are no "upgrade" for Explorers in the braking system. Drilled or slotter rotors are the only way to get any performance out of the brakes.


-Drew

 

[Bronco638]

There are no "upgrade" for Explorers in the braking system. Drilled or slotter rotors are the only way to get any performance out of the brakes.

Drew,

I'm not so sure about this. I recall someone posting that the SportTrac has slightly larger rotors and different calipers. The 'upgrade' would be to swap out the spindles so you can use the SportTrac rotor/caliper. I do not recall anyone having done this and it didn't sound like the gain in rotor size was all that much (compared to the work involved).

I will say this, with larger tires/wheels (more unsprung weight) your new enemy is heat. By dissipating the heat you keep the pads/rotors working efficiently. It won't necessarily reduce stopping distances (you're still trying to stop more weight) but it will keep the pads from fading. Duct some air to the rotors. The airdam has many convenient openings to supply air. You just need to figure out how to run the ductwork.