Do You Think Our Brake Rotors are Adequately Sized ? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Do You Think Our Brake Rotors are Adequately Sized ?

JFUSION

Well-Known Member
Joined
September 25, 2011
Messages
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City, State
Ontario
Year, Model & Trim Level
2012
I've owned a couple Fords in recent years and both vehicles had issues with rotor warpage and related symptoms (Fusion and Escape). Some of it was related to the rotors rusting along the outer edge, but some was warping too. It seemed to get worse after winter use.

When I look at my 20 inch wheels it gives me the impression that the rotors are kind of small. I know some of it is just the appearance due to the larger rims, but I'm a bit concerned as our trucks do weigh a fair bit. Just want to confirm that our rotors are decently sized for the vehicle. Thus far the braking system seems okay, I'm not overwhelmed by the feel of the braking system, but it seems adequate. The factory pads and rotors on my 2002 Honda S2000 have easily gone 7 years and 100,000 kms with no adverse issues, but I can't seem to get that kind of performance out of my Ford brakes.

First thing I did when I brought the truck home was to torque the lugnuts to 100 ft lbs, improper lug nut torque is one reason rotors warp. The lugs on my truck were not torqued to 100 ft lbs, all 20 lug were less than 100 ft lbs, I'd say they were closer to 80 ft lbs judging by the feel of how much I had to tighten them up.

Any opinions on our braking system would be great to hear. Thanks for reading.
 



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I haven't looked at the new explorer's brakes but I'd say it's fine. Remember your s2000 is WAY lighter and built for towards aggressive driving and racing. So daily driving isn't going to tear them up to bad. Weight is going to make the biggest difference in the life of the pads. Also, warpage has nothing to do with the diameter, but with the thickness of the rotor and how well it cools itself.
 






I haven't looked at the new explorer's brakes but I'd say it's fine. Remember your s2000 is WAY lighter and built for towards aggressive driving and racing. So daily driving isn't going to tear them up to bad. Weight is going to make the biggest difference in the life of the pads. Also, warpage has nothing to do with the diameter, but with the thickness of the rotor and how well it cools itself.

Thanks for the reply, yeah the rotors on this truck do look quite thick, definitely thicker than the ones on my Escape, so perhaps they will be fine. Thanks for bringing up that point. :thumbsup:
 












The day after I received my 2012 x, it went to the Infineon Raceway for a work out, believe me the brakes are more than just Ok, no brake fade at all in hard braking. Just wanted to confirm Consumers Reports findings.
 






I'm sorry i don't mean to insult anyone but i cant believe the thing people ask. Like are the brakes the right size, it's like asking does ford makes cars or those apple makes iphone come on its like all issue have been asked already so let's think of something out of the box !!! Well let me tell all
1. Ford as been making cars for over 100 years
2. They started the assembly line
3 they did not ask for bail out money
4 the new explorer is re-design
5 it will have issue like all other new car will
6 technology will always have glitches
7 ford will fix all issues they have alot riding on this explorer
8 and please the tire are the right size
9 the engine runs on regular gas
10 the tire use air to get filled
11 the motor uses oil
12 the explorer has wiper that move side to side
13 etc..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................so please sit back ride your explorer and most of all enjoy it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
 






I've owned a couple Fords in recent years and both vehicles had issues with rotor warpage and related symptoms (Fusion and Escape). Some of it was related to the rotors rusting along the outer edge, but some was warping too. It seemed to get worse after winter use.

When I look at my 20 inch wheels it gives me the impression that the rotors are kind of small. I know some of it is just the appearance due to the larger rims, but I'm a bit concerned as our trucks do weigh a fair bit. Just want to confirm that our rotors are decently sized for the vehicle. Thus far the braking system seems okay, I'm not overwhelmed by the feel of the braking system, but it seems adequate. The factory pads and rotors on my 2002 Honda S2000 have easily gone 7 years and 100,000 kms with no adverse issues, but I can't seem to get that kind of performance out of my Ford brakes.

First thing I did when I brought the truck home was to torque the lugnuts to 100 ft lbs, improper lug nut torque is one reason rotors warp. The lugs on my truck were not torqued to 100 ft lbs, all 20 lug were less than 100 ft lbs, I'd say they were closer to 80 ft lbs judging by the feel of how much I had to tighten them up.

Any opinions on our braking system would be great to hear. Thanks for reading.

On the Police Utility (Explorer) the Engineers went 30% larger swept area on much larger rotors, bigger callipers and new material on the pads. This was the design they needed to meet the Michigan State Police and LA County Sheriff's Car Test. I believe Brembo supplied the parts.

It was interesting that the biggest improvement to braking was the new wheel design that allows for more heat to escape from the rotors under severe duty.

If you get to the point you want more you can order all those parts from Ford Parts.

I will try and get you the part numbers for reference later on.
 






I'm sorry i don't mean to insult anyone but i cant believe the thing people ask. Like are the brakes the right size, it's like asking does ford makes cars or those apple makes iphone come on its like all issue have been asked already so let's think of something out of the box !!! Well let me tell all
1. Ford as been making cars for over 100 years
2. They started the assembly line
3 they did not ask for bail out money
4 the new explorer is re-design
5 it will have issue like all other new car will
6 technology will always have glitches
7 ford will fix all issues they have alot riding on this explorer
8 and please the tire are the right size
9 the engine runs on regular gas
10 the tire use air to get filled
11 the motor uses oil
12 the explorer has wiper that move side to side
13 etc..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................so please sit back ride your explorer and most of all enjoy it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

well I keep throwing my money towards Ford, I do like their products. I have just purchased my fourth Ford. Yet somehow I've ended up with rotors that start to warp and suffer rusting issues as soon as they go out of warranty, surprise, surprise. With the rusting along the outer edges, rather than warranty the rotors they want me to take the car in every few months to have them sanded down, at my expense of course. Now that I've layed down a significant amount of money on the Explorer I'd really like to avoid similar issues on this vehicle. I don't think I'm asking too much, and my question is relavant based on my past experience.

To make the matters worse I decided to purhase new Ford rotors for my Escape only to see the wonderful words "made in china" on the rotor boxes. That's part of the solution to Ford avoiding bailout money, they now produce a higher percentage of their parts in China and Mexico. Although on an unrelated matter, I just heard that Ford may be moving Fusion production back to the US from Mexico, one good decision in recent times. Sorry for getting off-topic :)
 






Where did you get the 100ft lb torque rating on the lug nuts?
 












The day after I received my 2012 x, it went to the Infineon Raceway for a work out, believe me the brakes are more than just Ok, no brake fade at all in hard braking. Just wanted to confirm Consumers Reports findings.

Sweet, that is great to know, sounds like a good test, thanks for the reply.
 






The factory pads and rotors on my 2002 Honda S2000 have easily gone 7 years and 100,000 kms with no adverse issues, but I can't seem to get that kind of performance out of my Ford brakes.
Does your S2k have a manual transmission?
 






The brake rotors are way bigger than previous Explorers. Because of the larger rim size, you can only fit 17 inch rims minimum on the Explorer. The 95 I had had way smaller rotors and can fit 15 inch rims. Big difference in braking can be seen between the generations. Ford has really improved the brakes on the Explorer.
 






The day after I received my 2012 x, it went to the Infineon Raceway for a work out, believe me the brakes are more than just Ok, no brake fade at all in hard braking. Just wanted to confirm Consumers Reports findings.

GASP! That doesn't sound like a proper break-in. :rolleyes:
 












imo, the brakes are very good. Under hard braking I found them to stop really fast without fade or car getting out of shape. if you go by mag/video reviews, against it's peers it seems to always have the shortest stop distance.

the only quip is in the morning backing out of my garage, my brakes are a little squeaky. once on the road it's gone.
 












The S2000 wasn't available with a slushbox AFAIK.
Got it. I asked because (and as you guys may know) brakes on a vehicle with a manual transmission will last significantly longer than brakes on a vehicle with an automatic transmission.
 






IZwack, I don't buy that unless you are downshifting through gears, which if that is the case, is not the right way to drive a manual. The brakes are far more able to deal with deceleration than the drivetrain. If your brakes last longer because you have a manual, you're wearing something else out...likely the clutch and throwout bearing which are more expensive to replace then pads and rotors.

This whole thread is just silly anyway. Brake pad compound is infinitely more important to slowing a car down than the size of the rotor. Rotor's rarely warp, they gain uneven deposits from pads that create a pulse (slip/stick) sensation. Typically it's just easier to replace them or turn them to remove the deposits, but rarely would the actual metal be bent. If you scuffed them with an extremely abrasive pad (like something a race car would use) they would be fine in about a day of normal driving.
 



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IZwack, I don't buy that unless you are downshifting through gears, which if that is the case, is not the right way to drive a manual. The brakes are far more able to deal with deceleration than the drivetrain. If your brakes last longer because you have a manual, you're wearing something else out...likely the clutch and throwout bearing which are more expensive to replace then pads and rotors.
You don't always have to be shifting up/down to save the brakes. For example, in moderate traffic, most drivers with a manual transmission will downshift a gear or so lower, keep the transmission in that gear, leave ample room in front of the vehicle and let the engine do the braking (again, that's without downshifting). With an automatic transmission, engine braking won't as effective because the torque converter will eventually unlock and then stall which decreases engine braking. So in that situation, the vehicle with the automatic transmission will probably still wear down the brakes faster than the vehicle with the manual transmission because the brakes are being used more often.
 






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