Alcon brakes

Wondering how long alcon bbk kit last before needing new pads or rotors

 

Should be much longer than the OEM setup- We've run these hard over the last few years with hardly any wear.

 

There’s no reason for a bbk. Cryo rotors are extremely hard to warp. The yellow stuff pads bite hard.

I’ve driven both. These stop harder and better:https://dirtydeedsindustries.com/st...e-brake-bundle-ebc-yellowstuff--frozen-rotors

 

As heavy as these truck get and depending on use case the oem setups absolutely aren’t adequate. More stopping power is a no brainer. Overkill is a good thing when it comes to brakes.

 

I tow heavy in the mountains. tired of changing my brakes

 

This is the way be sure todo the front and rear kit

 

I will say I have only read good/positive posts from folks who run these kits. When I tow regularly, I will also jump on this train. I currently run cryo rotors and EBC yellow, but only tow a few times per year right now. They were a significant improvement over stock too.

 

I’ve never found a bbk which bites as hard as yellow stuff pads. Sure, make everything bigger, but still have to mash the pedal and still not stop as hard as yellow stuff.

if a bbk was better, I would list one on my site. There’s no need to spend the money…

 

lol bite vs actual stopping distance reduction. You’re delusional if you think an ebc yellow pad and cryo rotor is going to stop better than BBK.

It’s physics, larger caliper more power, larger rear caliper not hard to understand. If Big brakes didn’t work the likes of Porsche, corvette etc wouldn’t spend the money on large brakes lol. And yes I’ve had both EBC yellows with cryos and this Alcon kit. You'll also go through more sets of rotors and ebc pads vs the bbk.

 

Yeah yellow stuff are great, but several Tundra drivers here have gone down this road and they are ALL very happy with their Alcon investment. Maybe you didn't try them with an 8500lb trailer in the mountains for 2 hrs though or did you?

 

For my use case I'm hard on brakes and the trucks not light by any means. Cryo set and yellows barely made it out Baja let alone a season. I wouldn't say it's burning through them per se for others but the increased power, significant capability increase and not having to worry about them at all is the gain.

 

that’s my point exactly. Bigger calipers. Bigger rotors. Bigger pads. That’s great and all. But if the pad compound doesn’t bite very hard it’s like having a 1979 Cadillac with a big block that puts out 100hp. LOL

but I understand the point of the guys liking a big brake kit. I’m glad they like their brakes.

 

As said, EBC yellow do bite good, but they also wear relatively quickly. I stand with Rey and want the durability of the alcon while going long distances away from the home shop for extended time periods and needing reliable brakes. If your city driving daily in a heavy truck, yeah, EBC yellow will shut it down quickly, but at the same time beware of those behind you since these trucks often wind up a total loss from rear end collisions.

 

I think its probably due to the dirt roads

 

Yep! You can easily see here that those kits out there that only use fronts aren't enough. I tested this as well. Ran the front BBk first with the ebc combo rear. The rears were smoked. Tossed in the BBK and balance was restored no nose diving, better stopping etc. The rears do much more work than people think.

 

As important as a brake system’s bite may be, I think it is much more important to consider how the system deals with heat.

One solid “stomp on the brakes so hard my ass was off the seat” while towing our travel trailer with OEM brakes was enough to get me to pull the trigger on Alcon equipment.

Not only do they stop unlike anything else I’ve ever seen, good luck getting them to fade…. No fade. None.

 

This 100000%. Heat.

Brakes convert mechanical energy into thermal energy, plain and simple. Good brakes not only create heat quickly (or are efficient at energy conversion) but need to be able to dissipate that heat quickly.

BBK rotors are bigger, heavier, and typically metallurgical superior for MUCH better thermal management. Big pads, larger swept area, additional pistons (along with additional brake caliper volume and mass) are able to create more mechanical leverage while spreading the thermal load and even lessening the peak temperatures compared to a stock system in the same conditions. Excessively high brake temperatures and prolonged heat exposure is what causes brake failure.

A simple pad swap on a stock system is no different than a throttle controller “increasing power”: you are merely tuning a user preference to pedal feel, without changing the total power available to the end user. You are not changing the overall thermal capacity of the braking system one bit by changing pads - just shifting when and how that heat is introduced to the system.

A properly designed BBK does change the thermal capacity of the system by increasing both the total thermal capacity and peak capacity. Doing so can increase pad and rotor life, decrease the possibility of brake failure - brake fade being considered a brake failure just as one example - and make for a safer driving experience even in extreme conditions. That is the advantage of a BBK - much much more than just a pad swap.

 

This

 

This gave me a good laugh. No pad out there that I’d bet any money on that provides more braking torque and shorter stopping distance than a BBK. Then there’s also the issue of brake fade. No pad is gonna help resist that with factory caliper and rotors. It’s also childish to think that these top BBK companies aren’t developing high performance compounds for their pads as well.

I’ve also used EBC pads and cryo rotors, albeit on my old FJ. Suffice to say, I was very underwhelmed and experienced little to no improvement over stock.

Anyway, got my alcons yesterday and aiming to get these on in the next couple of weeks when I have some time. Unfortunately, no rear kit from Alcon yet, but they don’t have any plans of offering one when I asked. Gonna have to be stock rears until I figure something out. Note, I’m currently on wilwood’s BBK, so I’ll be able to experience first hand the difference from one 3rd gen BBK to another.

 

Phew. $1000 or $5000 investment. Decisions Decisions.

 

Yep, I had said on another thread that I like things to be over built. I do but I just can't afford 5 grand for a BBK. I'd love to have them but I'll just have to stay with OEM for now.

 

Their current sale is the lowest price I've ever seen them offered for. Extra if you want stainless lines.

 

Just to be fair, he didn't suggest OEM rotors. Secondly, if you actually used the yellow stuff pads from EBC with decent rotors AND bedded them in PROPERLY there had to be some improvement over OEM. Perhaps you tried with a poor rotor choice or didn't bed them in correctly, maybe both? I have them on all four corners and my truck isn't light either. I assure you, it will stop much faster than it would with the factory pad/rotor combos. The negatives are the fast pad wear and of course the amount of dust that comes with it. Not a terrible choice for an upgrade at all, just need to mindful of those following close behind who will not be prepared for the sudden speed reduction if you smash the pedal hard.

 

Yes and yes. I’ve tried a variety of rotors and pads over the years. I’ve also had Brembo and Akebono BBKs on previous cars. Brakes aren’t new to me.

High quality rotors or not, Yellows are no match for a BBK and people shouldn’t claim or expect them to “bite” harder or stop quicker than one. I guess if they never try a BBK, they’ll never know the difference.