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Modified JK Tech Tech related bulletin board forum regarding subjects such as suspension, tires & wheels, steering, bumpers, skid plates, drive train, cages, on-board air and other useful modifications that will help improve the performance and protection of your Jeep JK Wrangler (Rubicon, Sahara, Unlimited and X) on the trail.

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Brake Upgrades

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Old Jun 3, 2018 | 06:23 AM
  #11  
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Crown has a big brake kit for $500, They also have a brake master cylinder for the larger brakes.
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Old Jun 3, 2018 | 10:25 AM
  #12  
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Originally Posted by TheDirtman
Crown has a big brake kit for $500, They also have a brake master cylinder for the larger brakes.
Just an FYI, The Crown are some of the same parts as the Mopar kit. I believe Crown makes the calipers and rotors, and therefore likely designed the adapters. So the Crown kit ends up being most of the Mopar kit minus the pieces Crown doesn't supply.

Last edited by Rednroll; Jun 3, 2018 at 10:55 AM.
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 05:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Rednroll
Just an FYI, The Crown are some of the same parts as the Mopar kit. I believe Crown makes the calipers and rotors, and therefore likely designed the adapters. So the Crown kit ends up being most of the Mopar kit minus the pieces Crown doesn't supply.
It appears that the only lacking parts from the Crown kit are the brake lines and the brake booster/master cylinder, part #P5160050 if I'm not mistaken. Just using amazon prices, $437 for the Crown kit, and another~$260 for booster/MC, so just shy of $700 if not needing to address the brake lines. Is there anything different about the brake lines that come with the Mopar kit in regards to diameter? I have Crown stainless steel lines already....could those be reused, or would the size of the lines need to be increased to accommodate larger calipers?

Did you just leave your rear with factory set up? Have you ever considered adding larger rear rotors (and necessary brackets) because you're looking for even more of an improvement?
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 06:28 AM
  #14  
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Originally Posted by resharp001
It appears that the only lacking parts from the Crown kit are the brake lines and the brake booster/master cylinder, part #P5160050 if I'm not mistaken. Just using amazon prices, $437 for the Crown kit, and another~$260 for booster/MC, so just shy of $700 if not needing to address the brake lines. Is there anything different about the brake lines that come with the Mopar kit in regards to diameter? I have Crown stainless steel lines already....could those be reused, or would the size of the lines need to be increased to accommodate larger calipers?

Did you just leave your rear with factory set up? Have you ever considered adding larger rear rotors (and necessary brackets) because you're looking for even more of an improvement?
I'm unsure of the hose diameter difference. They did seem to have a larger diameter but I didn't measure them. The stock hoses would not fit properly due to the banjo bolt hose mount being much larger on the Mopar kit supplied hoses, which seems to indicate a larger diameter hose as well. The Mopar hoses bent and fit around the calipers much more nicely. There's another discussion linked below which discusses the Crown kit and gets into the different hoses used, which I participated in. I would recommend to go with the Mopar hoses due to having the proper bend.
Crown Automotive Big Brake Kit RT31046 - Jeep Wrangler Forum

In regards to the rears, I didn't feel a need to move to larger diameter rotors, the stock rears are already a larger diameter than the stock fronts. The stock rear rotors are about 12.44", and stock fronts are 11.89". Also, the thing to keep in mind which is often overlooked with the Mopar kit, the rears will get additional braking power with the Mopar kit due to the larger bore MC, and larger booster additions. On top of that I added EBC Green stuff brake pads to the rears. It has worked well for me.

Don't buy into the DT Pro-grip "balanced breaking" marketing hype. A braking system is supposed to be unbalanced where most are designed to have a 60/40 split with more pressure applied up front. When I watched those DT marketing videos, what I noticed is the rear end squatting during their hard brake demos which indicates more pressure is being applied on the rears than the front which really isn't what you want from a good braking system. I had heard that DT was making a Pro-Grip II system which now includes a larger bore MC, and larger brake booster but I don't think it has ever hit the market. That just further tells me, they realized their original design is not as good as it could have been.

The only real benefit I could see with the Progrip system is that you don't have to bleed the brakes and if I can replace the MC, booster, calipers and bleed the brakes myself using a $20 HF vacuum pump, then I don't see that being a challenging task for yourself as well.

Last edited by Rednroll; Jun 4, 2018 at 07:24 AM.
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 08:59 AM
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So much information lol I was hoping for just a simple bolt on kit to make my dreams come true and now I have to sift through all this information and make an educated guess ha ha! Kidding thanks for the information guys and gals this what it is all about.
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 09:01 AM
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Originally Posted by IRISHJK81
So much information lol I was hoping for just a simple bolt on kit to make my dreams come true and now I have to sift through all this information and make an educated guess ha ha! Kidding thanks for the information guys and gals this what it is all about.
Par for the course.....never as simple as you'd like, and it will cost more than you originally think. It always does.
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 09:22 AM
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Originally Posted by resharp001
Par for the course.....never as simple as you'd like, and it will cost more than you originally think. It always does.
Well I defiantly understand that. Coming from a XJ to a JK someone forgot to tell me it was not just the price on the dealer tag that will eat your wallet up lol. It's all good though little by little I will get things upgraded and to the point of where I'm just about happy but then there will always be something else to add on.
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 11:06 AM
  #18  
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I just looked at it that a Brake system is similar to a suspension system. They're both a "system" where you will get the most benefits by updating the entire system. Updating one part of the system will have an impact on the other parts. Like a lift, you can get a basic coil spacer lift for $100 or you can get a more complete system suspension which will cost $3k+.

It was simple to me, because the Mopar BBK put me on the most economical path of upgrading the "system", where I could evaluate and then make further decisions based upon any additional personal requirements.

If needed I could just add a TF or DT rear kit which would just increase rear rotor size if I decided I needed more rear braking. However, I prefer to avoid that upgrade since when the time comes for replacement, I would need to purchse replacement rear rotors that would cost 3-4 times more than an OEM or OEM aftermarket equivalent option, all while gaining less than 1in of increased rotor diameter over the stock rotors at an additional $700 for caliper adapter brackets and rotors to get that extra ".86" inch of rotor diameter to be more precise.

With the Progrip, they have additional magic brake pads they sell with their kit. Those magic pads are just rebranded EBC pads...DT forgot to rebrand the caliper pad lube that comes in the same box as those pads when posting advertising pics. I already added that upgrade to my Mopar kit. If you go on the EBC website, you see them selling the exact same "balanced braking system" as DT. Coincidence? Probably not, DT just inherited EBC's marketing since they both want to sell you EBC pads. I prefer to just purchase them from EBC since they publish the pad specs instead of leaving you guessing which EBC magical pad you're actually purchasing from DT.

With the TF or DT KITS if you want to upgrade further, then they'll point you towards getting the Mopar MC and booster upgrades...OK, so why not just start there to begin with and save yourself yourselves some loot?

Last edited by Rednroll; Jun 4, 2018 at 11:12 AM.
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 11:14 AM
  #19  
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So I'll speak up. I agree with Rednroll. I have 37s with the Dynatrac ProGrip installed. It's MUCH better than factory.. noticeably better. But it's still not as good as I'd like. The OEM system wouldn't hold my jeep in place when in 4LO w/ 4.88 gears. With ProGrips installed it does. On the highway, it's stops much faster than it did with OEM. BUT, it doesn't stop anywhere near as fast as my GMC 2500HD (which outweighs my jeep by 1400 lbs)... At the time, Mopar didn't have the BBK out and so I went with what had the best reviews. I DO like the ProGrips for ease of install and they DO make a difference. However, if the Mopar BBK had been available, I would have went that route.
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Old Jun 4, 2018 | 12:06 PM
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Reading the long thread Rednroll posted above really had me going back and forth with things. Not sure about OP's use, but I would suspect looking for general on road safety/performance. Jedg's comment above just dialed in on what I started thinking today. I am mainly concerned with braking in regards to offroad situations....holding me in place when I damn sure need to NOT move. That made me start thinking the big difference between just rotors vs. a system with larger calipers, is that for my concern.......I really need the clamping power of the caliper. Just increased rotor size isn't going to hold me in place any better than smaller rotors in those situations.
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