My own JK 'Big Brake' research:

jeeeep

Hooked
you can put it together as a kit and market it under the name "Majik Big Brakes" or just "Majik Stop" keep up the good work! :beer:
 

Majik

Member
Depending on the entire cost of the whole setup, I'm in too. Any ballpark idea yet what this mod will cost?

Consider it this way: My goal is to use off the shelf parts from other applications as much as possible. The trickiest part is an adapter (possibly) for caliper mounting, unless I find an OEM caliper with the right offset, bolt spacing, and other specs. But, here's a few market prices for 'in the running' parts:

Jeep J8 master cylinder: $80
Big rotors ( 14" x 1.25"), like 2006 Dodge Viper rotors: $65 each
Dodge Ram 2500 calipers: $50 each

So this comes to $310 bucks including a bigger bore master cylinder. These estimates may even be a touch on the high side. Costs not yet included are things such as boring the hub bore in the rotors to the right size for a JK, possibly drilling for a different bolt pattern, and cost to have a caliper mounting bracket made. I checked with a local machine shop and some ballpark costs for these services are:
$20 per rotor for drilling custom bolt pattern
$15 per rotor for custom hub boring
$75 per caliper bracket for material and labor (steel plate cut to dimensions and holes drilled, chamfered)

So, $310 + 20 + 20 + 15 + 15 + 75 + 75 = $530.

Doesn't sound too bad, if I can pull it off, for 14" brakes, huge calipers, master cylinder, custom caliper brackets, and all machining. What do ya think??
 

Prime8

New member
Consider it this way: My goal is to use off the shelf parts from other applications as much as possible. The trickiest part is an adapter (possibly) for caliper mounting, unless I find an OEM caliper with the right offset, bolt spacing, and other specs. But, here's a few market prices for 'in the running' parts:

Jeep J8 master cylinder: $80
Big rotors ( 14" x 1.25"), like 2006 Dodge Viper rotors: $65 each
Dodge Ram 2500 calipers: $50 each

So this comes to $310 bucks including a bigger bore master cylinder. These estimates may even be a touch on the high side. Costs not yet included are things such as boring the hub bore in the rotors to the right size for a JK, possibly drilling for a different bolt pattern, and cost to have a caliper mounting bracket made. I checked with a local machine shop and some ballpark costs for these services are:
$20 per rotor for drilling custom bolt pattern
$15 per rotor for custom hub boring
$75 per caliper bracket for material and labor (steel plate cut to dimensions and holes drilled, chamfered)

So, $310 + 20 + 20 + 15 + 15 + 75 + 75 = $530.

Doesn't sound too bad, if I can pull it off, for 14" brakes, huge calipers, master cylinder, custom caliper brackets, and all machining. What do ya think??

Sounds awesome, I'm in. I'm not hard on the skinny pedal, but I have noticed how poorly the stock brakes perform on my HEAVY rig compared to my wife's outback...
 

jhires

Member
Consider it this way: My goal is to use off the shelf parts from other applications as much as possible. The trickiest part is an adapter (possibly) for caliper mounting, unless I find an OEM caliper with the right offset, bolt spacing, and other specs. But, here's a few market prices for 'in the running' parts:

Jeep J8 master cylinder: $80
Big rotors ( 14" x 1.25"), like 2006 Dodge Viper rotors: $65 each
Dodge Ram 2500 calipers: $50 each

So this comes to $310 bucks including a bigger bore master cylinder. These estimates may even be a touch on the high side. Costs not yet included are things such as boring the hub bore in the rotors to the right size for a JK, possibly drilling for a different bolt pattern, and cost to have a caliper mounting bracket made. I checked with a local machine shop and some ballpark costs for these services are:
$20 per rotor for drilling custom bolt pattern
$15 per rotor for custom hub boring
$75 per caliper bracket for material and labor (steel plate cut to dimensions and holes drilled, chamfered)

So, $310 + 20 + 20 + 15 + 15 + 75 + 75 = $530.

Doesn't sound too bad, if I can pull it off, for 14" brakes, huge calipers, master cylinder, custom caliper brackets, and all machining. What do ya think??

Don't forget to add some in for yourself. Your time is worth something, and you've done an amazing amount of research so far.
 

Majik

Member
One thing I forgot to mention is that to truly do this correctly, I want the package to include REAR brake upgrades too... and so I have been researching that too...
 

Prime8

New member
One thing I forgot to mention is that to truly do this correctly, I want the package to include REAR brake upgrades too... and so I have been researching that too...

Haha, after reading this thread, I didn't think for a moment that you were half-assing it. It really is a fantastic write up so far.
 

Majik

Member
Haha, after reading this thread, I didn't think for a moment that you were half-assing it. It really is a fantastic write up so far.

Thanks!! :) Just trying to give back a little to you guys for all the info and inspiration that this site has already given me!!
 

BlackKnight

Member
I agree! My starting point has been to see just how big we can fit, how close a fit I can find using off the shelf parts, and then if a caliper bracket needs to be made, pursue that. It actually quite fun and I'm so glad for the support. I feel that 14" rotors are gonna be doable even with stock wheels, which will be awesome!! I'll keep the info flowing!!

One other thing to think of with the "how big can I make fit" strategy is the cooling dynamics. Drilled/Slotted/Vented/Large mass/large contact surface/ all contribute to the cooling/heating. but if you get them so that they "just barely fit" you may run into cooling issues. Make sure you do not disrupt airflow too much in the quest to get the largest in.
 
One other thing to think of with the "how big can I make fit" strategy is the cooling dynamics. Drilled/Slotted/Vented/Large mass/large contact surface/ all contribute to the cooling/heating. but if you get them so that they "just barely fit" you may run into cooling issues. Make sure you do not disrupt airflow too much in the quest to get the largest in.

The caliper will not allow the rotor to get so close to the rim that you would run into cooling issues, Especially since the rigs are lifted and lots of air flow under them. On a sports car I could see this being a issue. If one is worried about cooling you can always use a piece of sheet metal and make a vent to the brakes. This is what we did on auto cross cars.
 

BlackKnight

Member
The caliper will not allow the rotor to get so close to the rim that you would run into cooling issues, Especially since the rigs are lifted and lots of air flow under them. On a sports car I could see this being a issue. If one is worried about cooling you can always use a piece of sheet metal and make a vent to the brakes. This is what we did on auto cross cars.

Good point, I was still thinking with my sports car side of my brain :doh:. not with my new JK brain implant.. :thumb:
 

hinrichs

Caught the Bug
just a thought since I know a lot of guys seem to love their rotors and they have some great options to them....adamsrotors.com may be able to make exactly what you want in a rotor since they make replacements for oem all the way to aftermarket big brake kits
 

Majik

Member
Great thoughts and suggestions, guys!! Keep it coming! I will keep an eye on the cooling issue. I had been thinking about that - in fact one thing I wanted to be sure of was to incorporate vented rear disks to replace our stock weeny solid ones...
 

GBOBVA

New member
Braking is def on my short list of upgrades. Stock brakes on heavy 35's and all the crap I bolted on just aren't living up to the need. I am down with a front and rear make-over. Great thread and thanks for the work.
 

Valdos Toy

New member
Great thread!! Really interesting thread since I'm looking to upgrade with as many oem parts as posible, good job, keep posting!!
 

Majik

Member
Going to do some research tomorrow. May run to the salvage yard to grab a few junk parts just to test fitment... the list of possibilities is narrowing nicely! More to come!
 

pastorwug

New member
Can't tell you how many times I have come so close to pulling the trigger on the TF BBK and balked at the price. Adding a rear brake kit is a great idea as well. I did notice on the TF site that they HIGHLY recommend changing out the 2011 MBC as apparently that particular year (I have a 2011 JKU) the MBC seems to be he worst of all the other years - not sure why though, they don't say. I've really thought about just replacing the MBC alone to start this process toward a total BBK make-over but haven't yet.
Hope you're encouraged enough to see this through, and I hope TF doesn't jump in to nix this thread, if they could.
 
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