Dear Aftermarket, Improve the Brake Pedal, Please!

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TremorOwner

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The brake pedal feel in these Rangers is a joke. Can and will the aftermarket do something about the brakes? Not just pads and rotors... but the pedal?

Inquiring minds want to know...
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Joyride

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Seriously! I went from a Charger to the Ranger and that was the biggest thing I noticed. To be fair the Charger had 6 piston brembos but it made the Ranger brake feel all that more noticeable. The best analogy I’ve heard to describe it is, it’s like stepping in mud.
 

stringbreaker

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I have two things about my truck I don't care for, one is the vague steering there is not much feel for the road and the second is the (*&^%$ brake pedal mushiness. Hope there is an eventual fix for it.
 

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Not sure what kind of fluid comes in our Rangers, or if braided lines are available. But I've found that braided lines and a higher performing fluid makes a world of difference in most road cars.

That being said I find the pedal feel adequate for a truck. If I want to threshold brake a late apex I'll drive my FiST.
 


Mcssls

Same here challenger to Ranger. I believe there is a big brake kit out there but bleeding your brakes. Upgrade the lines at the calipers and you will see an improvement.
 

Joyride

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Not sure what kind of fluid comes in our Rangers, or if braided lines are available. But I've found that braided lines and a higher performing fluid makes a world of difference in most road cars.

That being said I find the pedal feel adequate for a truck. If I want to threshold brake a late apex I'll drive my FiST.
Good idea. Could also throw on some Hawk or Powerstop ceramic pads.
 

Joyride

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Same here challenger to Ranger. I believe there is a big brake kit out there but bleeding your brakes. Upgrade the lines at the calipers and you will see an improvement.
For what it is, I probably wouldn’t take it that far. Start small with the pads and go from there. Not to mention, brake kits are $$$$
 

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Here you go. I installed Powerstop Rotors and pads on my F-150 and they were great improvement over stock! I'll do the same to my ranger when it's time.

These fit the Ranger
https://www.powerstop.com/product/power-stop-z36-brake-kit/

I believe our friends at @Stage3Motorsports carry PowerStop products. I don't currently see them listed for the Ranger on the website, but if you ask nicely maybe they can help you out. Maybe they have a line on anything else coming down the pipeline for the Ranger. I just haven't seen any caliper, master cylinder, or brake line upgrades as of yet.
 
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Ranger brakes would suck if I was driving it like my MINI Cooper...so it's perfect as it is... ?
 

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I run 6 psiton PB Brakes and they're not $5000.
 

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The brake pedal feel in these Rangers is a joke. Can and will the aftermarket do something about the brakes? Not just pads and rotors... but the pedal?

Inquiring minds want to know...
Multiple people have commented/complained about the soft or inconsistent brakes in the Ranger. For starters the overall pedal feel is not at all different from any European car I have driven. Every one of them had a much softer pedal than most American, Japanese, or Korean built cars. For example I have to peel my face off the windshield in my wife's 2014 Santa Fe's when hitting the brakes the first couple times after being in the Ranger. Night and day difference in pedal feel between the two.

There are a few reasons for the pedal feel being soft in the Ranger. First is how the system is setup. It was designed by the AU Truck team and they follow EU braking standards. Second the braking assist is linked into the ABS module and when inactive the pedal is much softer, but if braking assist engages the pedal firms up significantly allowing the truck to stop much better. Third the OEM pads are (by their performance when hot vs cold) I believe are ceramic or something similar. Many ceramic pads do not perform as well when cold compared to hot. Normal city/hwy driving is unable to heat the pads up enough to really see a change in their performance. Do a few 60-0 panic stops in a row, then some normal stops and you'd be amazed at how different the pedal feel is as well as overall braking performance. Searching for information on Ford OEM brake material one will discover that there are complaints about them on nearly every forum with some descriptions of them like this little gem "OEM brake pad material on the Ford Mustang is dried cat poo." ...Charming... The last thing to note here is many myself included have had the brake system power bled at the dealer after complaining of the mushy/inconsistent pedal and noted a significant improvement in pedal feel, performance, and consistency.

Fist thing is to perform a proper brake bedding in procedure and see if this helps. If you have the tools to do so, you may want to pull the brake pads off first to deglaze them along with the rotors. If you do not then that's ok.

Second take the truck in and have them inspect the brakes for the mushy inconsistent pedal, especially if you double pump the pedal and you notice a change. This could indicate air in the system from the factory. Push them to perform a pressure brake bleed on it. If you're a DIY type of person, you can buy a Pneumatic Brake Fluid Bleeder Tool for fairly cheap and do it yourself. Only takes about 20 minutes to do all 4 calipers. Just be sure to get the correct fluid.

Another option is to replace the brake pads with aftermarket like StopTech, Powerstop, or EBC (if available).

Last option is to do a front brake conversion with aftermarket calipers and all that.
 
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Multiple people have commented/complained about the soft or inconsistent brakes in the Ranger. For starters the overall pedal feel is not at all different from any European car I have driven. Every one of them had a much softer pedal than most American, Japanese, or Korean built cars. For example I have to peel my face off the windshield in my wife's 2014 Santa Fe's when hitting the brakes the first couple times after being in the Ranger. Night and day difference in pedal feel between the two.
I've had European cars - VW (the best brake pedal actuation feel on earth), MB, BMW. I've even had European cars while living in Europe.

None of them had a soft pedal feel like this... not where the first inch or two is basically NOTHING.

Know what car does have that feel? My 2002 Chevy Tahoe. Actually, the Tahoe is better now because I refreshed the master cylinder and replaced the cracked 18 year old lines.

To get a better brake pedal feel on this ranger, a big brake kit won't do much. The master cylinder and boost design needs to be addressed. More line pressure at initial press.
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