Group Buys: RB Performance Brakes BBK for 18" Wheels and Downsize Kit for 17" Wheels

[Psifer]

I've been helping RB Performance Brakes host a couple of group buys over on the TRX forums. Since all the DT 1500s share the same brakes, I figured I would share the information over here too. This is a perfect opportunity to get either brake kit at a group discounted price making the cost marginally more compared to OE rotors and pads replacement. Both kits are great options to help reduce rotational mass and gain back some of the lost performance when going to bigger tires. The 17" kit is the first of its kind for the DT platform opening up a wide area of tire options. The 18" kit is a fantastic option for anyone wanting to retain OE compatibility. The front calipers with the 18" kit are compatible with OE rotors and use the same FMSI pad shape as the Challenger/Charger/SRT8s so plenty of options are available and not just limited to purchasing from RB.

RB Performance Brakes 4-Piston BBK For 18" Wheels​

Group Buy #2: RB Performance Brakes 4-Piston BBK For 18" Wheels Q2 2024 (OPEN)

Because of the success of our first group buy, Warren has provided us the opportunity for a second group buy to allow anyone else still interested to receive the bulk discount. Just like the first group buy, this will be limited to 10 participants due to the size of the production batch. This...

www.ram-trx.com

RB Performance Brakes 4-Piston Downsize Brake Kit For 17" Wheels​

Group Buy #3: RB Performance Brakes 4-Piston Downsize Brake Kit For 17" Wheels Q2 2024 (OPEN)

RB Performance Brakes has recently released a 4-piston Brake Kit with 2-piece rotors capable of fitting within 17" wheels. The rear caliper bracket needs to be replaced to a shorter piece, and the rotor size will be downsized to 355mm (from 375) also but OE calipers and ePB are retained so your...

www.ram-trx.com

 

[31RamIt]

The 17" kit is pretty sweet idea. I would have gone down to 17s for my new wheels if that was an option. Looks like the weight is significantly reduced from the stock brake assembly. Little expensive for my tastes. Maybe in the future.

 

[VP500]

I’ve been thinking about upgrading my brakes for my 2020 however not sure if I need to get a big brake kit.

I’m Procharged with P1-X upgrade with Stainless Works LT headers on order. Is it beneficial to move to a large brake kit like this or just replace the rotors and pads?

Thanks!


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[Psifer]

I’ve been thinking about upgrading my brakes for my 2020 however not sure if I need to get a big brake kit.

I’m Procharged with P1-X upgrade with Stainless Works LT headers on order. Is it beneficial to move to a large brake kit like this or just replace the rotors and pads?

Thanks!


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The biggest limiting factor with the OE brake setup is the super thin rotors. They don't have much thermal mass so they heat soak quickly. You could replace the pads with ones that have more bite and rotors with an aftermarket option that may be made of a better alloy to hold more heat but you'll still be limited to the maximum thickness the OE calipers allow. It would be a marginal upgrade.

The benefit of the RB kit is that you're getting thicker rotors for more thermal capacity, better vein geometry and two-piece design for better cooling, a lightweight setup for less rotational mass, and fixed calipers for the front with bigger pads to give a better braking feel. It will no doubt be a far better option than just replacing the oe rotors and pads. Another key note about this brake package is that it retains the same braking bias so your ABS and traction control will be happy.



All the big brand brake kits do not offer a rear caliper upgrade due to safety concerns with changing/eliminating the integrated electronic parking brake in the OE rear caliper. RB has mentioned a possible solution to retain the OE ePB but it would require a second caliper forcing a wheel size of +20" which does not work for the off-road/OE wheel crowd.

 

[VP500]

The biggest limiting factor with the OE brake setup is the super thin rotors. They don't have much thermal mass so they heat soak quickly. You could replace the pads with ones that have more bite and rotors with an aftermarket option that may be made of a better alloy to hold more heat but you'll still be limited to the maximum thickness the OE calipers allow. It would be a marginal upgrade.

The benefit of the RB kit is that you're getting thicker rotors for more thermal capacity, better vein geometry and two-piece design for better cooling, a lightweight setup for less rotational mass, and fixed calipers for the front with bigger pads to give a better braking feel. It will no doubt be a far better option than just replacing the oe rotors and pads. Another key note about this brake package is that it retains the same braking bias so your ABS and traction control will be happy.

View attachment 176408

All the big brand brake kits do not offer a rear caliper upgrade due to safety concerns with changing/eliminating the integrated electronic parking brake in the OE rear caliper. RB has mentioned a possible solution to retain the OE ePB but it would require a second caliper forcing a wheel size of +20" which does not work for the off-road/OE wheel crowd.

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation!

Silly question - Is the parking brake associated with the OEM caliper? Will it be disabled if I replace the rear calipers with RB ones? I have a 2020 Limited 4WD.


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[Psifer]

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation!

Silly question - Is the parking brake associated with the OEM caliper? Will it be disabled if I replace the rear calipers with RB ones? I have a 2020 Limited 4WD.


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You're welcome! These two kits being offered by RB DO NOT replace the OE rear caliper due to the integrated electronic parking brake. The kits DO come with rear two-piece rotors in which you will re-use the OE rear calipers but could change the rear pads to an aftermarket option. Therefore, you will retain the ePB.

Personally, for now, I'm staying with the stock OE pads in the rear until I get a feel for the kit on my truck. Keep in mind that pad materials will have different temperature ranges. I do not want to sacrifice any cold weather performance as it is my DD. Therefore, I'm sticking with stock OE rear pads and the front pads supplied by RB which have a similar operating temperature range compared to the OE pads. If you plan on any track events, then RB can offer more aggressive pads that perform better in hotter temps but typically suffer cold braking performance.

The beauty of the 18" kit offered by RB is that it is 100% compatible with OE rotors. This allows people to do an incremental upgrade if they want to only start with a front caliper upgrade, replace the rotors with RB's lightweight, two-piece rotors, or do a complete upgrade all at once. The compatibility with OE rotors is comforting to me in case there are ever supply chain issues, I can always head to a dealership to get a replacement rotor if I'm in a pinch. The upgraded front calipers that RB offers for this kit use a standard FMSI-shaped pad that is very common in the Mopar/SRT family allowing you the ability to have multiple aftermarket options.

 

[VP500]

You're welcome! These two kits being offered by RB DO NOT replace the OE rear caliper due to the integrated electronic parking brake. The kits DO come with rear two-piece rotors in which you will re-use the OE rear calipers but could change the rear pads to an aftermarket option. Therefore, you will retain the ePB.

Personally, for now, I'm staying with the stock OE pads in the rear until I get a feel for the kit on my truck. Keep in mind that pad materials will have different temperature ranges. I do not want to sacrifice any cold weather performance as it is my DD. Therefore, I'm sticking with stock OE rear pads and the front pads supplied by RB which have a similar operating temperature range compared to the OE pads. If you plan on any track events, then RB can offer more aggressive pads that perform better in hotter temps but typically suffer cold braking performance.

The beauty of the 18" kit offered by RB is that it is 100% compatible with OE rotors. This allows people to do an incremental upgrade if they want to only start with a front caliper upgrade, replace the rotors with RB's lightweight, two-piece rotors, or do a complete upgrade all at once. The compatibility with OE rotors is comforting to me in case there are ever supply chain issues, I can always head to a dealership to get a replacement rotor if I'm in a pinch. The upgraded front calipers that RB offers for this kit use a standard FMSI-shaped pad that is very common in the Mopar/SRT family allowing you the ability to have multiple aftermarket options.

Awesome - Sign me up!

I know I saw a post of RB creating a dual caliper rear rotor where one would be the ebrake.

I’m highly interested since I have 22” Vossens and I assume the clearance shouldn’t be a problem for the majority of 1500 non-trx owners.


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[bigjeffg]

Just some general information, food for thought.

Our OEM Gen5 1500 including TRX 18” wheels:

Front 14.9” 378mm
Rear 14.8” 376mm
1.2” min 1.1” 30mm min 28mm

To put this in comparison
Ram 2500 Power Wagon 17” wheels
Front 14.2” 360mm
Rear 14.1” 358mm
1.34” min 1.28” 34mm min 32.5mm

The Ram 2500 has smaller brakes, but are thicker, for improved thermal performance

For another comparison:
Ford Raptor 17” wheels
350x34mm

Ram breaks are larger, just not nearly as thick. If a person was looking to upgrade, I would lean on finding thicker rotors, for improved thermal performance.

Thinner rotors tend to warp easier than thicker rotors. This would improve breaking for towing also.

I can’t find a single Category 2a vehicle with taller Rotors. We may indeed have the largest breaks in our class.

I like the idea of shorter, thicker rotors, to run 17” wheels. Add performance 4 or 6 pot calibers, and you would have a much higher performing setup, compared to OEM.

 

[Lowram]

Anyone one here get these installed? Not a fan of the OEM brakes and wondering how much improvement these offer?

Willwood also makes a 6 piston kit.

 

[Psifer]

Anyone one here get these installed? Not a fan of the OEM brakes and wondering how much improvement these offer?

Willwood also makes a 6 piston kit.

As far as I know, nobody has done a complete rotor + caliper install and then provided their opinion. I'm waiting on a few more tools to then install several kits. I'm hoping to collect some quantifiable data, comparing against the factory setup, that I can then share.

Here is a great write-up on the impressions of just the front caliper upgrade.

Group Buy #1: RB Performance Brakes 4-Piston BBK For 18" Wheels Q1 2024 (CLOSED)

Is GB2 closed out?

www.ram-trx.com

There have been a lot of people reporting warped rotors with the Wilwood setup after doing the initial bedding process. There are plenty of posts on the TRX forums about it. I'm not sure if Wilwood ever got a permanent fix. They don't use a true two-piece rotor design, it's more for show than anything, which may be a contributing factor for warped rotors.

 

[Lowram]

Awesome, thanks for the info. I’ll be looking forward to your review/data. Do you know if they would still honor the GB price?

 

[HSKR R/T]

Damn, I'm way to cheap for those prices. And $120 to change to black, yellow, or blue. And $250 to get silver? Is he using real silver plating?