I have an '02 Supercrew 4x4 with about 120,000 miles on it (I have had it for 20,000 miles). I replaced the front brakes when I got and they were at the end of their life cycle, the backs looked new. 20,000 miles later the backs still look new and I notice about 20 times the amount of brake dust on the front rims compared to the rear. Is there a way to adjust the brake bias so that the rears are working a little more? For some reason Ford put much larger disks on the rear wheels than the front, which is the reverse of what is typically done on a car. The reason that I am concerned about this is I live in an area with very steep hills and the front brakes are getting worked very hard all the time and apparently the rears aren't working hardly at all.

 

Wow, someone with an '02 that has more miles than me!

Its been awhile since I've had the rears off on mine, but I'm pretty sure that the front pads and rotors are larger than the rears.

Your brake dust is prolly due to the type of pad that you used....I.e. cheapo pads generate a lot more dust than the higher end types.

Welcome to FTE!

 

Most all of the new cars do 20% rear and 80% front braking. There really is no way to change that unless something is wrong with your brakes. If the master cylinder is messed up it could cause this problem, but I know on mine I change my front pads three times to the rears once.

 

All vehicles are designed to have the front brakes do most of the stopping due to inertia. As you stop, the momentum of the vehicle transferes the weight to the front which reduces the traction of the rear tires. If you change the brake bias to have the rear brake do more of the stopping you will actually increase the distance it take to stop your vehicle.

 

Thanks for everyone's response. Sounds like my case is pretty much normal. I will have to get the higher end pads next time for the front and see if that makes a difference, I will have to get new rotors at that time so maybe I will get some that are slotted to see if that makes a difference keeping them cool. The diameter of the Rear discs on my truck are definetly larger than the fronts but possibly it has smaller pads and calipers.