Are there any proven brake upgrades for these vans that make the pads last?

We've had this van (3.8L SXT) for 50K miles of it's 75K life. I'm about to replace the front brake pads for the 4th time. I've thought about getting some drilled rotors (not slotted--too much noise) to see if they help cool and make the pads last longer. Even thought about calling Wilwood to see if they have a caliper kit. We've tried different pads and types of pads (including EBC) with no difference in wear. The pads do wear evenly and I have replaced the rotors at least once.

I've looked around and can't find any definitive answers, so figured I'd start asking on forums.

Thanks!
Adrian

 

Well, Chrysler upgraded some 2012 Minivan brake, I believe it has brake code BR3.
mainly on the more expensive Town and Country. they made front dual Piston caliper and larger rear brake too.
I believe they can be bolt on to the 2008-2011 Caravan with New pad, rotors, bracket, and Caliper.
You will probably have to just look thru the NEW car Lot at the dealer for he LARGER brake Minivan, write down the VIN, and look up the part number.

 

I purchased my 2008 GC brand new in October 2008. I've only put 38,000km on it so far. I've gone through 2 sets of pads and rotors (not under warranty) and I recently had my rear calipers seize. That was under warranty but not the break pads and rotors that got damaged from my seized calipers. That was just last month. Now my van is making more noise and I have to bring it in again this week. I'm not sure what it is but it's noisy while driving...almost like I have heavy duty tires or winter tires on...no grinding, squeaking...just louder...I'm not impressed. That's the the issues with the wheels! Never mind the other stuff as well...sigh..

 

Thanks for the idea.

Does anyone know whether drilled rotors make a difference? Aside from that or replacing the under-sized calipers, I'm not sure what else to try. Maybe I can just buy pads in bulk and get a discount? Heh...

 

Sorry to hear about all your problems. We bought ours used with 25K miles on it, and the van now has ~75K miles. Since it was a fleet vehicle, we bought an extended warranty and it has really come in handy. So far they've replaced our key and key module (the one that reads the key in the dash), wheel bearings, sway bar bushings, and fixed leaky intake gaskets.

I've replaced the front pads three times (soon to be four), rotors once, and rear pads twice. We had to replace a $260 radiator hose. I also did plugs, wires and air filter this weekend.

We've constantly battled alignment issues and the van chews through tires like it does brake pads.

Otherwise, it's been great! Hehehehe....

 

Oh my! Yeah, it's never fun to have so many issues and bills just to keep the darn thing running properly. I love the space and stow & go seats, power doors, etc but it hasn't been a reliable vehicle. We have a Nissan Altima with close to 150,000km with no problems to date (knock on wood). Of course we have had to replace the usual for normal wear and tear. It's actually only recently needed new rotors!

 

Given that the equivalent Honda cost over $10K more, I'm not terribly upset with our purchase of this van. I'm actually surprised it hasn't been worse. We are REALLY hard on it, and it has held up pretty well, considering what it is.

That said, as soon as our 100K mile warranty is up, it's gone. To be replaced by another? Depends on her.

I'd be a lot happier if I didn't have to change brake pads twice a year.

 

this is a joke though. Dodge...do something.

 

No, drilled rotors are worse. Get on Porsche forum and see how many ppl compaint about their rotors crack or warp.
Brake pads from place like Autozone gives Lifetime Waranty. Once you are done with one set, they'll just give u another set for free. So does Mopar V-Line pads.
really not much you can do except upgrade those under sized brake. And make sure you clean the brake pad bracket so the brake pads slides freely. Perhaps turning off your traction control may help a little.

regarding your tires, maybe Minivans are not meant for burn outs, lol. Get a Camaro or something.
j/k, well hows the alignment read out? and what type of tires are you using?

Consider Dodge's price compare to other Minivan in the market, I really don't expect the highest quality. I pick a Dodge Van over other vans like Nissan Quest, Ford Windstar, or Kia Sedona, etc... anyday! Toyota and Honda Vans are nice too, but kinda expensive.

 

Adrian,

I agree with Steak59 and would like to add some points. The 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan brakes are adquately-sized 12" diameter and about equivalent to those found on a '90's Corvette. I can literally wear out a brand set of new pads on my Corvette in 4 hours. I also know people who get 70K mi out of a set of the same pads on the same model car, so it really depends on who is driving it and how lol.

This is a very popular topic, so you might try searching.

Front brakes on the 2008 thru 2013 GC prematurely wear out when the pads are changed without performing proper service on the floating caliper hardware. Do you throw pads again and again (easy job) or completely rebuild the caliper floating mechanisms and service the machined pad slots in the brackets each time (laborous job)?? The issue plagues older GC's too. This short-cut error can easily cut pad life by a factor of 5x and reduce avg gas mileage by 2-3 MPG. The GC uses floating pin, pad spring hardware and brackets that are prone to rusting which leads to binding, jammed and stuck brakes. It's not like a Corvette where these parts are all heavily-plated or made of stainless. When changing pads, you need to be cleaning pack-out rust off the bracket pad track grooves so the pads can retract when the brake is released. You also must replace pad sliding springs with new, replace steel slider pins, lubricate pins then ream out and grease the slide pin holes and check the rubber boots on the pins for any cracks, holes or leaks. If not, you will go thru pads like a bag of ice cubes in the mojave desert. This is also the reason you can't find ANY brake pads that will last. Unfortunately your gas mileage is probably poor due to brakes dragging all the time. The money wasted on gas would probably buy you many sets of spare brakes that you should not need.

I noticed you tried EBC brakes which are generally associated with motorcycles or trailered concours garage queen show cars with armorall tires. You need ot be running heavy duty semi-metallics that put out some dust, not low dust ceramics. Ceramics are useless for performance cars, trucks and heavy vans. EBC specializes in brakes for vehicles that weigh 450lbs, not 4500lbs. Go to Autozone and buy one set of lifetime Duralast semi-metallics. They are durable and last. Don't buy their premium ceramics. You will never buy another set of pads for this van.

PS: I'm an HPDE track instructor and I see the same errors made at the track. Instead of purging old brake fluid to avoid fade, participants think bigger brakes, slots and holes are the answer. I can't count the number of time I've seen folks at the track with neglected, waterlogged brake fluid wondering why their $2500 aftermarket brakes fade. I can run deeper into corners on stock brakes with $10 worth of fresh fluid.