Brennan Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 I'm in the process of upgrading the brakes of my 2017 MKZ 3.0 AWD Driver's Package now that I have upgraded the performance. I have searched for hours for compatible EBC Red Stuff, or similar performance pads, and have not had much luck identifying compatible part numbers. Does anyone know of compatible pads with our 13.5" rotors? And compatible rotor upgrades? SS Lines, etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drolds1 Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Post moved to appropriate forum by moderator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brennan Posted July 22, 2018 Author Share Posted July 22, 2018 I've done more research and have ordered EBC Red Stuff part numbers: Front: DP33072C Rear DP32160C And Steeda lines for the older Fusions, hoping they fit, part number: 555 6028 Also ordered upgraded rear sway bar, also hoping it will fit, part number: 555 1090 Will update once installed and 'opinioned'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brennan Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 Currently I am running stock brakes (345mm rotors) on my 2017 Lincoln MKZ 3.0 as I wait for my above parts to arrive. I occasionally slow down from high speeds (220km/h down to 100km/h). First slowing is perfect with tons of brake power. But then all goes interesting on the second slowing (30 second cooldown, reacceleration to 220). On depressing the brake pedal, I immediately experience brake pedal pulsing and what feels like rotor warping, with lots of thumping sounds. But no fade. On the third slowing, louder thumping and major fade. Hardly any slowing power. As above, I have ordered and shortly plan to swap to Red Stuff pads to increase thermal stability at high temperatures, and increase pad aggressiveness at slower speeds as I have to depress the pedal quite a bit to gain any decent stopping power. I realize this may increase rotor/fluid temperatures even further. I plan to use the existing stock rotors as they are in great shape. I also am going to be installing the Steeda lines when I install the pads to reduce pedal squishiness, etc. After going to this work, I could still run OEM fluid but am questioning myself. My question is, has anyone run Motul RBF 600 in their MKZ? Any high speed gains on brake system temperature stability? Does anyone recommend against running RBF 600? Any other recommendations? Any other tips or tricks for this situation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbf2530 Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, Brennan said: Currently I am running stock brakes (345mm rotors) on my 2017 Lincoln MKZ 3.0 as I wait for my above parts to arrive. I occasionally slow down from high speeds (220km/h down to 100km/h). First slowing is perfect with tons of brake power. But then all goes interesting on the second slowing (30 second cooldown, reacceleration to 220). On depressing the brake pedal, I immediately experience brake pedal pulsing and what feels like rotor warping, with lots of thumping sounds. But no fade. On the third slowing, louder thumping and major fade. Hardly any slowing power. As above, I have ordered and shortly plan to swap to Red Stuff pads to increase thermal stability at high temperatures, and increase pad aggressiveness at slower speeds as I have to depress the pedal quite a bit to gain any decent stopping power. I realize this may increase rotor/fluid temperatures even further. I plan to use the existing stock rotors as they are in great shape. I also am going to be installing the Steeda lines when I install the pads to reduce pedal squishiness, etc. After going to this work, I could still run OEM fluid but am questioning myself. My question is, has anyone run Motul RBF 600 in their MKZ? Any high speed gains on brake system temperature stability? Does anyone recommend against running RBF 600? Any other recommendations? Any other tips or tricks for this situation? Hi Brennan. My only experience is with the stock braking system. However, I do have one recommendation: Check and re-torque all your lug nuts. Improperly/unevenly torqued lug nuts can lead to warped rotors. Mine were not properly torqued when my car was delivered last month. While the specs are probably the same for the 2017/2018 model years, check your Owners Manual for the 2017 specs. My 2018 Owners Manual states 150 lb ft. Keep us updated and good luck. EDIT - PS - Just for informational purposes: We can check and re-torque our lug nuts without jacking up the car. If you have a torque wrench, just loosen and re-torque the lug nuts one at time, in the same star pattern as shown in the Owners Manual for changing the tire. It can be done in less than 5 minutes. Edited July 30, 2018 by bbf2530 Additional information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brennan Posted September 4, 2018 Author Share Posted September 4, 2018 So last Saturday I had some time and swapped the OEM rubber brake lines to the Steeda lines mentioned above. Seeing as I had to bleed the brakes, I flushed the OEM brake fluid with new Motul RBF600 fluid through each caliper's bleeder valve. Process is simple. I did some low speed braking to ensure everything was back to normal operation. No leaks. Today I took the car out for some high speed runs. Braked from 200-100 km/h (120-60 mph) six times back to back. First stop was perfect. Second stop fine with a bit of thump. Third stop was fine again, same amount of thump. Fourth, fifth, and sixth stops were all fine, zero brake fade, but some small increase in brake thump. Full stopping power still... As I slowed from the sixth stop, I could smell hot brakes. ? I drove for a while to let them cool down to normal operating temperature. So there you have it. Fluid and lines to reduce the thumping and eliminate the fade. Never out-drive your #2017driverspackage MKZ brakes' thermal capacity again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brennan Posted September 10, 2018 Author Share Posted September 10, 2018 For what it's worth, the brakes on this car, with just those two mods, are insane. I hammered out 160 km/h to 60 km/h braking runs 9 times back to back at night, and stuck a GoPro on the driver's side front fender. The video shows the eighth hard brake application. Still no sign of brake fade... But those sparks are worrying as they could damage my rims. If only the OEM brake rotors did not have backwards brake vent locations where the rotor intake is on the wheel side not the spindle side... Otherwise brake ducts could eliminate the sparks from excessive heat soak. New rotors? ? MKZ Red Hot Brakes_1.mp4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDW6212R Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Well done, and thanks for the feedback. The brake fluid and pads are key/critical components of any braking system. The fluid should be replaced as often as you can make the time to do it once a year or two. It depends on usage as to how long the fluid should be left unchanged. I've been a mail carrier since 1991, I've seen and heard it all about brakes. I change fluids in general much more often then other people, brake fluid for my mail trucks, a year is pushing what it needs. Doing it that often is hard, I try to do it every Spring. I've had good pads and poor quality junk. Most parts store pads are junk, good warrantee or not. I stopped buying those pads in the mid 90's when I got my own full time route. I buy the best pads I can get, which will last the longest, to reduce how often I have to do brakes. Typically for me that's every 1-2 years, depending on what route I've been on. My current route has had subs who do brakes once every month or two, they buy the cheap brakes and let some shop do the work each time. I'm using an OEM pad at the moment on my 98 Explorer, 4500lbs, and before this route I could get a year or more from the fronts. I'm hoping they'll go six months on this route. Long story short buy the best pads, I've usually preferred EBC pads, the green are common and do well on my heavy SUV's. My 98 Mercury I have custom brakes, with an aftermarket SSBC caliper, that uses a little 3000GT pad. Those are smaller than stock, and I've been using red or yellow EBC pads with it. I don't have an MKZ yet, but I will next Spring I expect. I'll plan to replace the fluids and do the SS lines too. Did that include the rear lines also, or just the front pair? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brennan Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 Front and rear, that way the brake balance is retained. Hopefully you've got some value out of my research and trial-and-error! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhawk Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 Do you know what the differences are with the drivers package brakes? I know the calipers are painted but it seems they use different pads as well. I was looking to buy some Akebono pads which I've been happy with in the past and they don't seem to have ones listed for MKZ with painted calipers. Do the painted calipers appear on other vehicles? looked like maybe the continental had the same calipers. Thanks, Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnyo Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Stock is way more that you’ll ever use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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