The first thought most people have after lifting their Jeep Wrangler JK and fitting it with 35-inch or taller tires is, that looks cool! The second thought is usually, wow, this thing doesn’t stop very well anymore – I need a brake upgrade! When you install larger and heavier wheels and tires on the popular Jeep JK, the stock brakes have a hard time bringing the increased mass to a stop. The result is that you lose confidence in your ability to bring the Jeep to a stop as needed and the fun-factor of the vehicle is reduced. The aftermarket recognized this need, and there are quite a few brake upgrades available. Dynatrac recently introduced its ProGrip Brake System for 2007-2015 Jeep Wranglers, which is unique in how it solves the braking issue. The goal for Dynatrac was to create a balanced braking system that improves the braking performance front and rear as much as possible without requiring the installer to bleed the brakes. The key to braking improvement with the Dynatrac ProGrip Brake System is in optimizing the rotors, pads and caliper brackets. The rotors are much larger than stock – and the largest that will fit 17-inch wheels (factory 17-inch wheels will need a spacer, common when using them with larger tires). The front rotors are 13.50 inches, compared to 12.44 inches stock, and the rears are 14.25 inch, compared to 11.89 inches stock. Moving the leverage point farther from the axle centerline provides a big improvement in braking performance without having any effect on pedal pressure. The key to braking improvement with the Dynatrac ProGrip Brake System is in optimizing the rotors, pads and caliper brackets. The rotors are much larger than stock – and the largest that will fit 17-inch wheels (factory 17-inch wheels will need a spacer, common when using them with larger tires). The front rotors are 13.50 inches, compared to 12.44 inches stock, and the rears are 14.25 inch, compared to 11.89 inches stock. Moving the leverage point farther from the axle centerline provides a big improvement in braking performance without having any effect on pedal pressure. The Dynatrac ProGrip Brake System addresses braking at all four corners. This results in very flat braking, significantly reducing nosedive. You’ll notice and appreciate this most under hard braking, but even under mild braking, the lack of nosedive and improved braking front and rear makes the vehicle more stable. The system includes four larger rotors, stronger caliper brackets and unique front and rear brake pads for optimum friction. The next piece of the equation is the brake pads. Dynatrac tested a variety of friction material to find the right balance between performance, fade and wear. The result is a unique combination of pads, front and rear. A common customer question is whether they will be able to buy replacements if they get in a bind, and the answer is yes. Braking performance will be less with stock/replacement brake pads, but the system accepts the stock JK brake pads which are available just about everywhere. The next piece of the equation is the brake pads. Dynatrac tested a variety of friction material to find the right balance between performance, fade and wear. The result is a unique combination of pads, front and rear. A common customer question is whether they will be able to buy replacements if they get in a bind, and the answer is yes. Braking performance will be less with stock/replacement brake pads, but the system accepts the stock JK brake pads which are available just about everywhere. But how do you get a significant brake performance upgrade without larger calipers? The reality is that larger calipers alone don’t necessarily offer a significant improvement in braking. They require the right master cylinder to avoid making the brake pedal feel soft or requiring much higher pedal effort to get decent braking. Additionally, changing the calipers and/or the master cylinder requires bleeding the brakes. If you have had the pleasure of bleeding the brakes on a JK with its spaghetti bowl of brake lines and distribution blocks that come with advanced ABS and stability control, then you know that it’s challenging at best. A lot of do-it-yourselfers end up having a shop bleed the brakes, and not all shops can do it correctly, resulting in a brake upgrade that doesn’t work quite right after installation. The Dynatrac solution avoids that frustration and other potential shortcomings in a brake upgrade altogether. The last source of braking improvement might surprise you: it’s the caliper brackets. The Dynatrac brackets were engineered for improved rigidity, keeping the caliper square on the rotors even under hard braking. Reducing deflection under pressure puts more of the pad in contact with the rotor, especially during light braking, for an improvement in pedal feel and much better braking performance. The last source of braking improvement might surprise you: it’s the caliper brackets. The Dynatrac brackets were engineered for improved rigidity, keeping the caliper square on the rotors even under hard braking. Reducing deflection under pressure puts more of the pad in contact with the rotor, especially during light braking, for an improvement in pedal feel and much better braking performance. Dynatrac instrumented a Jeep JK outfitted with a 4-inch lift and 37-inch-tall tires. Pedal pressure and G-force were measured, as was stopping distance, to capture data that tells the story of daily driving and panic stops. The improvement was up to 30 percent compared to stock brakes. Another discovery was that during moderate braking (1,000-psi brake fluid pressure), measured G-force increased from 0.48 Gs with stock brakes to 0.63 Gs with the Dynatrac ProGrip Brake System. That means that applying the same amount of pressure to brake pedal increased the felt stopping power by 24 percent. That’s a difference you can feel every time you step on the brake pedal!