You don’t really think about them, do you? Your brakes I mean. Well, not until you have to make that panic stop because the carbon based life form in front of you that wasn’t paying attention and causes your legs to stretch out and push that brake pedal with every ounce of strength to avoid turning your precious Mopar into a crushed sardine can. While brake technology has made leaps and bounds of advancement over the years, there’s always room on the table for improvement. Also, while you’re upgrading your ride’s braking capabilities, there’s no harm in making them look better at the same time, right? So let’s take a look at some of the things you can do to upgrade your brakes.

Pads. Obviously the least expensive upgrade and the most wearable item, your brake pads can be upgraded depending on what you use your vehicle for. Most vehicles come from the factory with a semi-metallic compound due to it being inexpensive and suitable for all cars that see daily driving use. However, they do tend to be a bit dusty and can get noisy over time. The SRT owners with awesome Brembo Brakes know what I’m talking about with the dust! A quality upgrade, such as a ceramic compound pad, will often be a lot quieter and produce less dust. Brake dust, as you know, can be a killer if you show your ride and have a set of custom rims. The heat generated from braking can actually cause the dust to “bake” into the finish of the wheel. For the show guys, that’s unacceptable. So consider going to ceramic when it comes time to change pads. For those that race their cars, you’ll want to upgrade to a carbon-metallic compound. They’ll work better with heat and take a lot more punishment, but the drawback is that they’re extremely dusty and usually on the more expensive side. Also, because of their nature, a carbon-metallic pad will wear down faster and have to be replaced more frequently. Companies like Hawk and EBC make a variety of brake pads to suit your needs and wants. But remember, you get what you pay for. If you pull the low-buck commercial grade pads off the shelf at your local parts store, don’t be surprised if you have squeaky, dusty pads that fade quickly after a few hard stops and have to be replaced more often. Brakes are a safety item, looking for the cheap way out isn’t always a wise decision.

Rotors. They’re just discs, right? Well, like in the movie Tron, they serve a purpose and have a personality all their own. Back in the day, disc brakes were an “option” and not available on all cars. Manual drum brakes were the norm and ran hot, were a pain to maintain and just archaic technology. Nowadays, with vented disc brakes coming standard on pretty much every car built, braking is a lot safer than is used to be. But, they are made of metal and under constant abuse. Heat is the natural enemy to a brake rotor. It’ll warp it and kill it. So the logical thing to do is find a way to dissipate that heat. Most enthusiasts have taken to swapping out their stock rotors for ones that are slotted, cross drilled or both. Companies like R1 Concepts have all but cornered the market on building brake rotors to help builders get the most out of their brakes. They can also custom make your rotors to fit the theme of your ride. Various logos can be engraved into the rotor for a custom touch. Or, if that’s not the route you want, you can stick to the traditional slot or cross-drilled look. The argument is the slots and/or holes in the rotors will help the heat escape under heavy braking, thus reducing brake fade and also help extend the life of both the pads and the rotors. Plus, who doesn’t love it when you look through an awesome custom wheel and see a giant slotted and drilled rotor looking back at you. Well, except for that ‘Hello Kitty’ brake rotor we’ve all seen floating around the internet. We’ll pass on that!

Brake lines and fluid. Face it, rubber lines are inferior and will deteriorate and crack over time. The lines are responsible for getting the brake fluid to the calipers and therefore a critical component not to be overlooked. The smartest upgrade to complete, and not very expensive, would be to install stainless steel braided brake lines. A quality company like Stop Tech produces stainless lines that can be installed in little time and will help keep the fluid to the calipers constant; subsequently reducing brake fade and keeping a firm pedal. Usually stainless lines can be purchased for around $100 a set and normally don’t require any special tools to install them. At the same time, it’s wise to periodically flush and change your brake fluid. Dirt and contaminates can build up and cause blockage resulting in poor brake performance as well as potential damage to other braking components. Always make sure to use a quality brand brake fluid and check if your car requires DOT III or IV when changing or adding fluid.

Big Brake Kits. Go big or go home, right? Nothing screams performance and style like a massive brake kit with flying saucers for rotors and a multi-piston caliper. Now, there are several ways to accomplish this on your ride. The first would be to upgrade your model with the brakes from a higher model on the roster. For example, several LX/LC owners with the V6 or R/T package have swapped in the Brembo kits from the SRTs because they choose to stick with Mopar parts. And while that’s often a logical course of action, sometimes that can prove to be a little more costly than people would like. Another option, albeit a limited one, is to use the brakes from a totally different vehicle and retrofit them to your ride. Dodge Dakota owners have taken to swapping the brakes from the iconic Dodge Viper onto their trucks. Sadly, the Dakota’s factory brakes weren’t the best for such an awesome truck and needed the boost in capability. Fortunately, the early Dakotas and Durangos shared the same 6 lug bolt pattern as the Vipers and with some tweaking, were able to make them work. Now THAT’S an upgrade. You might not be able to afford a Viper, but you can put Viper brakes on your pickup truck. Like a boss! The easiest and most cost effective way to accomplish a major brake upgrade is with a big brake kit from a company like BAER Brakes. They’ve done all the R&D for you to give your Mopar unreal stopping power. Furthermore, they’ll usually be even better than what’s available from the factory. For example, the Brembo Brake kits are 4 piston calipers with a 13″ or maybe 14″ rotor. BAER’s kit for the LX/LC platform is a 14.25″ rotor and a whopping 6 piston caliper. That’s enough to stop on a dime and give you 9 cents change. These kits will drastically reduce your braking disances in a panic stop, potentially saving yours and other people’s lives. Also, because these companies spend millions of dollars developing these kits, they’re almost always “plug and play”, requiring no modifications to the vehicle other than installing the kit. Plus, you can usually customize the kits by ordering colored calipers to fit your theme. Remember, it’s all in the details!!

So there you have it. We at Modern Mopar Magazine want you all to be safe and have fun. So we hope you’ve taken away some valuable information from this when building the Mopar of your dreams; be it a show car, daily driver or track star. If you’ve done any brake upgrades, feel free to share them with us.

By: Shawn Kaufman

New Upholstery
Obviously the biggest statement you can make with your cars interior is reupholstering the seats. From the factory, your options on seat skins is sorely limited. Simple colors like black and grey are really all that’s on the menu. A factory red was added a couple of years ago, but if you’re still looking to take it to the next level, then the aftermarket is the place to turn. For almost 30 years, companies like Katzkin Leather have been whipping up the finest custom interiors on the market. With virtually endless customizing capability, you can let your imagination run wild. You can do a leather/suede combination to reach that elite pimp level status. Got a two-tone exterior paint job? It’s just as easy to carry the color scheme over to your seats and door panels. Or if you want to go retro, maybe an all white leather is the road for you. Katzkin is also the company of choice for Mopar with their limited edition rides. The “Mopar” Editions of the Challenger, Charger, 300 and Dart have all been produced with a custom Katzkin interior that complements the exterior of the car. Case in point is the Mopar ’11 Charger that has the blue stripe on the driver’s seat to go along with the full length offset racing stripe. This is also a good way to rejuvenate a tired interior, should you happen to purchase a pre-owned vehicle and want to spruce it up.

Floor Mats
Sounds silly, right? It’s something you rest your feet on. But companies like Lloyd Mats can stitch you up a set of floor mats to add some detail to an otherwise utilitarian accessory. I remember back in the day where you had to specifically ask the dealer for some cheap mats just to protect your carpet. The other option was going to Pep Boys and buying a set of $10 mats just to cover up the rips and holes in your floorboards. But now you can get some plush carpet mats that are custom embroidered with almost anything your heart desires. Usually the only limitation is whether or not it violates any copyright laws, so make sure you purchase from a company who is officially licensed by Mopar.  Another benefit to aftermarket floor mats is that the material will often be softer than the OEM and if you choose to take your shoes off at a show, it makes for a very comfy footrest.

Hydro-Dipping
Not to be confused with Plasti-dip, Hydro-dipping is a water based film transfer process that affords the builder an almost endless array of customizing ideas. SRT Charger owner Brad Jameson has raised the bar in interior modifications by “dipping” pretty much every component in his ride. Everything from the radio bezel, to the seat side bolsters, to the door handle surrounds was dipped in a natural carbon fiber finish. While carbon fiber of course is the most popular choice among enthusiasts, numerous other finishes are available should you want to go a little crazy. Skulls, true fire, camouflage and even a zombie print are all ways that you can personalize your cabin. Hydro-dipping also brings some color inside, as the first stage in the process is painting the parts that are to be dipped. So it becomes possible to create a red carbon fiber or purple flames. You do have to be careful though, as you’re paying for paintwork which, like getting a tattoo, becomes addicting and expensive. However, if you put your creative juices to work, going this route is a surefire way to have one of the most unique interiors out there.

Custom Embroidery
If you’re on any Mopar related internet forum, you’ve no doubt heard the name Jina. Jina’s Sew Simple Embroidery has been helping modern Mopar customizers realize their dream interiors for years now. The vehicle owner sends Jina their parts, which usually include their headrests or center console covers, along with a high resolution image that they would like embroidered, and Jina works her magic. If your ride has a theme, such as Transformers or The Punisher, Jina can add the logos to help carry that theme throughout the car. It’s all about the details, and as you can see in the pictures, adding custom embroidery is definitely something to look into.

With the 2014 car show season looming on the horizon, we here at Modern Mopar Magazine know you’re going to be looking to rack up points on the show field and wow the judges. Consider some of the ideas you’ve seen here and let your imagination be your guide. We also encourage our enthusiastic Mopar owners to share their custom interiors on our Facebook (/modernmoparmag) and Instagram (@modernmoparmagazine) pages. We’d love to see them!

By: Shawn Kaufman