• Although Jeeps have become one of the more widely modified platforms, owners often prioritize a plethora of other mods—lift kits, bigger tires, bumpers, and accessories—before they consider brakes.
• Reliable friction material should rank considerably higher on Jeep owners’ mod lists considering most aftermarket mods add weight, and therefore negatively impact stopping performance.
• Hawk Performance has been providing performance you can trust since 1993 by leveraging technology that is used in military and airline applications.
• Hawk’s LTS compound has been specifically formulated for Jeeps, SUVs, and light trucks to provide long-lasting pad life, 20-40% more stopping power, and low dust output.
• Combining Hawk LTS pads with its HP520 performance fluid is a great way to improve your Jeep’s brake performance without breaking the bank.

800lbs. That’s the average amount of weight the average Jeep owner will add to their truck with aftermarket lift kits, bigger tires, racks, winches, lights, tents, compressors, soundbars, and bed covers. Despite adding the equivalent of four, average American men to a Jeep’s curb weight, there’s an absent conversation around one big segment: brakes.

That word seems to turn off a lot of people in the Jeep and truck world. No, compared to 2000-watt lights, bull bars, or a 4” lift, they aren’t going to make your Jeep the star of your local show or even give you some visual satisfaction after a long, stressful day of work. But like the fire extinguisher you’ve got mounted on your rear roll cage, good brakes are a tool you’ll be grateful to have at the moment you need to lean on them most.

MEET HAWK

Jeep owners are a unique breed. They are unwaveringly loyal to the brand and enthusiastic towards one another, regardless of how stock or modded you may be. That fealty to Jeep means that you might not have heard of Hawk Performance. Since 1993, the company has leveraged military and airline-grade stopping technology to create robust, performance friction material and fluid solutions for street and professional race applications. In other words, they make brakes you can trust. The well-respected brake manufacturer might not be the biggest name in the Jeep community, but it’s time to change that.

LIFE IN 2024

Including Jeeps, today’s SUVs and heavy-duty trucks aren’t yesterday’s station wagons and pickups. Some have lift kits, many tow boats or trailers, and most are loaded down with kids, hobbies, or pets. For those who might have mentally checked out during high school physics, a heavier body stays in motion longer, which requires something to counteract and stop that movement. In this case, that means better friction technology.

Hawk Performance developed a compound specifically to suit the ever-changing demands of our 4×4 life. It’s called the “LTS” or “Light Truck and SUV” brake pad and it provides 20-40% more stopping power over stock replacement pads. “Engineered by truck brake pad experts, the Ferro-Carbon friction material of LTS is the optimal pad choice for light-duty trucks, all classes of SUVs, and sub-1-ton vans,” said Annie Last, Marketing and Manager of Hawk Performance. Hawk Performance promises the LTS pad is friendly to rotors, too, which means less of your money will go out the window to service your Jeep.

As you’d imagine, we picked up two sets of LTS pads—front (HB941Y.712) and rear (HB941Y.745)—for this Jeep Gladiator Rubicon.

PEDAL TO THE FLOOR

Reading the title of this section might’ve gotten some of you excited, but when it’s the brake pedal, the emotional response is very different and often comes with a handful of expletives. This pants-threatening experience happens when you boil your brake fluid. Since 99% of Jeeps won’t ever see track duty, we grabbed a few bottles of Hawk’s DOT4 performance street fluid (HP520). Its dry boiling point of 500°F (260°C)—100°F more than the DOT3 standard—should be plenty, even for Jeep owners who need to exercise the brakes on a downgrade.

PAD INSTALLATION

To make sure we were going to do things properly, we made our way to R/T Tuning, our local speed shop and preferred aftermarket stomping ground.

Now I know what you’re already thinking: it’s weird to install pads and brake fluid without addressing rotors. Hawk does make a front rotor for the Gladiator (HTC5397) right now, but we’re waiting for them to finish the rear before we put those on, too. Why aren’t they available at the same time? The front is cross-compatible with the Wrangler, but the rears are a unique part number that has forced the aftermarket to put in some extra leg work. I’m told they are coming.

You’ll notice from the photo above that there aren’t any clips on the Hawk pads we unboxed. This is fairly common with aftermarket replacements; putting them on requires swapping these over from the factory pads. Once you do that, the installation is as straightforward as taking the OE pads off.

Hawk includes a packet of its “GearHead Grease” that R/T Tuning applied generously to the new pads’ edges, which made sliding them into place a cinch. Once seated, the OE caliper swiveled over the Hawk pads and R/T fastened everything up.

BLEEDING THE BRAKES

Once the fresh Hawk Performance LTS pads were successfully installed front and rear, it was time to bleed the brakes with the HP520 DOT4 performance street fluid. Hawk recommends that you check your brake fluid level and condition every few months. As you see it being poured out above, fresh brake fluid should look clear or translucent. If you look at your brake fluid and it appears “cloudy, dirty, brown, or rust-colored”, it’s time for a flush.

R/T Tuning used a power bleeder to make this process move along faster, filling from the master cylinder reservoir until a constant stream of fresh fluid (i.e. no bubbles) came out of the bleeder screw on each caliper. Once every corner had been bled, R/T topped off the fluid in the reservoir and we were good to go.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

If you’re looking for a night and day difference, you’re going to be disappointed; new pads and fluid aren’t going to make you feel like you’ve suddenly got a big brake kit on your Jeep. But, I will say that during and after the bed-in procedure, the improvement in initial bite and modulation through the pedal (without adding unnecessary noise) is noticeable. Jeep owners who are just popping around town will probably appreciate this upgrade for its longevity; the Hawk Performance replacements are, no question, more robust than OE equivalents and that’s reason enough to consider them for a minimal price difference.

For Jeep owners who have or are going to add ~1,000 lbs to their curb weight, you’re going to love this upgrade even more. As I mentioned earlier, more heft requires better stopping power. The Hawk Performance LTS pads tout incredibly consistent performance across its 100°F-700°F temperature range, which means your brake pedal inputs will feel the same regardless of how hard you’re making the pad work. As an additional peace of mind, it’s good to know that Hawk Performance brake pads are designed, engineered, and produced in the United States with a Limited Lifetime Warranty. We’re looking forward to fitting Hawk’s rotors soon.

Gallery