"big brakes" and airbags???

[Shed]

Was talking to a friend who has an 03' D/A and he tows heavy alot. He just had a set Brembo(i think) brakes put on. He says they are awesome for stopping all the weight. He's also looking at putting in an exhaust brake. And while he was doing the brakes he had them put on a set of airbags. What are the pro's and con's of the parts mentioned? I like the idea of them, (extra stopping power, leveling/ride improvement). But I figure there has to be a flip side to what my friend says is the best thing he's ever done (except buy the dmax). Just wondering what others opinions were...Shed

[mark45678]

firestone air bags are a good option if you have more then 1200~1500 lbs in the bed but I dont think a 2500 needs more spring. they dont have enough tire compasity to really over load the springs in my opinion. if your running stock tires thats only 3200 lbs each , my crew cab is around 3500+ lbs on the rear axle empty. I guess if your running a big 5th wheel and the weights on on the rear bumper you should consider a bag kit but towing a travel trailer with a distrobution hitch your stock truck is all you need. the rear hitch should only have 1200 lbs of verticle load.

[Petrella]

Brembo brakes are one of the best brakes and caliper systems in the world, and they do an unbelievable job when towing heavy loads and the rotors are 16 inches in diameter, where the stock rotors are 12.8" the brembo calipers have 6 pistons in each caliper. Nice brake setup but you must use an 18" wheel or larger for these brakes to fit. The price tag isnt perty either, a set of Brembo brakes for a 2500HD will run you about $4500 to $5000 installed. So by the time you have the brakes installed and buy new wheels and tires, you could be gettin close to the $10000 mark. If you can get a hold of last months issue of Truckin magazine, there is a 3 page step by step instruction on a Brembo brake installation they did on an 06 LBZ 2500HD. Looks pretty wild, especially seeing the big red calipers and the cross drilled rotors through the wheels.

Anthony
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2006 GMC Sierra 4x4 CC SB SLT LBZ/6 Speed
Dark Pewter Leather and Power Sunroof
305 70R/16 tires on Eagle 16x10 rims
Banks 6 Gun with Power PDA, 483HP 783TQ at the rear wheels
Chrome wire mesh grille
Alpine Stereo, Navigation, and flip down rear screen
Autometer Cobalt gauges
Mag-Hytec Diff cover
pics of my truck - http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=12647120&uid=2685617&members=1