Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

[Boatist]

I been useing Tiedown Disk brakes for about 8 years now but have had a lot of trouble with them.
I been looking at the Kodiak Vented disk and wonder if they are better.

Has anyone used both and if so which is better.

Tiedown is easy to get parts for but I have to work on them every spring.

Any comments or suggestion would help me decide what to do in the spring.

 

[mikeneal]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

Fresh or salt? I have Kodiak and have been very happy. I had two friends both go with tie-down and niether was happy. (all salt)

 

[Fl_Richard]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

The Kodiak calipers are larger with dual pistons. The stainless steel rotors are heavier construction and the brake pads are better.

Overall the Kodiak discs are just heavier duty. Mine have been on my boat for four years in salt ware and I have relpaced the pads once and I've had zero maintenence issues.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

I'm running SCAD Kodiaks w/ceramic pads on the trailer. Too many problems with warped rotors and the conglomeration of dissimilar metals that Tiedown calls calipers.

You can use Kodaik w/ electric over hydraulic but you can't use Tiedowns. The Tiedowns are only rated to 1200 psi

 

[eli_lilly]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

Everybody swears by Kodiak.

-E

 

[SuperNova]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

I'm running four 12" Kodiak ecads for 3 years now. My calipers are single piston. I had a problem with one and they sent me a new one with no arguements, didn't even have to send the old one back. I am VERY happy with my Kodiaks. I do boat in brackish water, salt water and fresh water. I also tow up to 3000 miles a year if the weather cooperates. lol

The tie-downs look a little thin to me, I like having the big vented rotor that Kodiak uses.

 

[CatTwentyTwo]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

I don't have any experience with the Tiedowns, but have been running the cad plated Kodiaks for 6 years now. I use them in a combination of salt and fresh water and have not had any problems. I don't do anything special maintenance wise other than hosing them off after a salt water dunking and maybe grease the slider pins every couple of years.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

Sorry I should have said 50 percent Salt Water.
The main problem I have had with the TieDown disk is the two pistons on the caliper get stuck
and can not be moved in or out.
In Salt Water I always wash my brakes when I retrieve the boat at the end of the day but
never after launching as it would hold up the ramp.

It sounds like the Kodiak are doing much better than my brakes as I have always had to do lots of work
every spring to get the pistions to move in or out every spring and had to replace every 2 years.

Does anyone know if Kodiak can use the same coupler and reverse lock out solenoid as the Tie Down disk?

Thanks for all the good information.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

Not sure what Tie downs you have but I had the stainless steel non-vented ones for a year. The rotors warped. I bought the E-cad Kodiaks to replace the piece of junk Tie Downs. I wash them down throughly after dunking them in salt water and have never had an issue with corrosion.

 

[CatTwentyTwo]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

Yes, the same coupler and lockout solenoid will be fine as long as your coupler was set up for disc brakes. I'm with dingbat on the dissimilar metals, it almost seems like they were trying to build a battery in a high school science class. Just add salt water!

 

[Boatist]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

The Tie down Brakes I had are the stainless steel non vented.
Have not had any problem with the disk. Only problem I have had is with the Calipers.
The pistons just get stuck and you can not move in or out.
Even if you can force then out they would not retract. Makes it hard to tow at all.
The first caliper was just aluminum and the second was also aluminum but black power coated.
They seem a little better. I think they may work ok for people in straight Fresh water.

I thank everyone for the great replies. It will save me money trying to find the problem with the Tie Down brakes.
The one thing I did like about them was the brakes pads could be bought all over and very cheap.

 

[SuperNova]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

The one thing I did like about them was the brakes pads could be bought all ove and very cheap.

Well ,if that's a holdup, you can cross it off the list. The Kodiaks I have use common auto brake pads as well. Same style as a Ford Mustang, I believe.

 

[RoyR]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

Converted my drums to SCAD Kodiak 6 months ago, love them so far. The disk does tend to get surface rust if you don't use them for two months

 

[SuperNova]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

Nice job Roy, looks great, except you shouldn't have thread sealer on that flare fitting.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

Nice picture. It looks like the disk is aluminum in the picture but if it rust's it must be steel.
Also looks like a single piston with two blead valves so it can be mounted on either side.
Is the caliper itself aluminum or is it some type of galvanize. Must be aluminum.
Can the caliper be mounted on the top of the disk??
On top with a roller trailer I can usually launch without getting Caliper in the water
so it only get wet when I retrieve.

 

[CatTwentyTwo]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

All the Kodiak rotors are steel, either coated steel or all stainless steel. The calipers are available the same way, I have the cadmium plated disc's and the stainless steel calipers. Like Roy said, you do get some surface rust on the disc where the pads ride, but it gets wiped off the first time you come to a stop. You could mount the caliper on the top, but I'm not sure you could completely bleed it that way. Would there be a little bit of air trapped right at the top of the piston between the bleed screws? I have 3500lb axles and Kodiak recommends that they be mounted at 3 o'clock on the left side and 9 o'clock on the right side.

 

[Fl_Richard]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

And there is no reason to mount them on top. There impervious to the water. Dunk em'

 

[Boatist]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

RYoung
Very good information that helps me a lot.
Best of all is sounds like everyone likes the Kodiak brakes.
I get a much diferent responce around camp when I ask how they like their Tiedown Brakes.

As far as impervious to salt water I have seen no metal except the very best quality
Stainless Steel that really holds up to salt water. Some metal do much better than others.

Thanks everyone for the really good information.

 

[KC4YIN]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

How much price difference is there between Tie Down brakes and Kodiak brakes?

 

[dingbat]

Re: Are Kodiak disk better than Tiedown Disk and why.

Depends on which products you want to compare becouse they really are not comparable. Kodaik offers a complete stainless kit, calipers, etc. where as Tiedown only supplies a stainless rotor. You still get the "battery" for a caliper.

If you compare the base systems for both brands the Kodiak ($114) will cost you $6 more per wheel more than the Tiedown ($108)