Is there a rear disk brake upgrade?

Swap your front disk with OPs rear drums.It may take a few weeks of modding, cutting and welding, but in the end it would be worth it.

 

Now we're talking. That sweet sweet drum power.

 

I paid around $39k for mine and have never given the drums a second thought. Truck stops just fine. IF I were to upgrade the brakes it would be the front rotor and pads. I complain about the price I paid only because I'm cheap.

 

Op....you need to check out @jberry813 rear axle swap, it has the rotors you want and a sweet new rear end.

 

rear disks are good for stopping while in reverse at high speed.... i dont plan on doing that anytime soon. Ill putt the $1K saved into Cryptocurrency

 

Heat, a truck doesn't generate the same heat as a high performance sports, or should Toyota also add Carbon Fiber brake rotors and turn our 40k trucks into 55k trucks....

No one is going to argue that drums are better than disc. The reality is is they are unnecessary.

 

If I am servicing the system, give me discs.
If I want a set up I never have to service, give me drums.

My truck only ran 32K so my opinion probably doesn't matter since it didn't cross the 40K threshold.

 

Anyone ever had brake fade fully loaded going down a big ass hill? I have. In a suburban 1500, suburban 2500 diesel, and my 01 Tacoma. (And yes I was gearing down). The 2500 ended up with one seized drum, and so did my Tacoma. Both rotors had to be replaced on the Tacoma as well in short time.

Would disc brakes have made a difference? Maybe. All the f150s have them, and they tow up to 10000+ lbs. But my dad says he's had brake fade in his 2016 ecoboost as well, loaded but not towing. (The coquihalla is a bitch).

Honestly if brake fade was what I was worried about, I would get bigger badder front rotors. If I wanted looks I'd fab up a bracket for the rear discs off my wife's v8 runner. (Which has shitty brakes fyi).

I converted my 2500 suburban to discs and it made almost no perceptible difference.

IMO do it if you want. But it's probably not necessary.

 

Every truck I've procured for my company's fleet (400+ over the past 3 years) has air disc brakes instead of drums. Discs are safer (stopping distance) and require much less maintenance (cost savings).

 

I was shocked that the Tacoma has rear drums (it is 2018, right?), but I got over it. I'd prefer discs, because I can swap pads and rotors, but I never got the hang of adjusting drums... If I did one mechanical change, it would be the rear disc swap, but it's probably not worth it. (I had rear drums on a 1500 Suburban (years ago) and they never gave me problems)

 

I really couldn't care either way, I'm happy with the rear drums and I'd be just as happy if they were disks.

The thing that gets me is the "for a $35k+ truck it should....."

It's not.

It's a $25k truck, if you paid more than that it was to get the drivetrain or trim or options you wanted. It's the same truck at 25k or 45k, just one has factory "mods" and the other doesn't.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/amazing-deal-on-steel-braided-brake-lines.97331/

 

NAILED IT.

100% NOT fake news right there folks.

 

Here’s a pic of the rear setup from a 4Runner with 17” wheels. looks like that would easily clear 16” wheels also but it doesn’t bolt to the Taco axle housing and the axle shafts aren’t compatible with the Tacoma diff either.
I don’t like that the SOS kit doesn’t have dust shields like the 4Runner but I wonder if 16” Taco wheels would clear the SOS kit’s rear calipers??

 

Agreed. I had top-hat style rear rotors on my last Silverado 3500 and they stopped the truck well, but had the most useless parking brake i’ve ever used. I wish it had the old-school drums.
For everyday, normal driving, i’ve got no complaints with my Tacoma brakes..........maybe if I was a serious 4 wheeler or constantly towing heavy i’d need rear discs.......maybe?.....

 

I don't care about drum vs disk per se--brakes seem to work fine to me, "softer" than my performance cars (WRX, BMW, MX5), but that's to be expected. I understand the rationale for rear drums and that most of the stopping action occurs with the front brakes.

However here's my question--would more rear breaking power help with the nose dipping that occurs with fairly hard braking? It doesn't really bother me, just very noticeable. I assumed this was more of a suspension issue with the OR, but maybe if there was more of a contribution from the rear it would make a difference?

Thoughts?

 

The brakes are biased towards the front because you normally have no weight in the back. If you put more braking bias towards the rear, they would just try to slide, not give you any more braking performance.

Bottom line is, if you slam on your brakes and ABS kicks in, they are doing their maximum effort. It's about coefficient of adhesion of tire on ground when it gets to that point.

 

I have no outrage. I prefer drums on the rear. The roads I go down cake the entire rear of the truck undercarriage in mud. So thick I gotta chip it out from inside the wheels.

Maybe Toyota can put discs with some nice brightly painted callipers on the limited and sport versions? but not the offroad.

The only reason there is any “outrage” at all is from fellas who don’t like the look of the rusty drums showing through the rims. That’s it. A totally superficial complaint, that has no basis in anything else. There is no shortage of braking power in these trucks and the drums do not cause any issues whatsoever. In fact, they are much superior in keeping dirt and crap out of the rear brakes.

My advice: watch this video and stop complaining about something that isn’t a problem.....or put your skirt back on and do a disc brake swap.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y

 

The ONLY reason I like 4 wheel disc is they don't have the need to adjust the rear. Many times the self-adjusting systems fail to adjust out properly on the rear causing the front to do more of the work, overhead and wear out quicker. Also causing more nose dive when braking. Then after adjusting the rear shoes out the vehicle brakes like it should.

I do agree that for parking on steep grades the parking brake on drums have more breaking capability than drums. As I read here before. It makes sense with the larger surface area with Drums.

 

Another truth. You cannot beat rear drums for parking brakes. In a Tacoma we get a functional parking brake, on both wheels, that will hold your truck on a steep hill.

The disc brake-based parking brakes have been problematic on many vehicles.