Big Ole' Brake Upgrade Thread for Third Gens

Front brakes question... Anyone know if there's any difference in front discs/calipers between versions (TRD-Sport, OR, TRD-Pro)?

 

Pretty sure no. You can always look at part numbers.

 

None whatsoever.

 

Hey @skyking3, do you happen to have the part numbers for the wilwood calipers you put on your truck?

I found wilwood sells individual rotor hats specifically for the Tacoma, and I've been giddily doing research in my spare time ever since.

I'm at the point where I'm probably gonna "roll my own" setup. T4R backing plates very slightly trimmed to fit a custom caliper mounted to 2 piece rotors that are a hair undersized from T4R spec, but still over 13" diameter.

My biggest question mark is clearance with 16" wheels, or at the very least the 16" spare.

Then of course there's the rabbit hole of caliper piston size, which often gets ignored. As long as they are appropriately sized for the application, Smaller pistons = firmer pedal, Larger pistons = softer pedal, in terms of total force to push the pedal and total pedal travel.

On the other end of this I'm hoping to have a sweet setup that shaves off a good deal of weight and gives a nice boost to braking feel without having to convert the rears, just throw a more aggressive shoe compound in (Porterfield R4S).

 

Thanks again for taking the time to make the video, it was most helpful. I had time to go through the whole thing this morning. I've got both the rear disc and m/c kits, along with the braided rear lines, queued up at S.O.S. and wanted to watch the video first to make sure I really, really wanted to get into this. I enjoyed your 10 min. ramble session (I like rambling almost as much as a good Rant&Rave). The scary part was riding along with you in traffic knowing you had iffy brakes (at that time) . What did you have to do to get them bled, finally?

Do you think I could get the part numbers for the 0-rings, brake line clips, and whatever other parts you ended up needing that weren't included in the kit(s). That time where you showed the O-ring number went by quickly and I couldn't find it again.

Also, would you happen to have a link to the diagram that you tacked up inside the wheel well as a guide?

Lastly, and probably most importantly, I'm still confused about this backing plate thing. You mentioned in the video piecing the old plates back together, and @stevotivo12 talking about cutting the old ones down (to cover the disc hat), but the photo on the S.O.S. site (of the assembled drum brake portion) seems to show a spiffy new backing plate.



What am I missing?

 

Heh. The brakes weren't that scary. To get them bled I used a Motive style bleeder and getting the ABS pump to cycle with emergency stops. Pedal is awesome now.

The diagram does come with the kit. Most helpful thing.

The stock backing plate is removed completely and replaced with the SOS piece. The SOS piece is two pieces so it's easier to reinstall. Also makes parking brake adjustment easy.

I don't have a part number for the line clips and Stoptech wasn't helpful. I couldn't find a part number for the OEM clips, but they definitely work.

I'll get the o-ring part number I'm a second.

 

Phew. Wasn't sure I saved the other o-ring. Part number is 90301-8300. There's a two on the end that I'm not sure is part of the number or how many I needed.

There's another video I did on YouTube that details how to save some money by piecing the kit together yourself. Might be too late. His MC kit was priced well from what I could find.

 

No problem. Given a part number it's easy enough to make sure it's correct.

I figured I'd save $30 getting my own MC, but with my luck I'd get one that wouldn't work for this purpose. I'm going to go ahead and pull the trigger on the 2 kits from S.O.S..

Thanks once more for your time and effort.

 

No problem.

 

Got all the parts on order for the rear conversion. I'll report back once it's done (give me a couple weeks).

Started thinking about Phase II, what to do with the fronts. At a minimum, I thought about having the front calipers red powder coated and replacing the rotors with slotted/drilled so they, at least visibly, match the rears. Then I starting wondering if there was any advantage to switching to front calipers/rotors from a (heavier) Tundra or Sequoia. Looks like there are "upgrade" kits for a Tundra that may fit our Tacomas. Here's one where, in the reviews, someone claims to have installed on a '01 Pre-Runner with minimal modification, but greatly improved braking.

Callahan Brake Parts CCK11208 FRONT OE [2] Calipers + [2] Drilled/Slotted Rotors + Quiet Low Dust [4] Ceramic Pads Kit

https://www.amazon.com/Powder-Coated-Calipers-Ceramic-Performance/dp/B00EOBMFAY

Anyone here have any experience along these lines?

I haven't done any homework on the subject yet, so please pardon my ignorance. Thought a good place to start might be to ask here first.

 

How much modification to make it fit? Is it worth the headache? Those would be questions I would ask. And if you truly want to do it, is it worth it just to do a Stoptech kit and be done with it? It didn't fit my needs, so I opted to not to do it. Personally, I'm happy with the way mine has turned out and I haven't even done the master cylinder yet. A cheaper start would be to try the braided lines for the front and a different pad and go from there. Thems my two pennies.

You also have Wilwood for a kit, too. Which can be had for about $1600 for the 13-inch rotor kit. https://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/B...oma&option=4+x+4+(6+Lug+Wheel)&axle=Front+Kit

 

And those are very good questions. From the review:

"The only modification I had to make to the dust shield was trim the length of the dust shield with some tin-snips. About 2 inches from one end of the dust shield. After that it was plug and play..."

This "kit" is $326 versus, what, ~800 for a full StopTech? It's just calipers, pads, and rotors. New drilled/slotted stock rotors are going to be ~$250. I doubt I'll ever have need for the StopTech kit as I don't plan on doing much towing and don't have any heavy accessories.

If I going to spend some amount of money for mostly cosmetic changes to the front, are there maybe some better alternatives for not much more money is the question.

Any and all feedback is appreciated.

 

Doesn't sound bad for price and work involved....

 

I dunno'. Just stirring up some discussion. SOMEONE around here (maybe not in this thread) must have actually done this.

 

Follow-up to my own question: It looks like the Tundra/Tacoma front brake swap was a thing for Gen1. Virtually nothing on this site for the Gen3 (at least that I could find).

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/front-brake-upgrade-anyone.524352/

 

My suggestion is to get the back stuff on, front braided lines, and maybe some different pads and see how you like it.

 

I couldn't find anything about that, I had considered swapping from a sequoia or tundra if possible but could never find the info to work it out

 

I'll keep looking around, but it's not a big deal in my case. Phase I is to do the rear conversion, m/c swap, and braided lines in back, then ride around for a week or two to see how it feels. Phase II is braided lines up front, also, just for looks, change rotors and swap calipers with powder-coated stockers. ("If I'm going to spend a couple grand on brake mods, you WILL be able to SEE the difference!"). If I can find a way to upgrade the front rotors/calipers for not a lot of cash or effort, fine. If not, I'm sure the stock parts will be fine for my uses.

If you have a set of stock front calipers you'd like to get rid of...

 

Look on Rock Auto for front calipers from a brand called Power stop. They might have red replacements. Pretty sure they had red stuff for the 4 runner rears.

 

I will have a look. Thanks!