Brakes. Why drums?

My dad has an expedition, and that parking brake sucks!!

 

That's my point I think: the bigger the vehicle, the more that a drum-style parking brake is needed, even with a disk main brakes in the rear.

 

This is the real reason for drum brakes in the rear of a pickup truck. Most of the weight is transferred to the front of the truck when the brakes are applied and the rear brakes do very little work.

 

You did take a step backwards.
Discs allow more precise modulation=better braking, especially when you're near lockup.
Toyota totally cheaped out on this generation of cars and trucks.
They're getting the heat for it now.
Why do my alloy wheels look so shitty?....
Why do my rear springs not spring?
Why does my radio sound like it came out of 1960's eastern bloc Trabant?
Why do wiggly frames rust so bad?
Why do people defend Toyota so strongly?

 

I understand both sides of it...my thing is that there is no other model that shares the same frame as the RAV4 and the FJ Cruiser...

while the FJ Cruiser maybe a little heavier than the Tacoma...the RAV4 curb weight is only 3400 lbs...so why would they put discs in all 4 corners of a RAV4 and not the Tacoma?

 

im pretty sure the tacoma has the best braking of any truck in its class including the frontier which has rear disc brakes. so even if they cheaped out on the rear brakes, they still do better with less

 

I'm pretty sure everyone is over thinking it.

Imagine this 2nd Gen designers meeting:

Des A: Right, lets start with the 1st Gen design and go from there
Des B: Got it, what's the new curb weight ?
Des A: xyz lbs
Des B: Let me check the brake design. All good, just a minor tweak to the front disc size needed.
Des A: Sweet, that'll leave us time to go surf TW for the rest of the day.

 

I am going to have to agree with this. I had a JK (2007) and they have disks in the rear. It is well known that the rear brakes on those Jeeps go very quick, some had reported 15,000 miles is all they got, sum got up to 60,000. I would say this advanced wear was caused by debris from the front staying constantly in the brakes. JOE>

 

the fj is on the same frame as the land cruiser prado 120/tacoma/4runner

 

Why do you own a toyota?

 

Full size Chevys had rear discs for a couple of years in early 2000's. According to a buddy who is a service mgr at a dealer, they switched back to drums because mud and rocks were causing reliability problems. Full size Fords have had rear discs since '98 or '99. I have had 2 of these and if you filled them up with mud and didn't clean them out, the pads would wear out within a couple thousand mi. I still have a '97 F-150 with 280,000 mi. that has been buried numerous times. The rear drums and shoes have never been changed. Apparently it's not as much of a problem in the front and or discs are needed in the front because that's where most of the stopping is done on any vehicle. Discs are definetly more modern, dissipate heat better and look cooler. A standard rear disc setup is usually a little lighter, but not much. Most front disc setups are actually hevier than a std rear drum setup, (take a scale to a parts store if you dont believe me). I prefer drums in the rear for any vehicle that goes through the mud.

 

are you sure? cause by the looks of it the FJ Cruiser length is 7.5" shorter than the Tacoma...

I know that the 4Runner and the Tacoma share the same frame...but its hard to see the FJ Cruiser share the same frame length maybe its just me...the #'s below are probably the length with the body of the vehicle and not the length of the frame...correct me if I'm wrong here...

Tacoma Overall Length:
4x2 Regular Cab - 190.4
4x2 Access Cab - 208.1
4x2 X-Runner - 208.1
4x2 Pre-Runner Cab - 190.4
4x2 Pre-Runner Access Cab - 208.1
4x2 Pre-Runner Double Cab - 208.1
4x2 Pre-Runner Double Cab Long Bed - 221.3
4x2 Regular Cab - 190.4
4x4 Access Cab - 208.1
4x4 Double Cab - 208.1
4x4 Double Cab Long Bed - 221.3

FJ Cruiser Overall Length:
4x4 4671 mm 183.9 in

 

He's right the FJ and the Tacoma, Prado and 4runner share the same frame and pretty much the drivetrain and everything else. I know because I had an FJ and pretty much researched everything about it. If you'll notice your posting of frame lengths there are different sizes but they are all Tacoma's and do not share the same frame length. If you'll notice the difference between a standard cab taco and the double cab long bed the wheelbase is definitely longer on the double cab.

 

i was told drum brakes work better when wet. if you are backing a boat into the water, your rear brakes are now your fronts.

 

That is exactly and precisely wrong. Drums are worthless when wet, and recover (dry out) much slower when out of the water.

 

discs...easier to replace pads

drums...work better with parking brake.

 

reliability.

 

Only for the resale, which was strong before the koolaid ran out.
I am not a brand-worshiper.
I realize the weaknesses and design flaws.....

 

I understand that they share the same drivetrain and transmission (1GR-FE)...

yes I did notice that when looking at the #'s for the tacoma the frame length will obviously be different because of the different models they sell...

I just wasn't sure about the FJ sharing the same frame as a 4x4 Tacoma...it just doesn't seem like the same length with how much longer the Tacoma is compared to the FJ...