Brake Upgrade: StopTech Rotors + TRD Performance Pads

I have no issue finding the rotors; my only issue is paying the price some companies are asking for them, because I know how much they're really worth. I think at this point, I'm looking towards other options.

 

I haven't regret going DBA rotors.

 

thanks for the link! That helps a ton.

Anyone running these with stock calibers? Is it worth spending the money for the red calibers? Seems like thats the most expensive part of this whole set up.

 

Here is my recent experience with Stoptech and TRD pads. This past weekend I did a 750 trek to and through Death Valley. Day three I started hearing a slight grinding noise and we were already on our way to Beatty Nevada to top off on fuel. I had put these on my truck about 25k miles ago and looked at the pads prior to the trip. So when I got to Beatty my left front inner pad had come off the metal and now I was metal to metal.

So now I am 100 miles from any auto part store and my truck is not drivable. A resident of Beatty who happens to race cars came to my rescue by helping me make a pad from a Corvette pad that he had in his shop and then I was able to continue the trip.

Looking back I would have never bought the TRD pads and will never use them again. My rotor got chewed up on the inside but I was able to get home and now I was able to get a racing pad from Porterfield Brakes here is SoCal and had new pads at my doorstep in a day. Lucky me a local car repair shop Hilltop Auto Repair re-surfaced the rotor for me for free and I was able to install the new pads last night. Did I mention they re-surfaced it for free.... Shout out to them nice people.

So I learned alot about the brakes on the 2013 TRD as the use the same pad as the Tundra according to Porterfield. I was thinking I needed to do the caliper update but I just need a pad that can get really hot.

The person I met in Beatty suggested a pad that could get up to 1200 degrees. Since I don't want to drive around town riding the breaks to get them hot I opted for the R4-S pad from Porterfield

 

Not arguing with either of your experiences. Wondering, however, from where you bought your TRD pads? Any chance of counterfeit knock-offs?

 

It could be counterfeit. The 2nd Gen TRD pads are discontinued so it is going to hard to find them. I would just go with Akebono or OEM Advics pads.

 

So I am not the only one. My first set of TRD pads lasted 4-5 years, worked flawlessly. My second set of TRD pads lasted 6 months, total pieces of shit. Same exact experience. Started chipping and falling apart, grinding like crazy. I replaced them, resurfaced the rotors, brakes are perfect now. There definitely is shitty knock-off TRD pads out there, and they suck big time.

 

I ordered mine from my local Toyota Parts Department. I have now changed them out with the Porterfield pad. Will see how these work out.

 

It's good to know all of this. As a mild-aside from the topic: If you find yourself in this situation anytime in the future, you can just pull the caliper off, and if possible put a block of something between the pistons and tie it off to some structure. It isn't ideal but it'll let you get out of a bad spot.

I've never thought about carrying spare pads before, but I can see the benefit to it now considering the types of long mountain downhills I'm likely to encounter. Good stuff (from bad stuff). Glad you got out okay!

 

Thanks, yea never knew I could just make a pad, but I did look at the pads and thought they would be fine for a few hundred miles, not thinking the pad material would just come off the plate. Ended up doing 700 miles total driving in 4 days, but the pad still should have not failed. Now I will always have a spare set, but make sure there is plenty of pad for the long downhill drives. looking back I should have just replaced them before I left.

 

Need Help!

Installing TRD pads and stoptech rotors right this second and need to know if I reuse any of these plates off the OEM pads.

TRD pad instructions say not to reuse the anti-squeal shims, but transfer wear indicators, springs, and fit plates.

I know one of these is the anti-squeal pad, but is the other the fit plate? And which is which?

 

Now this is CALIENTE!!!

 

Ended up going with the Porterfield R4-S Pads so lets see how they work out. They cost more so my expectation is they will perform better. Bought two sets to carry a spare set, but they were super cool as they noted that if I did not like the pad I can exchange the second set for something else. Received them in 1 day because the are close to me.

 

Going to do this setup soon but also know I need calipers, what calipers should I be going with?

 

I’d pony up and go OEM. I’ve tried a couple different aftermarkets and rebuilds and within a year or two I’ve had to deal with frozen calipers. Not worth it for me not to pay a bit more to get them from my dealer’s parts department NEW, not remanufactured.

For those with questions, yes, I’ve flushed the brake fluid completely when swapping out those aftermarket calipers and installed either TRD or regular OEM pads each time. Living in New England, I remove the pads, clean and regrease or replace the pins every Spring.

 

If anyone needs some nice DBA rotors I've got some for sale:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/pair-of-dba-t2-front-brake-rotors.765817/#post-27350912

 

What's a preferred caliper for a 6lug. Looking new not rebuilt. Or are they ok

 

These are the Stop tech rotors (right side, specifically)? I ask because a Google search shows most vendors are listing them for $187+, yet these are substantially cheaper. Is Centric an older/newer brand name for Stop tech?

https://dirteverywhere.com/3675283-centric-12644129csr

 

Centric is the manufacturer, StopTech is the brand.

https://centricparts.com/company/ne...ic-parts-announces-changes-to-stoptech-and-po

The part you posted has the same P/N as my StopTechs

 

Thank you. I now want to pull the trigger, just find it odd that they're that much cheaper than other places.