Upgrading Brakes

Title says it all; want to upgrade front brakes. Not looking to buy a big brake kit, just want to upgrade pads/rotors. I've kept an eye on the Stoptech rotors/TRD pads combo, but can't seem to pull the trigger on the rotors being so marked up in price. What are some other decent options? Application is daily driving highway/city 50/50 mix, occasionally towing utility trailer or boat (no trailer brakes). I'm fairly happy with stock performance, but feel that stopping power significantly decreased as pads wore down. Any suggestions at a fairly budget price?

 

How many miles on the truck? Have you flushed the brake fluid yet? Might try that and some new pads first. Also check the shoe adjustment at the rears, make sure it's snug

 

Assuming there isn’t something wrong with your brakes, they are not the limiting factor. Your tires are.

 

Beat me to it.

 

92k, and to my knowledge the pads/rotors/fluids have never been serviced. There's a possibility the 1st owner of the truck had them replaced around 30k miles, but don't have service records to confirm, and they had all services done at dealer, so I'd say its safe to assume I'm on originals. I just rotated tires yesterday, and outside pads are roughly 1/4" left, and roughly 3/8" inside pads left. I had planned to do a flush/pads/rotors at 100k.

Gonna accept my ignorance and ask, do you mean uneven tire wear, or tires wearing down in general?


Edit: I lied. I flushed fluid when I lifted and extend rear brake lines. Probably still roughly 40k miles on that fluid though.

 

Not wear - tires' ability to grip the road surface during hard braking.

 

Gotcha, I guess I wouldn't know whether to blame the tires or brakes for decreased performance; in the end, its time for pads, and thinking I'll go for a slotted rotor while I'm at it. Just looking for other suggestions besides the popular stoptech/trd combo.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/brake-upgrade-stoptech-rotors-trd-performance-pads.523829/

 

I don't mean to hi-jack the thread but I'm also interested in replacing the pads. The last set of ceramic pads I got leave so much brake dust on my wheels. I'm looking for a better recommendation.

 

thanks

 

Feel free, we're after the same thing here.

 

Yes, as your pads and rotors wear there is less mass and your brake fluid has absorbed moisture naturally over time.
Check out DOT certified braided stainless steel flexible brake hoses to firm up the pedal feel.
EBC, Hawk, and others make great aftermarket pads. There are different types of rotors to chose from. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/trd-ebc-or-hawk-brakes.528665/
Flush your brake fluid when replacing pads/rotors! It is hygroscopic, why there are dry and wet boiling point temps. Get new 5.1 fluid, NOT Silicone 5!

 

I know you aren't interested in a big brake kit, but what about a factory big brake kit? The 4Runner has larger rotors and calipers. There is no need to swap master cylinders because they are the same. And if you are changing out parts anyways, the cost is negligible. The only issue is the need to run 17 inch... err.... rim/wheel/whrim.... (this site has names for things all screwed up for me!!!) to clear the brakes. I plan on doing this once I need to do my front brakes.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...unner-bbk-upgrade-for-2nd-gen-tacomas.504234/

 

haven't seen this option yet; I'll give it a look, thanks!

 

Also have a couple more questions; If I'm happy with the stock performance, but braking got suckier as the pads wore (naturally), would the TRD performance pads be an improvement using the stock rotors, or is a slotted cryo-treated rotor more favorable?

Lastly, probably a dumb question; if you have to get on the brakes really hard, is it normal for the truck to want to pull to one side or the other, and feel like its pulsing as you apply brakes harder? I'm not referring to locking the brakes up or any sort of safety feature, just an obvious feeling of uneven braking somewhere. Would that be rotor wear?

 

A couple of comments:

• Slotted rotors, while they look cool, actually reduce the swept area of the braking system compared to an otherwise identical "blank" rotor. Said another way, to get the same bite, a slotted and/or drilled rotor will need to be larger in diameter.
• As for pulling and pulsing, no, that is not normal and is definitely indicating you need your brakes serviced.

 

I plow snow and haul a trailer, so Im hard on my brakes. Ive tried a few different pad and rotor setups. Bremos, EBC, Akebonos .

For me, I had the best results with a PowerStop Z36 kit . I also added stainless lines and flushed the fluid. Very happy with the non-scientific, real-world results.
There are definitely higher end big brake packages out there, but this setup was exactly what I was looking for without breaking the bank.

 

I've use Powerstop kits on my wife's JK, Daughter's Fiesta, and my old truck. They have always served me well and last.

 

The thread is for the 2nd Gen, can you confirm this swap also works with 3rd?

 

The suspension is unchanged with the exception of the springs and struts. Even those parts are interchangeable though.