Let’s talk extended / stainless braided brake lines real quick

Doing some maintenance - replacing sticky front calipers.

Since the front brakes are coming apart and will need bled I’m thinking about upgrading the brake hoses.

Thinking about upgrading to braided stainless lines. The rears could use a little more travel and if I’m doing the rear I might as well do the fronts too.

Looking for some input on stainless lines. The extra length I get but is there any actual performance benefit switching over to stainless besides just firmer pedal feel?

 

Firmer and more consistent pedal feel with age/temperature/weather changes/use is the main benefit.

A secondary benefit is they may be more resistant to cuts/tears/abrasions than standard rubber brake lines.

 

Have had them on previous vehicles, but not my Tacoma (yet). They have a better feel and are generally more firm, they’re also more durable, also consistency.

 

Well.
Do you want a dry rubber brake line with 10 years of age and over 100 miles on it that swells during braking causing spongy pedal feel, and can burst at any time?

Or do you want a stainless line that can be extended in the rear for lift, will not bulge under braking, and has been commonly used in performance vehicles for over 10 years. In a truck that can have heavy armor you need to stop with brakes.
That will be more resistant to rocks flying up on a trail and potentially damaging it
The stock brake lines are starting to seize. You might as well unbolt those threads now while you still can, to throw on some new SS lines with a tiny bit of anti-sieze on the threads to prevent corrosion. Because if you wait another 10 years it might get worse.
Or save 5 bucks and replace with new rubber. Your call.

I went with Toytec. Why? Their site doesn't have too much to pick from. Which to me looks like knowledgeable people figured out what works, and list it for sale. Not just a million things of "oh well we can sell you this torn plastic bag, a potato, and open can of beans, you choose."
From what I can tell, if it's good, they sell it. If it sucks, they don't. If they sell it, they probably stock it. If they stock it, they probably install it on their own trucks and customer trucks.
I would rather go on a site that has 1, 2, or 3 good things to pick from, rather than 20 crap things pretending the choice being "Plentiful" makes the site somehow good and not just hard to stare at and a waste of time.
Or sites where you'll enter your model and it won't narrow down the 1 million results talking about "Well here is some universal cheap shit we have for a Jeep that looks like it would barely fit"
It's like an oil filter. For the most part in regular applications, simple correct answer. OEM YZZ-D3.
And Toytec lists Crown (made in USA) lines with 2" extended rear.
My rear does not have a 10" lift so I doubt it needs some crazy custom rare line.
If you want to order from Crown direct or from another site, that is up to you.
Not that this is the only brand to pick from.
Once I had goodridge. I forget if it was G-stop or not. I figured why not try something new. Especially after seeing the picture showing how many layers of protection Crown has. Did my Goodridge have all that? I don't know.
At the end of the day they are similar. Stainless weave outside mesh and a teflon internal core.
I think both have a clear colored plastic sheathing on the outside which is probably good to prevent tiny rocks from getting caught in the mesh and abrading their way through. Not to mention looking cool.

It has it's limitations. The stock 16" brakes suck. Even more if the truck has mods. Even with firmer pedal feel, they will still be the same undersized brakes.
It's like sprinkling red pepper on a burnt piece of toast. Yes it has some detectable flavor now. It is still burnt.

I wonder if you need to replace your calipers. Or rebuild them.
If you are spending money on calipers, maybe it is time to go bigger 5th gen T4R.
Especially if it will need pads and rotors at the same time. If you spend the cost on those for stock brakes, you'll be stuck with that size for a while. Especially if doing the Stoptech cryo slotted rotor upgrade; their quality comes at a price.
I don't know if it's too late for a rebuild or if the stickiness lies elsewhere
FWIW, rebuild is quick and easy. Seal kit is cheap. And it's not hard to stick a block of wood in the caliper on a bench and pop the pistons out with compressed air.

 

I have them on my truck. No noticeable change in braking performance--and I doubt there is any real tangible change in performance for any vehicle except for those with the most ancient and aged of rubber lines.

When it comes to brakes, if you can lock up the tires/activate ABS with the stock equipment, then upgrading braking parts, i.e. calipers/rotors/pads/lines/etc., won't improve stopping power (although they can improve brake feel and reduce brake fade--but the latter isn't something I would worry about too much with our trucks). If you're looking for improved braking, tire choice, suspension geometry, and weight distribution is what you want to look at.

That being said, braided steel lines are far more durable than the stock rubber ones and allow for longer travel (if you get the extended ones). Those reasons made it worth it for me--I've never liked the idea of having a section of just soft rubber in a system that is otherwise rigid tubes/housings.

 

My '13 OR has the most insane brakes out of any truck. It's like a light switch. I've got to actively try not to brake too hard. I'd be scared to replace the front lines with braided lines.

I do have a set of Toytec lines for the rear for when it's lifted (soon)

 

Huge improvement in brake reliability repeatability feel and longevity and most importantly linear feel.

The more you press the more you brake.


Stainless braided lines are one of the first things I do to anything with brakes when I get it.

I don't understand why everything doesn't come factory with them.

Only downside is because if the linear feel when you drive something that doesn't have them you are always caught between not braking hard enough and braking too hard because of how unpredictable and mushy rubber lines feel after learning to brake with stainless lines.

Another added benefit is you don't have to push as hard so it's a little easier on your legs knees and back.

 

I am the same as @hoffengineering, and @Key-Rei. I can stand the idea of a soft rubber line anywhere on my brakes. Upgraded to extended braided all around. Do the same on everything I drive. Should be factory like that.

 

Thanks.

Not looking for any performance gain, more interested in the actual real world function on them.

 

^^^ same here. SS brake lines on all the vehicles that I drive and maintain.

 

Cost of manufacturing is higher with SS braided hoses, risk of litigation lower with rubber hoses. Just assume the auto manufacturers lawyers and bean counters won't/don't allow it, typically.

And, unless the SS braiding is covered/sheathed they should be checked regularly, as dirt can work its way in-between the braiding and wear through the inner teflon hose. That inner wear is almost never visible until it's too late. From that stand-point, factory stock rubber brake hoses with inner fiber-braiding is more reliable, less costly to produce & replace, and way less prone to catastrophic failure without warning signs (you'll see a rubber hose swollen, cracking, etc. Not typically the case with exterior SS braided hoses).

That being said; I also swap out rubber hoses for SS braided on all of my personal vehicles. I either buy sheathed DOT-approved versions, or sheath them myself with heatshrink from end to end.

 

Bumping this back up….

Finally getting around to this project…

Looking at options now.

Suggestions on which brand to go with?

The Toytec ones are the cheapest followed by the Wheeler’s one.

 

Crown performance hands down.

Don't go cheap on critical safety.

 

Toytec ones have crown logos on them - noticed then when I installed a set 6 months ago.

 

I have Goodridge on the front and Toytec extended on rear. I think I installed them about 10 years ago now. No issues. They're an absolute must on this truck imo.

 

Absolutely positively not correct at all.

 

good to know

 

you dont need to get extended length for the fronts, even if youre lifting the front.

Only need to extend the fronts if you are going LT

 

Headstrong has a +1 front / +4 rear kit that is made by Crown. You don't need the extended length unless lifting but also it doesn't hurt if you aren't lifted. Lots of people run them with good reviews. I've been running them for a while and my personal opinion is they are top quality.

 

Awesome. I’ll check those out.

It looks like the Toytec’s and the HS Offroads are the same.

Im aware fronts are OEM length.