MARYLAND TACOMAS

Morning everyone

 

I hold my tongue here to avoid breaking the COC, wait until you meet me

 

Well I already like ya, so we're in good standing.

 

Good morning everyone!

We need to get you some magnetic door signs that says something like "Dave's mountain rescue".

 

"Dave's Mountain Chevy Rescue" lol. I did rescue a Ford and a dodge up here also tho.

 

Asking a loaded question here, I know.

What is everyone's favorite flavor for rotors? I'm running OEM, non-TBU, but need to do my brakes asap. I have a set of Brembo blanks and Hawk LTS pads but unfortunately I don't have access to them and doubt I will be able to get them. So, my predicament is what to get in place of them since I don't have access to them. I'm definitely thinking Wagner ThermoQuiet for pads, but what about for rotors? Brand? Blanks? Drilled and slotted?

 

Wagner TQ is definitely a great choice for pads. They're all I use on my vehicles and when I worked in a shop they were all I used on my customer's vehicles. Because I do all mountain driving I upgraded my 4runner & the wife's 4runner to the 199mm tundra upgrade. Imo the oem sized rotors are too small & thin on these 3rd gen 4runners. These are the rotors that I've had on my 4runner for a few years now. No warping, squealing noise ect...even here on these mountain roads. They seem to disapate the heat very well.

 

2 brake jobs ago on the T4R, I tried slotted Brembro rotors and Akebono pads just before leaving for Colorado. I smoked those brakes within 2 weeks in the mountains but continued to drive on them until last fall when the brakes got to the point of being non-existent. I went to the 231mm Tundra calipers from Napa, Napa premium rotors and Akebono pads. So far everything is good. I will use the Wagner pads that Dave mentioned next time as I have had good luck with them on full size trucks in the past. I have a set of Tundra 199mm calipers that I rebuilt and never used, they've been sitting in a box for a while. You can have them if you want them, you would just need to use the smaller ( 199 mm) Tundra rotors and pads, but IMHO- if you're going to replace calipers, just go all the way and do the 231mm swap, you won't ever look back.

 

@Gen1TacoLady not sure if this is something you’d be interested in but I saw this while looking at an estate sale fb post. Seems like a nice bit of woodworking stuffs-

 

Because I use to tow a camper with my lifted Tacoma I installed the 231's on that truck. It's crazy when you compare the size difference between oem & tundra. With the upgraded Tundra components and the rear brakes properly adjusted my trucks stop on a dime.

 

How difficult is that conversion? Is that something a hobbyist like myself could pull off?

 

Make sure to get 17” wheels. I could be and probably am wrong but I don’t think some of the big brake kit will work on our trucks with 16” wheels.

 

It was 100% bolt on for my T4R with the exception of needing to trim the dust shields a tiny bit. It literally took 30 seconds to trim the dust shield with a cut off wheel in the angle grinder.

When I was comparing the different parts between the Tundras and different generations of Tacos, the 3rd gen Taco seemed to use the same P/N as the early Tundra rotors. The newest and biggest brakes are on the 5th gen T4R's, which should swap directly into the Tacos.

I can't speak for the 3rd gen Tacos, but the 16" Limited "star" wheels on my 3rd gen T4R just barely fit the caliper inside. It's silly tight, but it fits. The 17" 5th gen T4R wheels that I have give much more clearance between the caliper and wheel.

 

I installed my 231mm kit with my oem TRD 16" wheels. Those particular wheels come on the sequoia & tundra of that era. @2ndhandTacoman is correct, it's all a direct bolt on with the exception of trimming the backing plate a bit. Also on our first gen Tacomas & 3rd gen 4runners the much larger tundra calibers require more fluid so bigger banjo bolts are required. From my research I've read that some people drill out the oem banjo bolts for more fluid flow. I bought new ss braided brake hoses from Wheelers Offroad, their kit comes with the correct banjo bolts.

 

Aren’t the Tundras 5 lug?

 

I appreciate that. I ended up getting my pads today but wasn't able to get my rotors. Perhaps I'll get standard Napa replacement rotors.

 

Who was looking for a not a flamethrower? It’s pretty far out of my budget… and probably illegal in Md…

 

I'm a fan of Raybestos. I had to replace the Calipers, rotors, and pads on the 2014 a while back. I always get the coated and they seem to hold up well.





I've put Raybestos on everything I own in the past couple years. My 2021 is gonna be due for brakes (warpage, from towing and mountain driving) and I'm gonna go with the same setup I put on the 2014.