Changing Brakes- which is the best?

where did you purchase and how much?

 

http://store.zeckhausen.com/catalog/

 

I doubt you will need any rear pads this early. My 2005 had 173,500 miles & I was still on the original drums. I even tow a bass boat. I had them checked at 150,000 miles & still had half the life left. I did go through alot of front pads, never changed the front rotors. Only had them turned when I had a vibration, which was only twice.

Where in West GA? I'm happy to help if I can. I'm out that way every other week, when I pick up my Son.

 

does anyone know how much the OEM pads cost?

 

i believe around the 30/40 $ mark

 

I've got a little over 25,000 miles and I've replaced both front and rear 4 different times. About to put my 5th set of rear brake shoes on. I do off-roading every 3-4 months. A little mud here and there. Dealer says that there's no malfunction in the system. Claims it's all mud/dirt in the drums and front disc areas causing the premature wear. I clean the rear drums (and front) out after every run so I'm still not convinced that's the real problem.

Just about learned how to replace the brakes myself at this point. I always have a mechanic (father-in-law) to oversee the work to make sure its done correctly. Gonna stay out of any mud for awhile to see if that truly is the culprit. Intend on buying Wagner brake shoes this time around. I've tried several at this point and they all last about the same (7-8 months).

 

how are the wagner thermoquiet pads? I want to get Hawk but i dont feel like ordering and waiting for them.. rather just buy from the store directly

 

Work fine for me so far. Only a hundred miles on them. I may not be a good test though since my truck tends to go thru them so fast.

 

I ran the Wagner ceramics on my 05 Tacoma. They were better than the OEM. Zero noise & hardly any brake dust. I will be running those on my 11 Tacoma when I need brakes. 21,000 miles on my 11 & I get some brake noise from the OEM's when they are cold.

Advanced auto has them onsale periodically or they carry a rebate.

 

C-MAX, easiest front brakes I have ever changed. Absolutely no need to remove the calipers.

 

On the 05+ Tacoma you don't have to remove the calipers. No matter what pads you run.

 

EBC slotted and dimpled rotors with EBC Greenstuff pads. Same crappy pedal, but the brakes grab hard enough that you can feel it in your ass. Just gotta adjust your sensing, the closest thing to a fix that I've found for the mushy pedal and I don't warp rotors any more.

 

I just ordered SP Performance slotted rotors and Hawk LTS pads from Racestopper.com.

John was very informative and helpful in deciding which way to go. I wanted an upgrade to make up for the larger tires and extra weight of bumper/winch combo, not to forget all the shit I carry in the bed and back seat.

They are also located in Syracuse, kinda local for me.

Again, these guys were very helpful, not to mention the least expensive for the upgrade I was looking for.

Give them a call or check them out online.

http://www.RaceShopper.com

1-800-733-8380 Ask for Edwin or John!

I got this info using the "search" feature here on TW!

 

^^ I just took out my LTS pads bc they are way too rough/harsh. I have Centric Rotors and they make a rough, roaring/grinding noise felt in the peddle when stopping. Marked up the rotors pretty good aswell.
Im not sure why there soo harsh, But I didnt like it! Dont get me wrong, stopping ability was fine/great. But there just too hard on my Rotors.

I put in Centric Posi-quiet Ceramics and its alot smoother and better. + no noises...

 

Ouch, I will have to wait and see. Hopefully the slotted rotors will help dispell some of the noise/harshness. I hope I made the right choice.

I thought I did the right amount of research regarding "bang for the buck" and upgrade. Thanks for the input.

I don't know how much it really matters, but I've also read a bit about "bedding" the pad/rotor combo properly. Maybe that will help?

 

^^That should help, I had slotted rotors with LTS pads on my last tacoma. and didnt have any issues. Maybe it was just a bedding the pad properly thing...
Good Luck!

 

Thanks man! BTW...pads are already here, less than 24 hours, holy shit!

 

Rotors got here Friday! What excellent shipping. Now I gotta make the time to do the job. I may do axles and bushing swap at the same time.

 

^^ What bushing swap? You talking about the ECGS bushing they make that replaces the bearing?

Good Luck with Install man, make sure to take photos!

 

Yup,that would be the one. I don't know how soon I will get to it, but I think I would like to do it all at once. I'll call it another learning experience.

No vibes or anything, but one of my cv boots is starting to show what looks like dry-rot. Worse case, I have 2 spare axles!

Anyhow, I gotta get all the tools together. I need the big socket for the axle nut etc. I have them all for chevy and ford, but not a Toy.

AND, I AM A PIC WHORE!