2017 OffRoad - Brake upgrade

I think the brakes on the new tacos are pretty poor as far as feel and response, and that's coming from a 1993 pathfinder and my 2012 ram 1500. Rear drums are a huge disappointment on a 2017. All I can say is I'm glad that I won't be on snowy roads.
If I didn't love the way this thing looks.....

 

You don't need a brake upgrade you need your head examined!
Get yourself a true off road truck or SUV.

 

Since starting this thread, I've found both 1) EBC and the 2) the Z36 series from Powerstop are viable upgrade options, budget friendly without making the leap going to StopTech. I wanted to mention that to anyone also looking for a Brake upgrade. Cheers.

 

Yep it looks like you're on the right track- a good set of pads and rotors is the best course of action on 99% of cars and trucks out there.

It's worth mentioning that slotted rotors do not increase your braking capacity, however because of the way they interface with the pad the initial bite is going to feel a bit stronger, which is what a lot of people are looking for. So while your 60-0 number will be unchanged, the sensation you get on initial application will be stronger.

That may sound silly but it has a lot to do with how "good" brakes feel- if you imagine 2 hypothetical brake systems putting out the exact same coefficient of friction, the one that you have to stand on the pedal to get 100% of capacity is going to feel shitty compared to the one that requires a lot less pressure to get 100% capacity, even though they are both putting out the exact same braking force and will stop you in the same distance.

Truth be told I think the stock brakes in my Tacoma are better than MANY smaller, lighter cars, including some sports cars. Their initial bite isn't outrageous, but the response is linear and easy to modulate and exudes confidence. It's one of the strong points of the truck IMO, even with rear drums.

 

Ceramic pads also tend to eat rotors faster than standard pads.

 

I thought the Tacoma brakes were ok at best compared to my Dodge 2500 I sold to get this truck and my BMW Z3. Then last weekend I drove my neighbors F150 and I thought I had a blown brake line in comparison. I was under the truck and then asked him to drive to make sure he felt it. He got out and said brakes are fine. That’s what good brakes feel like in his truck. So the Tacoma brakes aren’t that bad at all when doing a comparable test.

 

THanks for the write up!

 

Just to be clear too, I started this not to say the Tacoma brakes are "Bad". But after a 6" lift AND 35" tires, I'm outside of of the design specs of the stock brakes. Can they handle it? Sure around town. Can they be improved. Sure.

 

I had akebono ceramics on my previous car and they were dustless/made no noise. Perfect because I didn't have to clean my wheels every 4 days or so to get the brake dust off.

 

Before I got into trucks I was actually really into the BMW scene. Had an E36 and E46 M3... just thought I'd mention BOTH of those stopped faster than your E90, I don't think you're really paying attention to stopping distances here as the E90 M3 isn't impressive.

Your BMW 60-0 stopping distance 112ft
Your new Tacoma 60-0 stopping distance 125ft
My old E46 M3 stopping distance 100ft even.

So going from a fully on BMW sports car to an offroad truck you're picking up 13ft in stopping distance @ 60mph. That's actually not bad at all, don't know how much better you'd expect.

I have a feeling switching to drilled rotors (horrible idea on a truck) will actually INCREASE your stopping distance... if you're worried about safety drilled rotors are junk and possibly fucking with the ABS certainly won't make it any "safer".

Just my opinion though

 

I'm guessing OP has a heavy wheel tire combo. I've locked up my 35's twice now, and I've always been pretty impressed with them, even when towing.

 

I can lock up my 37’s. I really want better braking between the two extremes. Hopefully some better pads will do it.

 

Not break the speed of sound ... I'm lucky to break to speed of smell.

Anything over 80 MPH and the trucks brick shape and the dirt caked on the sides takes hold and that's the end of that.

 

I think some people may have taken it the wrong way, but I hear you.

The other elephant in the room that no one seems to address, though, is the fact that your brakes are only as good as your tires. You can have carbon ceramic 2 piece floating discs with honking 6 pot calipers shod with race pads, won't do a damn thing past the point you can get the tires to lock up.

Both @erok81 and @Diablo169 just posted about locking up the tires to illustrate my point.

Your braking distance is only ever going to be as good as your tires can handle. When you can't lock your wheels by standing on the pedal, then you have room to improve the brakes. Anything else is just fussing with how they "feel" on the way to terminal friction. And as cool as gnarly-ass all terrains are, they simply don't grip the road as well a road tire.

I'm just going to poke in here and point out that that 60-0 is actually shorter than a stock 1994 Mazda Miata, which hauls in at 129 feet. One of the most popular sports cars of all time, your Taco beats it by a hair.
Again, further illustrates my point about tires here because the Miata is rocking some weedy little 185 section width tires from the factory. Throw on some DOT legal summer tires in a 205 (or more) size, then you can get your little Miata a big brake kit and really launch your eyeballs out of their sockets.

 

4 runner big rotor brake upgrade is your best option. OEM parts that will be easily found for a long time.

 

Also of note re: braking performance, we can tie a 1st gen Viper from 60-0mph...
275 fronts 335 rears

 

Drilled/slotted rotors will always decrease braking effectiveness because there’s less surface area for the pads to “bite” against. Unless you’re autocrossing the truck or doing some extreme downhill driving with a trailer in tow, the increased heat dissipation probably won’t help you much.

More aggressive pads will increase braking effectiveness at the expense of rotor wear. You’re also likely to introduce more brake noise and see more dust on your wheels.

 

What size rims are you running? I think I read that the StopTechs require an 18" wheel or large?