Brake Upgrade: StopTech Rotors + TRD Performance Pads

I cannot say with certainty where the product is at currently. The product lost its additional mass benefit a while back after the StopTech acquisition. Whomever has bought some rotors recently would do a good community service to measure the vein distance to see if they have changed since. More veins as the rotors originally had, equals superior cooling. Cryo treating makes them harder, but cooling is the most important as the rotors primary purpose is to transfer mechanical energy into heat, and shed that heat, which is the job of the internal rotor cooling system.

However there are not a lot of options in stock size brake rotors that are an actual upgrade over stock, for the Tacoma. Most all aftermarket rotors are chinese copies of the OEM rotor, which are then drilled or slotted and called a performance rotor, when removing material doesn't make it better and in drilling cases makes it worse. And the metallurgy may be a downgrade. They key for a performance stock sized rotor is improved cooling, and that is done though improved venting and veins, which the original StopTech rotors had.

 

The Stoptech rotors were a direct copy of an OEM part…the question is which OEM part. Stoptech didn’t bring in anything special…they just pulled the Centric 120 series (or 125 series…but not for years in this case) off the shelf and slotted/drilled them. At Centric, we would find consolidations where we could. Most long running parts go through a few revisions over the years at the OE level, or dimensionally similar / identical parts are introduced with slight differences (vane count, friction wall thickness, etc)…we would typically choose the “heaviest duty” version and use that across the board….most of the time. In many cases, the differences between OE part numbers is negligible.

I’ll do some digging. Just about all my old coworkers are gone now from centric and Stoptech, but I’m buddies with the factory owner who used to make our premium rotors…I’ll see if I can get a print from him.

As of now, everything coming out of Stoptech is Raybestos product…

 

Thank you both for the responses and info. @lbhsbz i look forward to reading what you learn.

I need better heat dissipation for when I’m towing my sxs. Rotors are warped even with the electronic brake support of my trailer. I guess I need to dial in a bit more work from them on the controller.

 

It would be interesting to know which OEM part the originals were based on that were heavier duty than the stock Tacoma rotors, so that possibility those could be sourced instead.

 

Rotors very rarely warp. More often than not, it is uneven pad transfer from using a pad unsuitable for your temp range, or the rotor was installed with or has developed lateral runout over it's life which will eventually turn into an uneven surface condition due to wear or pad transfer and cause your judder/pulsation.

Example of developing runout over time....when tires are rototated or wheels otherwise removed/reinstalled...there is nothing holding the rotor the hub except rust (even in non-rusty areas...) and it gets knocked loose most of the time. Any debris/rust/dust back there will migrate and could cause a runout condition when the rotor is clamped back down when the wheel is installed....nothing we can really do about this since nobody is gonna pull the brakes apart during every tire rotation, but it happens.

I'd recommend a fresh set of rotors (not drilled) and a set of higher temp range pads (like our Truck Performance pads) and when the rotors are installed...get out a dial indicator and make sure installed runout is under control and within spec (less than 0.002"). Very few installers measure runout after installing new or machined rotors, or clean the hub properly...this, and cheap pads, are the cause of most judder/pulsation issues....not the quality of the rotor. Every rotor out of China these days is fine sand cast...the days of lousy oil sand castings are long gone. Most of the questionable factories disappeared about 10 years ago.

Edit:...was looking up some stuff for my truck this afternoon and noticed I can by OEM rotors from various sources online for about $65 each. These are cast in the US at Wapaca foundry...excellent quality parts. At that price, I'm not sure why anyone buys aftermarket. This is the best rotor you can put on the truck.

 

Pad deposits causing a warped feeling is the theory I've been going off of for awhile now. Good to hear from someone in the know.

Can scuffing the rotor remedy or are there other measures that can be taken?

 

Depends…if it’s due to runout and developed over time…no.


Pad imprints from a complete stop with severely overheated pads…yes. I had a guy at the track about 15 years ago call me frantic because he’d spotted the rotors and the car was basically undriveable under track conditions after that. Someone had an angle grinder and a flap wheel, so I had him put it jackstands with no wheels on it (but tight lug nuts) and run it in gear while cleaning up the rotor with a flap disc…fixed it. I typically recommend doing this on a brake lathe..just to spin the rotor. A hand held grinder won’t upset the relationship between the hub mating surface and the disc surface and create runout that wasn’t there in the first place.

if you can’t see a visual imprint…this probably won’t work because the relationship between the mounting surface and the friction surface has already changed due to wear or pad transfer…to a different degree. Doesn’t hurt to try…worst thing is it doesn’t work and you buy rotors anyway.

 

So much this. Looking at phase diagrams for cast iron, the temps and quench rates necessary to "warp" a rotor are beyond what happens on the street. Now, pad deposition, here's my pics and story from 2017. 2002 Tacoma, camping gear often, tent trailer sometimes. Couldn't believe the "warp" but the pulsating was unmistakable. Took them to work to measure, 3 point on the mating flange, indicator roving around the braking surface. Yes, change in the texture of the braking surface.




The mating surfaces and the mounting surfaces are planar - within 0.001", but the texture on the braking surface is immediately noticeable. Oh, and the statement about rust holding the rotor to the hub? In Phoenix there isn't enough wet to cause that to happen, they have been loose each time I remove the wheels.

 

Not sure what you're measuring in the 2nd pic...that surface is not a good datum. The other side of it is though. When you pulled that rotor off, is the hub mating surface as it looked out of the box? Is the hub surface still nice and clean and shiny? If there's any discoloration, that's from something other than nothing between the hub and the rotor.

 

The second pic was showing the equipment, with the 3 point inside the hat. I did check the land next to each of the clamp down areas as a curiosity. They were surprisingly planar. My established datum are the 3 points to the inside and measure against the wear surface. The inside looks very similar to the top you see in the photo. Not shiny, but not rusted either. The rotor has ~90k miles on it and was more of a curiosity of "did they warp?" my bias says no way, or did they have buildup due to a long downhill pulling my tent trailer/then stop and hold at a light causing changes in friction coeff. After seeing the streaks and roughness in the 3rd photo, that convinced me it was a surface finish change not a warp.

 

What's the go-to pad these days? Dealer recently told me the TRD pads are backordered.

 

We have these: https://autobrakesolutions.com/prod...rmance-brake-pads?_pos=1&_sid=a9280c79a&_ss=r

I run 'em as well as a few others here....I think they're as good as the TRD pads (or what used to be the TRD pads when I worked at StopTech) and actually have better street manners than the StopTech/TRD pads did.

 

Installed VLEDS footwell kit last week and I’m liking it… very straightforward install probably do the back too when I order the bed kit whenever it’s released!

 

Did you upgrade the rotor as well or just stick to an upgraded pad? Currently bouncing between upgraded pads and rotors or just trying the pads out first.

 

Just plain rotors (the ones on our website). “Upgrading” rotors really won’t improve performance, and can possibly hurt performance (in certain cases with slotted/drilled rotors) due to the reduction in surface area. If you're in the rust belt...the slots and holes will fill with rust in short order, and that rust will migrate out into the friction surface resulting in a rotor that won't perform due to surface degradation....this happens more slowly with a plain rotor.

use a good rotor and use a dial indicator when installing to make sure runout is not an issue…use a pad suitable for the temp range, and all will be well.

unless you want to step up to a larger rotor and the calipers to accommodate it…pads and stainless braided lines maybe are the only things that will improve brake effectiveness. (And tires, but that’s a different discussion)

 

Hey @crashnburn80, great thread here. Apologies if this has already been covered but I could not bring myself to read all 65 pages. I was almost convinced to do the 4Runner BBK upgrade, but after reading your criticism I've changed my mind and am now considering other options. I'm hoping you can help me understand the difference in the 338mm 6-piston Wilwood BBK, and the 340mm 6-piston StopTech BBK. To the untrained eye they seem to be pretty comparable, but the $800 price difference makes me wonder what I'm missing. Any thoughts or advice are appreciated.

 

https://youtu.be/38mE6ba3qj8?si=BK9PbElQG9wY_pZ1

 

@JuanitoBonito may have some insight here as well. IIRC, he ran a Wilwood BBK on his Tacoma.

 

@BabyBilly yes, I ran the Wilwood kit. Well worth the money, I bought mine on a Black Friday deal. Easy install as well. I just had to ever so slightly bend the dust shield. I also ended up taking them off my second gen when I sold it and put them on my 3rd gen. I’d buy them again for sure. I do not however have any experience with stoptech. I don’t think you’ll ge wrong either way though.

 

Hey thank you for the reply. Good to hear you're happy with the Wilwood. If no one else chimes in with a good reason to go with StopTech over Wilwood I'm gonna go with the lower price for sure.

Are you running the Countersteer Type X wheels? I've got those in matte bronze ready to go on next week.