Front Brake Pads: OEM vs TRD

I'll be replacing the front pad on my 2009 DCLB, 4x4, 4.0L. Per my research it calls for:

OEM P/N:

$85 04465-04070 Genuine Toyota Front Disc Brake Pad Kit

04465-04070 ($82)

and/or

TDR P/N:

$135 PTR09-89111 Toyota Brake Pad - PTR09-89111

PTR09-89111 ($105)

my questions, is it worth the extra money? Would it increase stopping power or is it simply a marketing tool?

Or are there any better brand recommendations based on your experiences.

many thanks

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/brake-upgrade-stoptech-rotors-trd-performance-pads.523829/

 

I can't offer you any personal experience with the OEM vs TRD pads in a Tacoma, but I can in another Toyota product. My daily driver is a 2006 Scion (Toyota) xB and the original equipment pads lasted 74,000 miles. I was happy with them, but wanted a little more stopping power if it was easy to attain. So, I swapped in a set of TRD pads for the car. The price difference was pretty close to what you showed for the Tacoma pads.

How did they work? Well, they did have more stopping power. I will give them that. The down side was horrible brake dust due to the softer pad material. This also led to shorter pad life. I took the TRD pads out after only about 20,000 miles and they were pretty significantly worn. I replaced them with the OEM pads and haven't looked back since.

 

Good read. Thanks

 

My 20 month feedback of the TRD pads w/ Brembo blank rotors is: yes, they do provide marginal improvement in stopping power, and initial brake bite. I've however given up on them after 18,000 miles. Being semi-metallic pads installed on a heavy truck, the TRD pads are very hard on the rotors and will cause outer edge groove wear lips, and overall fast rotor wear. I wasn't expecting to develop a steering shake and front end wobble, but I did in about 7 months time. Part of it was attributed to my braking behavior, but I drove in the identical manner with the stock OEM brakes which had zero problems all the way down to 1/8" material (and lasted 75000 miles), which were proactively replaced. The TRD pads also throw off lots of dust and will dirty up the front wheels within the week.

As of a week ago, I've actually swapped over to, of all choices, Advance Auto Carquest Premium Platinum Ceramic pads ($40 after discounts), w/ Stoptech GCX rotors, rebuilt calipers with the Toyota/Lexus reseal kit, flushed the front brake lines - Surprisingly the braking feels almost identical to that of the TRD & Brembo combo. Lots of initial bite, very precise linear brake pedal feel. Front wheels are still clean enough after a week. I'm wondering why I didn't switch back sooner. As far as I'm concerned, the pads I mentioned above are at the same level as the OEM ceramic pads.

 

OMG, you can't use brake pads from Advance Auto!!! It's gotta be OE or some expensive "upgrade" JK, I've used Auto Zone and Advance ceramic pads on vehicles and they're fine. Low dust and no excess rotor wear.

 

I love my TRD pads, I did notice an improvement over stock pads.

 

Porterfeild R4S Pads are bitchin. Better feel and bite on 35s than a completely stock truck (I work at a dealer and I drive stock and modified tacomas with stock new and worn brakes everyday). That said they are dusty, not hard on the rotors (no grooving), also don't fade (stock faded bad on 33's) with how I drive offroad. With that when these wear out I'll be upgrading to either the bigger 4runner brakes with these pads or a 6 piston BBK.

 

OP, what did you decide on? Thanks

 

Ended up buying the OEM ceramic

$58 04465-AZ100 Toyota Genuine Parts - Fr Brake Pad (04465-AZ100)

04465-AZ100 (if I recall the p/n correctly), I had a 25% off

 

I couldn't agree more with this feedback. I installed OEM front rotors with TRD brake pads. The brake dust is ridiculous. After I clean the truck/wheels, the brake dust shows back up within a week, if not a few days. Didn't seem as bad with the regular OEM pads. Stopping power on TRD seemed a little better, but marginal. I also have pretty warped rotors now after only about 6 months. I mostly drive highway to work and back. I also don't brake that heavily either. I cleaned the rotors thoroughly before installing to remove all factory oil. Steering wheel wobbles pretty badly at highway speeds. I am not sure if this is solely attributed to the TRD pads, but I have always installed OEM rotors and pads (NON-TRD), and I haven't had this issue until now. I have 250,000 miles on my truck. Maybe I have a caliper that is stuck also?? I have very little rust on my wheel hub assemblies, so that doesn't appear to be the issue with the wobble. That will be my next check when I pull the rotors off when it gets warm.

 

@BlackTaco22 - Just out of curiosity, did you follow the recommended break-in procedure for the TRD pads? I've read that if hard braking is applied before the break-in period is complete there can be some pad imprinting on the rotors which could cause vibrations when braking.