Should i go with a stock brake caliper??

should i keep the stock caliper, or should i buy an aftermarket brand?
im getting brakes stuff for xmas i was planning on getting the power slots with the hawk pads. what do you think?? what do you run up front on your brake set up.

 

Having been thru this recently on my Tundra, I can share my choices. I replaced the calipers because I noticed some "grabbyness" which is a sign of rust spots in the cylinder bores which can hold up and suddenly release the pistons, causing a touchy or grabby brake action. Brake fluid is hydroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture out of the air. It can absorb up to 15% moisture and this moisture causes the cast iron parts to rust, including the piston bores on calipers and brake cylinders. When it comes to replacing calipers, you can either buy new OEM replacements for about $300+ each or you can buy rebuilt calipers for about $65 each after returning the cores of the old calipers. I chose to purchase rebuilt calipers, so I researched who seemed to have the best reputation for rebuilding calipers. A number of names came up like Wagner, Borg Warner, Raybestos, etc. but the one with the best reputation was Cardone. They supply for a wide number of parts stores. The best deal I could find was from Advance Auto Parts. Cardone supplies for a number of mail order suppliers including Summit Racing.

As for brake pads, I've been using Performance Friction's carbon metalic pads for years. I have about 160,000 miles on my Tundra and about 100,000 of those miles on a set of Performance Friction CM pads and Brembo slotted rotors, most of those miles, pulling a 25' Airstream travel trailer, often over some serious mountain passes like Wolf Creek Pass at about 10,500' or the "million dollar highway" between Ouray and Silverton with a pass at 11,400'. At 100,000 miles on that set of brake pads (the point where I needed to replace the calipers) the Performance Friction pads still had about 1/2 their useful thickness remaining. The Performance Friction pads are quiet and they produce almost no dust, plus they are not hard on my Brembo rotors. So I went with PF carbon metalics on the new calipers. I purchased them from http://www.raceshopper.com/ for about $42 plus shipping for both front wheels. The Performance Friction pads are made in South Carolina so I like supporting USA based businesses when they provide such a great product.

Replacing calipers, front pads and puting Centrics rear wheel cylinders on my Tundra cost about $190 after cores were returned for credit.

A note about the Brembo slotted rotors. When I replaced the calipers and pads, I wasn't feeling any pulsing thru the brake pedal which would have suggested a warped rotor so, I chose to just roughen up the rotors instead of having them turned. I was amazed how hard the steel was on them when I went to scuff them up. My heaviest duty sanding discs would just barely roughen them up so the new pads could seat to them. It took a lot of passes with an air grinder to get them just barely roughened.

 

hey thanks for the info, i cant wait to get my brakes done.

 

If you need to buy new ones and you want stock vs. aftermarket I have a set of stock ones for sale. check the F/S threads.

 

brembo blank rotors (don't get cross drilled or sloted...waste of money) and hawk pads

 

If you really want an upgrade go with tundra calipers, rotors and pads. That's what I have. More stopping power than the best rotors and pads you could buy for a stock tacoma.

 

Is this setup a direct bolt in???

I am curious to see what sort up upgrade it is, not familiar with the Tundra setup.

Peter

 

Direct bolt up yes. Here's the clif notes:

13SWE caliper from a 1st gen Tundra 199mm (not the 13SWL 232mm) they actually say on the side which ones they are if they're OEM. Basically all early Tundras had the 13SWE calipers but do to the extra wieght of the Tundra some were having problems with warping the rotors. The larger 13SWL were the solution. The older ones work just fine for a tacoma. They worked fine for normal Tundra driving to. This upgrade does not fit if you have 15" wheels.

I have 17" aftermarket rims and mine rubbed a little. 16" stocks wheels are fine though.

Basically you just bend the dust shield back a little so the rotor doesn't rub. (or you could swap out dust shields if you wanted. The whole spindle is identical except for this) Take a 1/4 drill bit (double check this first) and drill out the tip of the banjo bolt. You'll understand this when you see the calipers. Very easy. Install just as you would normal brakes.

 

I bought my calipers from a junk yard for $50. I bought the rebuild kit for 12 or something like that (dealership). used an angle grinder and wire brushed the calipers. If your going to be replacing pads and or rotors then a little extra cash will get you this upgrade.
fully loaded calipers are up for sale on ttora from time to time if you check over there. I used car-part.com to find some close to me. Just type in 02 tundra. Mine actually came with almost brand new pads too.

 

Get the stockers. I'm a huge fan of Toyota parts. I have rarely (if ever) had any luck out of aftermarket parts. Toyota stuff lasts a really long time....why not replace components with original, Genuine Toyota parts.

I get all of my off www.partznet.com