Taco owners shorted on 3rd Gen...

You don't fix what isn't broken bro. They have been making Tacomas for quite a while and they have all been pretty reliable, so no reason to change too much. They spent most of the money developing what is one of the most technologically advanced 6 cylinder motors available. Its not a world-beater in performance standards but its not supposed to be, nor would it be safe to equip a Tacoma that way. The average Tacoma owner would get themselves into trouble on stock suspension and brakes if this truck had any more power available, and also the Tacoma is supposed to be a relatively basic, rugged offroad vehicle. Its not like were buying Land Rovers or Lamborghini LM002s here DESIGNED to be fast and go offroad.

 

Drum Brakes Dumb Brakes Oh Noes!!!!!!!!

 

This thread isn't going to to go the way OP thought it would

 

I like when people bitch about the drum brakes, and take their truck to the dealer to get the brakes serviced anyway...

If you complain about the drums you should be required to show pics of you replacing them yourself, with bloody knuckles, empty beer cans, 4 different pliers, 6 pry bars, a large hammer, a torch, and everything else that goes along with it.

 

Lulz. I just use a pair of pliers and grip hard. You do have to muscle it.

 

They have a habit of not changing much. They didn’t do much to the 2018 Camry either.......

 

I agree with you 100%. When I want to stop, I pust the pedal and my truck stops. When I set the parking brake it holds. So I don't see a problem with drum brakes.

 

@LWLLWWW Do you even own a Tacoma

 

I think it is going just the way he/she planned it.

You may have noticed the OP has been very quiet since the first post.....

 

And an Avalon. And a Highlander.

 

I hear you.. They are easy to do when you know what to do; especially on a new truck!

It gets a little difficult around 150k in the Northeast with our extra salty winters.. that's when you need all the extra tools just to get the old parts off. But rear calipers in my other vehicles (vw/audi) are just as bad, they seize up all the time and are a PITA to service.

 

No problem per-se unless you're on bigger than stock wheels and tires. Then you would greatly benefit from increasing the diameter of your rotors to proportionally increase available stopping power.

 

No

 

@mjp2 ok are you starting these posts? It's really, really, really hard!

 

There is absolutely no problem with rear drum brakes on the Tacoma.

The truck has a composite bed, so the back end is super light. There would be zero performance gain by going with disc brakes. And drum brakes last forever. Toyota engineers know what they are doing.

 

Well, to be fair theres not really much more he COULD say without sounding like a poser at this point. He stated he is somewhat unhappy with the Third gen redesign, and that to his standards whatever Toyota did is not enough.

We all said he's wrong, they spent money in wise places like the drivetrain, motor, suspension for some models, and the partial redesign of interior and completely new exterior. I say partial because we still have the same seats, but i digress...

We have come to an impasse, it seems. Theres not much chance we all change his mind about the third gens even though they are way more awesome (objectively speaking of course ) than the second gens they replaced, and there is not much chance he convinces any of us we got shorted on our trucks because we didn't.

 

I was considering a Honda Ridgeline and was trying to overlook the unibody frame. But, once I found out it was front wheel drive, it was out. To me, that is too much weight on the front end. I'd hate to see how that thing handles on snow or rain.

That being said... this train ought to be a fun ride!

 

unless you have larger (heavier) than stock wheels and tires, in which case the wheels own momentum is what limits braking performance. Then you would be better off with discs in the rear

 

The drum brakes are more than strong enough for any size tire that a Tacoma can run.