Tacoma Rear Disc Brakes

Yeah, it does actually.

 

Wow, this thread came back with a vengeance!

Still, I remain thoroughly un-fussed about my rear drums.

Let's put it this way... I've been lucky enough to have the opportunity to drive all sorts of sports cars- Ferarris, Lambos, a Dodge Viper, a Ford GT, 911 Turbos, WRXes, Mustangs, Audi S models, the list goes on.

Some of said legitimate sports cars have had brake systems that were less well-sorted than this Tacoma. Now, I'm not talking about "will it haul you down from 90+ MPH lap after lap while you beat the piss out of it on a track" because the ugly truth is, lots of "sports cars" can't even handle that. I'm no stranger to the smell of fried brakes, and I have set a few sets of pads a-smoldering in my day.

I'm talking about brake modulation: how the pedal feels, how easily you can grab & modulate a severe amount of braking, and on the flip side how easily it drives around town when you aren't going balls to the wall. Stopping distance is ultimately limited by tire choice (any brake system worth its salt is) but the Tacoma's brakes come on strong and are extremely communicative. Your biggest battle is with the suspension and the nose diving hard, but it's a freaking truck. That's what trucks do. And yeah, drums do not handle heat cycling very well- I have no doubt I could set those rear shoes aflame with some... spirited downhill fun. But then, why would I do this with my truck? It's not a canyon carver, it's a canyon crawler.

To be perfectly fair this advantage has a lot to do with the fact that corners were not cut on the front, as the fixed piston 4pots up there are a wonderful breath of fresh air in a sea of 2pot, slider pin mediocrity.

I can only hope that if they do eventually decide to throw discs on the rear, they put enough thought into the design and engineering such that it remains as top-notch and balanced a system as it currently is.

 

painfully true. lol

 

Cause they don't want to listen to the crap.

I think yota already did. They are se up to do it, but still choose to drum. Hmm.

 

Someone clearly doesn't understand the difference between FRONT and REAR.

Thread win of the day here.

 

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2016/08/2016-midsize-pickup-challenge-acceleration-and-braking.html

So....

 

Is this sarcasm? No one is that stupid are they? I mean really have you ever done brakes? Hell I've done too many to count and I can say i've had drums take longer just to get off than doing the complete disc brakes.

 

Then you aren't doing it right. If you don't know how to do drum brakes correctly then I suppose it does take longer. Backing off the star wheel can be a pain, but really, you don't touch a drum brake in 100,000 miles. Disc brakes you gotta mess with 2-4 times sooner than that.

 

Takes more braking to stop the larger Toyota 4-runner Stationwagon than the lighter Tacoma.

 

If you can drive the Taco to 90% of it capabilities, then I'd say you might have an arguement - but for most people rears aren't gonna matter as much as the fronts. Spent a lot of time on dirt and road racing bikes where the rear brakes were mainly used to change the line or attitude of the bike not much else. Pretty much the same on cars and trucks. There plenty of other things to pay attention to or address first prior to the rear brakes (I.e. Tires).

.02

 

I can't believe it hasn't been discussed but who really likes the way their Tacoma's brakes feel? Regardless what kind of brakes are in the rear. I literally can not stand the way my brakes feel. They are very touchy, grabby or over sensitive. Not sure if I am using the correct verbiage but it was the first thing I complained about when brought it in for my first service. They told me they were fine and that's the way they are supposed to be. It just seems like they need to be adjusted and smoothed out. I know it's like apples and oranges but I have a 2001 BMW 530i and this car has amazing breaks for a car that is 16 years old. The are so linear and you get exactly what you put in when applying the breaks. When I drive me truck I feel like a just started driving and I need a "NOVICE DRIVER" sticker on my rear bumper. Sounds crazy but I may sell this truck just because of the way it stops...and for the lack of power seats, available sunroof option, lack of low end torque, poor transmission....

 

Sounds like you might have a problem on your truck of some sort. I'd recommend you go test drive a different Tacoma and see if you get the same behavior. I don't feel my OR's brakes are at all touchy/grabby/over-sensitive.

As for drums vs discs on the rear... Who the F cares beyond spec-weenies or trolls trying to get a rise out of people. Under heavy/emergency braking with the stock drums I can chirp the rear wheels and get the ABS engaged. Adding more braking power to the rear would accomplish nothing.

 

Sounds like you bought the wrong truck to start with.

 

I notice the difference when you go to change them. Haha.

 

Drums are a huge pain in the azz to change..that being said I had a1971 olds 442 for 20 years .. rear drums, front disc..never had any issues with stopping power.

 

Everyone's entitled to their opinion I guess. Mine is that drums can be a little more involved than discs, but they've never been a problem when I've done them in the past. You have to remember to retract the shoes, and sometimes bang a ridge of build up off the inside rim with a deadblow hammer, but neither step takes very long. Forget those steps and drums can be a real pain. Haven't had much edge build up since moving south and getting away from heavy road salt use.

All that said, rear drums aren't a frequent thing. I did rear drums once in 170,000 miles on my 4runner vs several front disc replacements. Same with other vehicles in years past. Not really something a lot of people will ever end up doing with their third gen.

 

Have you ever been in a vehicle with 4 wheel disc brakes, or just saying it because it sounds good? I wonder because every vehicle Ive been in with 4 wheel disc brakes including a ram 1500 rental has had better stopping power, and specifically much more consistent pedal pressure than the Tacoma. Its not the rubber lines because I have braided SS lines as well, so it must be something in the actual design of the brakes leading me to believe its just the rear drum brakes. Could be the hydraulic interface with the drums that is the issue but either way something allows a fair amount of sloppiness, as well as a tendency to lose brake pressure as you press the pedal. EDIT: To put that another way, I would think that 4 wheel disc brakes would get rid of the sloppiness in the brake pedal, as well as more pedal pressure and less loss of pressure as you sit with the pedal depressed, and stopping power is likely to get better assuming that your master is in good shape, and that you have some sort of brake controller to redistribute braking power since the appropriation of hydraulic pressure to allow the stock system to work is likely to be entirely inadequate. They definitely make adjustable brake controllers though, I'm not making that up

 

Switching to a rear disc setup on our trucks you will not notice any difference without changing anything else. Kind of like an intake. It sounds good and you feel like your hauling ass. But in reality your not gaining anything.

 

I don't follow the logic that leads you to think rear drum brakes are the sole source of the differences you feel exist. How have you ruled out the myriad other factors involved in creating a vehicles braking feel and performance?

Serious question: in an emergency braking practice maneuver, can you not get enough braking power to engage the rear ABS?

 

Have you ever been in EVERY vehicle with 4 wheel discs? Cause I own five right now, got rid of more, and driven 10 times as many of other owners. The fact of having all been 4 wheel discs means JACK SHIT compared to how each individual car brakes. I have 3 mostly identical 78-87 El Caminos which all brake differently and have different pedal feel. My M3 has had different pedal feel off and on depending on the condition of the PADS, condition of the BRAKE FLUID, condition of the rotors, condition of the BRAKE PINS and brackets/hardware....

Having four wheel discs means nothing without comparing a million other variables when defining some "pull some unknown quality out of your ass" concerning brake "Feel" and braking "distance".

20 years of autocrossing and road race experience tells me your mythical stopping power analysis seems made up.

Adjustable brake controllers? Are you talking about trailer brake controllers or are you talking about brake bias adjusters like you would put in a race car, seriously, you think any road car less than 10 years old needs that? EDIT. I see now that you were implying that in a rear disc retrofit you are advocating a brake bias adjuster. Agreed.

Concerning sloppiness in your brake pedal you may want to look at how your vacuum brake booster and abs works and behaves

If your standard for brake effectiveness is how hard you have to touch the pedal to get the same deceleration, I got news for you, it's more about your brake lining material and calibration of your front brake piston size.