Yeah yet another "OEM" brake pad replacement question

I've read through many on the postings on this forum concerning replacing pads and still have questions. Many say just stick with the OEMs as they wear well, low dusting, and reliable. I have just over 55k on my 2015 Tundra and I can still see quite a bit of the groove in the pads left, so I would tend to agree. But in the times I had to make some quick stops, I haven't been impressed in their lacking the "bite" to stop 2.5 tons of truck quickly. So given that and all I've read, I'm inclined to stick with the OEMs unless there is something actually better in the stopping dept. w/o excessive dusting and disc wear. BTW, just looking to replace pads and not costly upgrades to the brakes.

Here are my questions:
1) Is there any difference that you can point to a written and documented reference between the OEM "AZ" suffix and the "OC" suffix part numbers. I've seen word of mouth statements that the "AZ" are Toyota's economy line and not the original pads put on at the factory, but no performance info. comparisons between them. So If you are running the OEMs, which "flavor" are you running and is there any difference?

2) Looking at ROCKAUTO under their "HIGH PERFORMANCE" section these caught my eye and I see them reasonably priced, AKEBONO ultra premium pads ASP1303/ASP1304A with motherhood statements like "unrivaled stopping power and ultra low dusting". Anybody running these now and can attest to that?

Thanks for the help and inputs!

 

EBC oem or if you tow a lot their yellow stuff.

 

I cannot answer either of your questions, for what little worth my advice has, I would stick with OEM.

Personally I have found aftermarket brakes to be nothing but problematic and never lasted as long as OEM or performed as well. Granted none of them were “performance” pads…just HD long lasting BS.

I help maintain some of my family’s vehicles and I have quite a few DIYers in the family. And the consensus is that generally brakes do **not** last long these days…it’s not just a Toyota thing.

Vehicles are very heavy these days and on any given day the 2.5 gen is well over 6k…that’s a lot of vehicle to stop.

With all of this said I understand the need for performance brakes IF the vehicle is being used past Toyota’s limits.

Hope you get your answers OP! Best of luck!

 

My vote is OEM when it comes to brakes. I’ve had Toyotas for over 20 years any time I tried something different, it resulted in a change back to OEM.

 

The AZ pads are not OE; they are the value line of pads. If you want performance of OE, do not buy the AZ pads.

 

I’m at 76k miles on my 2019 with the OE factory pads still on and plenty of pad left. Tow a party barge short distances and an 8000# TT through the hills to the lake 6-8 times a year. I think people are hard on the brakes. My wife’s 2015 Jeep GC is still on original pads at 160k miles. Quite a bit of pad left.

 

I went with NAPA Premium rotors and EBC yellow stuff pads and I'm not impressed. I get a lot of squealing from the brakes and the EBCs create horrible dust. To the point I'm about to replace my 5 month "old" new brakes out for an OEM setup. I never had problems with my OEM I was just trying for better.

 

You won't notice the advantage of yellow stuff pads until you get them hot. When they get hot, they grab even better and they continue to do so, unlike stock/ceramic pads.
If you are just normal driving around, they can be hard to justify.

 

I got 85K miles out of my 2014 Tundra OEM pads.
Replaced them with the same..

 

When they get hot all they do is squeal in my experience. I installed them, broke them in then went to Colorado for 2 weeks all over the Alpine loop. All they would do is squeal everywhere we went and on the passes with a truck weighing 8500 lbs they got HOT! LOL

IDK, maybe it's just my bad luck but I'm not impressed.

 

I have the EBC Greens front and rear, slotted rotors. No squeal, plenty of dust...

 

I stuck with OEM pads and replaced the rotors with brembo’s (vented only, not drilled or slotted). OEMs lasted me about 80k.

 

I have the Akebono pads, used them on a few vehicles and really like them. Centric high carbon rotors and Akebono pads are what I have now. Another good option is the Bosch Quiet Cast ceramic.

 

I was told by my friend who is parts manager at a dealership that I buy from that there are 2 different pad sets. One is $62 and the other set is $90. I know the $90 set for the fronts are the same part # that came off when I changed them last year. I just ordered rears pads and Rotors. Rotors were $90 each and pads were $90. I got 83,000 out of them

 

What is the difference between front 04465-02440 vs. 04465-0C020 and rear 04466-02340 vs 04466-0C010?

 

I noticed a change in pad part numbers for some other Toyota and Lexus vehicles around the same time. 2018+ have different pads than 2017 and older. The backing plates and pad thickness are the same.

My guess is the amount of copper or some other toxic material in the factory pads decreased again (or was removed) for 2018. The powers that be are requiring less copper and other toxic materials and metals in automotive brake pads.

 

Are the cheaper front OEM pads semi metallic and the more expensive ceramic ??

 

Picked these up yesterday for the rear and rotors.

 

OEM are great. Akenbo, IIRC, is/was an OEM supplier for Toyota; I used them on my Avalon years ago and they were OEM level smooth, quiet, and bite.

Now, if you are ready to step up to phenom-level brakes... https://www.tundras.com/threads/alcon-bbk.137635/

 

Akebono are my OEM pads for my 93 Lexus SC. OE is usually the best way to go. Competitively priced if you buy them online at your local stealership website kand walk in to pick them up. My local one is high af wanting $80 for them, so I cheaped out on Autozone, stealerships 40+ miles away are around $50, but shipping and taxes make them about the same... If I was planning it out and had time I would order them online and have them shipped to my door.