Brake Upgrade?

Are there any brake upgrades from the 231mm brakes? Ever since getting 34's my brakes have been super weak and I can feel them struggling to stop the heavy tires. With my old 4Runner we used Tundra brakes but since the Tundra is the biggest Toyota at the time that doesn't seem to be an option. Any ideas or suggestions?

 

Consider the possibility of a coinkydink. I noticed absolutely zero difference in braking power when I put on my 35s. Moreover, I've not seen any anecdotes that would leave me to believe others have noticed a problem with brakes related to larger tires. Remember, your brakes are designed to stop your truck and a heavy trailer with capacity to spare.

My council would be to have your existing brakes checked out by a trusted mechanic before diving down the bigger brake rabbit-hole (if they are even available).

 

Forgot to specify that I have a 1st gen. I'm sure I could get some slotted rotors and high end pads, but it's mostly low speed braking that my problem area. Had the same problem with my 4Runner and getting larger calipers, pads and rotors helped a ton.

 

For us first gen guys really from 00 to 04 there is a big brake upgrade for us. Basically all you do is use the 05 or 06 calipers and rotors and it all fits no mods need it all bolts right up.

I haven't done it to mine it's planned for this year do be done this year.

Reason:
Pads where not long enough cooking the rotors (stop light) running it out of true smooth surface. Toyota fixed it in 05 and 06 I want to say the 04 had newer but don't quote me.

 

How big is your lift to fit 35s? When i put my 3 inceh lift on and 33s i went to stainless brake lines all the way around and i made a small bracket to raise my bpv on the rrar axle. Also make sure your rear brakes are adjusted correctly. If thats still not enough id say upgrade fornt rotors and pads. Ill do this eventually.... but i tow alot. Im thinking either EBC green stuff kit or stop tech kit. Heardngreat things about both

 

Yeah I have an 06 so I have the 231 mm calipers versus the 199 mm from 00-04.

Just 5100's up front (not sure which setting as the previous owner installed them) and a 1.5" AAL. The tires are 285/75/17 so a 34" and I'm close to rubbing the bumper when turning. Also barely rub the frame at full lock.

I do have some stainless brake lines I was going to use on my 4Runner, will have to see if they fit the tundra. I was wondering if we need to use a bpv bracket or not with these trucks. Might have to see if @jlee sells them for the tundra. I'll try those and see where I am at. I can just really heard and feel the front brakes struggling to stop the heavy tires. They have a lot of life left in them (turned the rotors 5k ago and pads had 70%) so I will see if the other fixes help first. Thanks!

 

Oh ok yeah I am on 285/70 17. So a touch a smaller. Stainless lines helped alot. And I just made a bracket for the bpv on the tundra. Moved it up 2 inches. I have the BAMF relocation bracket on my taco because I needed to be way higher...

 

Do you know if the Gen1 16" wheels will work with the 04-06 calipers and rotors? Or is that why they jumped to 17" wheels then? I suppose I could just go outside and measure...

 

Which wheels? There were the steel 16", alloy 5 spoke and TRD 5 spoke. I know the TRD wheels works and I believe the 5 spoke alloy wheels do as well but not certain.

 

Hmm, good point. I think I just have the alloy 5 spoke. I'm not sure how that differs from the TRD 16"

 

I have an 02 AC Tundra that had the upgrade done at about 5000 miles. It did help over the stock ones from the early 1st gens (I believe they changed to the bigger stuff in 03). The full kit gives new rotors, calipers, backing plates and also adds drums that are the same size but heavier than the early ones. I have since added slotted rotors and better pads. It all helped, but my 15 Taco (about the size of my Tundra) has much better feeling brakes. With the stock stuff and a loaded truck my 02's brakes were toast at 5k miles. With the bigger ones I got about 15k. With the slotted and such I am pushing 20k and still have pad left so it all helps. Then again, I live in the mountains and the truck is always around 6k lbs so it is a bit tough on brakes.

 

Have you considered trying stainless lines first? Less fluid expansion then through the OEM rubber lines will help the feel be more consistent.

 

Many of the 16" wheels will fit with the larger Tundra brakes. I had the TRD OR SR5 Carl's Junior type star wheels as stock and they fit just fine. Am currently running 2000 era 4 Runner Limited 16" wheels and they fit also, so no, you don't need to go to 17 to clear the brakes. The main clearance issue is with the "dish" on the back side of the rim, not the actual rim diameter.

 

Don't go overboard on high performance discs.

Reason is stupid but simple in high performance discs. You don't create enough heat in them for optimal performance in city driving you will get brake fade... now if you tow alot and ride the brakes then yes you will get them to the correct temperature for maximum grab power... it's great if you race but that's it..

Get the biggest caliper you can, get a nice set of discs.. and change you brake line to stainless and call it a day. Your wallet will not be as light as with others kits and the performance is the same.

I have had high performance discs on my Tacoma what's on there now, autozone ones.. can I tell a difference nope, just my wallet is fatter..

 

Lol you do Napa advance autozone even autoanything get there parts from the same manufacturer right its just rebranded.. all comes from China now.

You failed to read what I said only the last paragraph..

You can put high performance stuff all your truck all day long is it worth it not really. None of this was designed for larger tires and so on (it's a temporary fix) . to be designed correctly (engineering stand point) your disk would be so big it would not fit in a 20inch rim do to heat dissipation and thermodynamics, heat absorption and metallurgy so on to be factored in.. only way to correct this is reduce load or size correct disk (which you can't unless major mod work)

One thing I will add, I have seen so many times people put high performance parts are there cars/trucks only to fail faster than the OEM part.. so much marketing hype..

Also your brake fluid plays a bigger role than anything when it comes to stopping..

 

What is the pads made out of, what are the rotors made out of good or shitty metal? i can cnc anything make bad metal look like 1000 bucks what is COVERING UP... Are the rotors thick enough to hand high heat without run out and dissipate heat EVEN across the surface. we can go on and on...

Im laughing harder now.. one thing everyone does... Get a big brake kit you will stop better BULLSHIT.. What makes the caliper run your master cylinder right? Guess what if you dont change the flow rate to a higher flow rate to match the bigger caliper you gain NOTHING ( your psi to pad will also drop to do not enough force psi do to larger surface of the pad).. Bigger caliper needs more flow rate( more psi) than a small caliper.. The Pistions are bigger than the OEM, your replacing OEM for bigger now then you demand the same force from 332 mm vs 355mm with no mods? change of 23mm x2 for both sides is 46 mm total the cylinder cant keep up with change.. ( Your oem without changing the orifice you gain nothing in flow rate and for a bigger psi the valving needs to be changed to a higher spec.

 

I plan on purchasing a rotor and pad kit before winter. Either stop tech or ebc most likely. This paired with my stainless lines should make stopping my trailer a breeze

 

are the breaks really that crappy on the 1st gens with 34's??? I've got 37's on stock breaks with stainless lines and better fluid and mine stops impressively well. I've got a pretty extensive background in motorcycle racing and anytime we wanted better feel, we changed the master. If we wanted better performance we changed the lines and fluid and the amount of fluid ran. Without going into carbon ceramics jibber jabber I just can't see his brakes being "weak" with 34's...maybe his brake fluid just needs to be changed....

 

Depends on metal used again..... If the box has china over it you know the rest of the story.. they could give two shits about metal or heat.. If its made in USA fine, Made in germany FINE ,even UK is fine..... China and asia nope (minus japan they do it right normally)..

Problem with days parts its about global marketing.. the bad news is that i have seen some of the (so called)higher performance parts made for cars and trucks are no different than the basic cheaper stuff (marketing scheme repacking parts)

Im have stock on my 1st gen... its 265 i remember right..

Honestly mine stops on a dime... I have hauled with it still stopped on a dime didnt cook the brakes i was tow about 7000 pds.

my plan was to do brake upgrade on mine, but till i find the correct parts i want, it will be on the shelf..

 

You are correct on many a levels mike!

From what I've learned from my years racing, it's 1 how the pads bite the calipers. Each metal responds differently to each pad. Finding the correct combo is the first step. Hell we even ran progressive rotors racing once we picked up vortex as a sponsor. You CAN get custom pads made up relatively cheap and easily out of any material you want once you determine the metal used in the rotors. 2. The diameter of the line in relation to the piston size at the caliper and the master. Upgrade the master you need to flow match the piston in the caliper or you'll end up busting seals and ruining your day. And then finding a good quality low corrosive brake fluid with a stupid high boiling point. So many variables in such a simple application. Truly fun to learn through trial and error.


Ya, from what it sounds like....the OP just needs to change his break fluid lol. We're over here trying to turn a pinto into a ferrari with big brake kits, stainless lines, high boiling point fluids and flow matched pistons lmao.

 

thats the truth..

 

Thanks for all the comments guys, ended up finding some TRD BBK calipers and rotors for a very good deal, so I'll see how big of a difference it makes. Right now I'm getting vibration when braking from warped rotors and squeaking during the end of my braking, so perfect timing. Just hope they fit with my SCS Stealth 6...

 

I have never seen or heard if a big brake kit form trd for a first gen. Link it, I gotta see this

 

I hadn't either and haven't seen too many run them, probably because of the price tag...http://toyotapartspeople.toyotaofpuyallup.com/product/Tundra/2005/Performance/TRD Front Brakes Kit

http://www.toyotaofdallasparts.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=276369