Best brake upgrade for the 1st gen?

Last summer I drove my Tundra to the Overland Expo in Loveland CO and as I was coming down the pass into Jackson WY experienced some serious brake fade, and almost lost the brakes completely. If you ever have been in that situation you know it's not a good feeling. My truck is heavy weighing 6500-6700 lbs, and I desperately needed a solution. At the Expo I spoke to Delon from Powerbrake, a family run company in South Africa and told him what had happened on my way there. As there was interest from his dealers for a Tundra solution, we looked over my Tundra, and sent the master cylinder specs to HQ. Well, fast forward 8 months and I received the prototype big brake kit. Install was a breeze, and bleeding the brakes probably took longer. This kit has massive 6 piston calipers, with stainless steel pistons, recessed bleeders, stainless brake lines, and 48 vane directional rotors measuring 13.77". After bedding the brakes in I have to say that I am seriously happy with the performance they give. The pedal is firm, and the truck just stops right now. I feel much safer now while driving my truck, and while this is not a cheap upgrade, the safety of my family, and other drivers out there on the road/trail make it worth every penny.

 

Will it fit 16" wheels and how many monies?

 

You’ve got my attention! What did this set you back?

 

I’d be more inclined to go with the Powerstop Cryo drilled/slotted rotors & ceramic pads myself. Good to hear about your experience.

 

Great questions, and I meant to address that. You will need 17" wheels to clear the calipers, and I'm guessing it will be priced the same as their Tacoma kit which is $2455. There is a ton more info here.

https://powerbrakeglobal.com/street...es-a-stage-1-x-line-4x4-big-brake-kit-include

 

SOS has a Stoptech 6-piston caliper that should clear 16" wheels. https://sosperformance.com/products...-brake-kit-fits-17-plus-wheels-2005-21-tacoma

 

That would probably be a nice improvement over the stock rotors and pads, and I am speaking as far as my needs go for my own rig, but they wouldn't be up to the task in my opinion. Now, that's just me and it may the perfect solution for a lot of folks.

 

That looks great. And everyone realizes this is a sales pitch?

 

You kept the stock master cylinder and booster it looks like?

 

Correct, no need to change them out.


And it's totally a sales pitch but only because I truly believe it's that good.

 

Or because your company sells this brand? https://dasmule.com/search?type=page,product&q=powerbrake*

 

Hahahah clever girl!

 

That's one of the reasons they are on my truck! Honestly though, if I didn't feel like this was a great option for Tundra owners I wouldn't post. I'm not in retail sales at Mule and didn't reference the company, just the product

 

I think we understand. And those things likely rock. But, c'mon. You are vested in one way or another.

 

Not at all, man. It's just not very often a company makes something specifically for the 1st gen's these days, and I want to put the word out. Buy them if you want, or don't.

 

I've always thought the Tundra brakes were lacking.

 

True, 1st gen is not a big market. I'm all for better brakes. After 8 months when you received the prototypes or new release, and installation was a breeze - was that your garage? Very nice. One day I'll have something like that.

 

How would you compare this big brake kit to the GX460 upgrade with EBC orange pads?

Obviously 6 pistons will be better but I don't see you needing more braking power then the GX460 upgrade and way less $$$$

 

@Jon@Mule Appreciate the post. Look forward to your experience with PB on the FGT. It's nice to see a quality BBK come out for the FGT that has good offroad pedigree. I was considering the the GX460 conversion but I plan to put a camper on the truck so I'm not sure the GX460 kit would be sufficient for that either.

 

So there's no serious modification needed to do. The hardest part is getting the calipers tabs machined. As far as M/C and booster upgrade there are guys running the GX460 calipers with OEM M/C and booster and have mushy pedal feel. The reason for that they say is because the OEM M/C is not pumping enough fluid to the bigger calipers. All I can say is as of now I have 13WL and T100 M/C and booster. I had a little hiccup but now they stop on the dime. I also tow a trailer that's about 6k pounds and I have no issues. Can't wait to install the GX460 to see the difference.

Also I'm wondering this big brake kit what size rotors are they and it's a 6 pistons what size are the pistons? Im surprised you don't have upgrade the OEM M/C and booster.

 

Not my garage, it was after hours in the shop.

 

I haven't run that setup so I couldn't give you a comparison.

 

The calipers are designed to work with the factory booster and m/c. I was running DBA rotors and pads with 3rrd gen Tacoma calipers previously and while it was better than stock it was a bit mushy. The pedal is much firmer now.

 

The rotors are 13.77" 48 vanes that are angled to increase cooling. The rotors have paint marks that will melt at certain temps, so you can track how hot the rotors are getting. If they are getting too hot, you would upgrade to a different pad. The calipers also have temp guides on them to record what the caliper is doing. The pistons are different sizes to allow for equal pressure across the whole pad giving you better braking performance.

 

I need all the braking I can get, she's a big girl!

 

Thanks for posting this! And taking the grief of the ornery 1st gen crew!

It's always nice to have options and especially real world reviews.

 

What are uou doing for the rear brakes? She does look like a heavy girl.

 

The rear is still stock. I may do a disc brake conversion at some point, but would probably upgrade the rear axle and incorporate that in at that point. I'm not sure how that would affect the fronts though with this kit. Basil from Basil's Garage just put in a Dana 60 rear axle with discs and is getting Powerbrake kit so I will see how that goes for him.

 

Followed the thread great mod