199's or 231's

Antpwr

Antpwr

New member
i plan on upgrading the brakes fairly soon, as they are getting worn down, and like most of us out there in the real world, i am tight on money, i wanted to go with the 231 setup but, they are roughly the same cost to the 199's so i figured might as well go the 231, then the other day i was offered a set of 199 used for around 50 for both, i dont think i should pass it up. These are the options, go with the used 199, then rotors and pads from my work, or wait do a stock pad and rotor job, and wait some months and do the 231. To me the answer is simple just go with the 199, why waist the money on stock stuff, and then spend alot on the 231 stuff, when i could just do the 199 spend alot less money now and maybe in a year or so i could upgrade to the 231. Drop your 2 cents and let me know if i am in the right thinking?
 
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I'd go with the 199's, especially for that price. I'm in the exact same situation. For pretty much the same price, the 231 sounds nice, bigger is better, right. But, 'do you really need the 231's' is what i asked myself.... Nope. Are you gonna be doing any towing? I figure the 199's are gonna be a big improvement over stock and, should be easier to install (with no grinding and all).
 
go with the 199s especially for that price- I made the mistake of doing the 231's, while they work great it was a pita to install them, had to shave a little off my wheels(stock 5 stars). If I had it do over Id go with the smaller of the two
 
but everyone on here says the 5 stars you have fit without grinding them ??? that only the split spokes need grinding
 
mattman said:
but everyone on here says the 5 stars you have fit without grinding them ??? that only the split spokes need grinding
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I read that aswell, which is why i didnt think twice about getting them. Granted I didnt take much off(wish I had taken pics now) but none the less, like I said it made it a pain.. However I did get a pic of the truck sliding off the jack when took the drums apart lmao..
 
In the same boat as you right now but, I already bought the 231's am thinking about exchanging them for the 199s. Don't want to grind my rims worried about putting them off balance. Don't really want to get spacers as the only hubcentrics I can get are 1" and would make my wheels stick out too far. Dont want to get lugcentrics cause I'm worried about vibration. After all is said and done i want to just go with the 199s just to simplify the whole matter. Now I have to find a way to get back and exchange the set what a pain!

If I were you I'd probably just go with the199s.
 
Buy either size and be confident that you are upgrading your brakes. Save the rest of your money for ss brake lines, OEM pads, and new brake fluid for a substantial improvement in braking.

If you have the chance to get both at the same price in the same condition, and tow a heavy boat or do a lot of wheelin in steep terrain, choose the 231s.
 
whodini said:
In the same boat as you right now but, I already bought the 231's am thinking about exchanging them for the 199s. Don't want to grind my rims worried about putting them off balance. Don't really want to get spacers as the only hubcentrics I can get are 1" and would make my wheels stick out too far. Dont want to get lugcentrics cause I'm worried about vibration. After all is said and done i want to just go with the 199s just to simplify the whole matter. Now I have to find a way to get back and exchange the set what a pain!

If I were you I'd probably just go with the199s.
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anything is better then stock- that was my only complaint with the truck. being as you already have the calipers might as well keep them, just get spacers. There are alot of different opinions on them also but it will save you the trouble of any fitment issues. You keeping the drums on the rear also or are you doing a disc upgrade?
 
I would look around for 231's. I think I spent 90 on mine. Might as well go big with the 5 spoke wheels. They require no shaving.
 
So from what I understand from above, besides trimming the dust shield you can fit the 231's and have no worries of rubbing as long as you get spacers or shave the rim.
 
SRSRunner said:
go with the 199s especially for that price- I made the mistake of doing the 231's, while they work great it was a pita to install them, had to shave a little off my wheels(stock 5 stars). If I had it do over Id go with the smaller of the two
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Where did you have to shave? I have 231's with 5 stars, No grinding or shaving wheels.
 
The biggest performance improvement comes from the increased rotor thickness, which alleviates the heat fade problem.

There is one added benefit of the 231mm calipers, and that is increased size, allowing the calipers themselves to dissipate heat more efficiently.

As the others said, you should go for the 199s given the price. If you are going to be towing heavy stuff regularly or off road a lot, that should be the only time to seriously consider the additional advantages of the 231s.

199mm calipers are a bolt on upgrade. Very easy, and they are even becoming popular with the Tacomas (which require an elbow fitting, but almost bolt on).
 
while i would love to have the 231mm, but money is the factor, i have not yet been able to find any at a decent price, could get them from work, but are still expensive remaned and the cores, which i dont have, and no you cant just give them your original 4runner ones, have to be the same. But as of now the decididing factor, i just got the guy down to 30 bucks for both, i knew the truck and had seen it, it got wrecked about a year ago, and i know that the cals are in good condition, might even get the rotors from him too, they are still in good condition, he took everything off in hopes of rebuilding the front end, where the damage was, so everything was actually house kept. So it looks like its gonna be the 199's for now
 
KSWAY said:
Where did you have to shave? I have 231's with 5 stars, No grinding or shaving wheels.
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Again I wish I took pictures of it- I had to "shave"(didnt take much off) right near the hub-the actual "spoke" sections of the wheel cleared but the inner part of the wheel did not. Why it didnt I have no idea, I read countless threads about them working with my wheels. Which is the only reason I opted for the bigger of the two.
 
where to find 199's

Ok, my '96 limited has a really bad vibration in front driver's side when braking.

Time to correct that..... Thanks to the forum, I'll be looking for 199's to do the job. But I have a question: Where to buy them?

I'm in central Virginia - if anyone has suggestions I would appreciate it.
 
I guess I'll be finding out about the "rub / don't rub" thing soon -- I ordered 231's and have the 5 spoke 16" wheels. Several members said it would work with the only trimming done on the shield. As far as cost , I looked EVERYWHERE for almost 2 weeks and the best price I found was from Midwest auto parts -- everything is Raybestos brand -- calipers were $103 each and rotors were $80 for 2 . I looked at some JUNK at some junkyards and did not want to pay $80 per rusted caliper and $50 for rusted rotors so I went with new/rebuilt. Also ordered a B&M transmission cooler and hope to get everything installed over the long weekend. Thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge and experiences with these projects.
 
well if you dont want to use the 199's. buy them and sell them to me. lol

I dont need them now, but will head that route once I feel I need them.

anybody know if the 231's rub on the LC rims? I am guessing yes
 
I'd go with the 231's. I had no problem with the stock 5 star wheels. Very easy install just had to trim the dust shield a bit. Took like 2.5 hours with bleeding and adjusting.
 
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