4th gen has ceramic pads in front and semi-metallic in rear?
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ggunn9
New member
I'm not sure I have anything of value to add to this thread, but I just replaced my front pads and before I replaced them I had no brake dust on the wheels and now I am cleaning my wheels every 4-6 days. I got the mid grade pads at the auto parts store.
I will never do that again!
I will spring for the high dollar pads from now you.
Can anybody tell me why this happened?
I will never do that again!
I will spring for the high dollar pads from now you.
Can anybody tell me why this happened?
eskimochaos
Banned
You answered the question yourself. pay $hit get $hit
ofcbarbrady
New member
:iagree: I don't think ceramics came stock. If you wanted ceramic, you'd have to buy aftermarket or the TRD pads. I just put the TRD pads on a few days before I did my Toytec Ultimate.......what a difference they made.
Interesting way of putting it. I'd of gone with something more along the lines of you get what you pay for. :thumb3:
What did you pay for those?
ofcbarbrady
New member
I think I paid $80 for the front set and $85 for the rear --- bought them from both Champion Toyota in Texas and Sparks Toyota in SC (each only had 1 set in stock).
Ceramic pads are low dusting and the dust they do make isn't nearly as dark as the dust from organic or semi-metallic pads.
I think it just might be true that our 4th gens came with ceramic pads on the front as original equipment. In my research, I've found that there are a lot of OEM ceramic pads installed on new vehicles.
riceandpho
Elite Member
so ur saying that the trd pads will fit the sport edition calipers wit no problems? i am asking this kuss i have a sport model and its time for some new brakes, should i change the pads, or rotors or both?
Sorry I wasnt a member when you asked this 5yrs ago...lol
IMO "Never" change your Toyota rotors unless you feel vibration when braking or grooved too bad to turn.
I've never even turned mine. Just clean them with brake fluid & 00 steel wool.
My last 91 pickup (Tacoma) had 182k with all 4 OEM rotors and still smooth as silk when stopping after 23yrs.
The metal in the aftermarket rotors are soft compared to Toys. Toyota makes rotors like we did before the 70's and they last unless a brake sticks and over heats them warping them or brakes groove them from not changed in time....KEEP THEM!
IMO "Never" change your Toyota rotors unless you feel vibration when braking or grooved too bad to turn.
I've never even turned mine. Just clean them with brake fluid & 00 steel wool.
My last 91 pickup (Tacoma) had 182k with all 4 OEM rotors and still smooth as silk when stopping after 23yrs.
The metal in the aftermarket rotors are soft compared to Toys. Toyota makes rotors like we did before the 70's and they last unless a brake sticks and over heats them warping them or brakes groove them from not changed in time....KEEP THEM!
Don't do this
I put ceramic on the front and semi-metallic on the rears and kind of forgot about it. A few years later and I noticed that the pads in the front were getting low. Still plenty of life but time to replace them.
I ordered the parts to do the front and back (but I hadn't looked at the back). They sat in a closet for a while and then I decided to do the brake job. The day before I decided to do the job, I hear the horrible metal on metal grinding from the the back when I stopped. The semi-metallic wore out faster despite doing less of the braking. Tore up a rotor.
Lesson learned. Use the same type of pads front and rear.
I put ceramic on the front and semi-metallic on the rears and kind of forgot about it. A few years later and I noticed that the pads in the front were getting low. Still plenty of life but time to replace them.
I ordered the parts to do the front and back (but I hadn't looked at the back). They sat in a closet for a while and then I decided to do the brake job. The day before I decided to do the job, I hear the horrible metal on metal grinding from the the back when I stopped. The semi-metallic wore out faster despite doing less of the braking. Tore up a rotor.
Lesson learned. Use the same type of pads front and rear.
I've been trying to find out for a week now...
I looked up any and all documentation I could find online.
I called a few dealerships and asked them and used the vin on my Canadian 2005 4Runner V6 Limited to look up if the stock pads were ceramic or semi metallic, no information found.
I also asked if the dealership if the OE replacement pads (sumitomo, made in Japan!) were ceramic or semi-metallic, of the dealerships that answered, the score is - ceramic 2 : semi-metallic 2, so no consensus there. The sumitomo packaging doesn't reference their pad composition and the internal Toyota lookup system doesn't show the pad composition either, so it would be hard for the parts guys to know.
I also asked Toyota over the phone if the factory pads or the Sumitomo pads at the dealership were ceramic or semi-metallic. Toyota said they couldn't find out for me. I am a little surprised Toyota can't even find a way to determine the pad composition of the factory pads that new 4runners came with. I know they document all parts for liability reasons among others.
So I have resurrected this thread.
The truth is out there. I want to believe.
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snowboardwcu
Member
for the life of me i can't figure out why you guys put so much time into figuring this out. if you hate dust, put ceramics. if you like stopping, use metallics :boxer:
FWIW, i did the 5th gen swap recently and chose hawk ceramics for the front, ebc semi-metallics for the rear. how i came to that decision: with fronts doing the majority of braking, ceramics and lower dust was a better option for me. however, i do A LOT of stop and go everyday on my commute. i figured having the ebc's in rear would give me a better response for those quick, harder stops i have to occasionally make. only drawback is the ebcs are dirty AF. but she stops like a dream, so no worries with the mix-n-match :cheers:
FWIW, i did the 5th gen swap recently and chose hawk ceramics for the front, ebc semi-metallics for the rear. how i came to that decision: with fronts doing the majority of braking, ceramics and lower dust was a better option for me. however, i do A LOT of stop and go everyday on my commute. i figured having the ebc's in rear would give me a better response for those quick, harder stops i have to occasionally make. only drawback is the ebcs are dirty AF. but she stops like a dream, so no worries with the mix-n-match :cheers:
My reasoning is as follows.
I have wet cold rotors during the half year it is winter in Canada, many chinooks here as well with salt and slush everywhere. I'm aware that semi-metallic pads have preferred friction properties on cold wet rotors, for me this means they bite sooner where a different pad formulation may need additional time to wipe the rotor surface with a rotor rotation or two and build up a little bit of heat in the process before desirable bite is delivered. This delay is undesirable for me.
With this in mind, my inquiring mind wants to know that Toyota chose from the factory. My 4runner's previous owner had the brakes done on warranty at the dealership, I'll assume the same type of pad was used during the repair.
So, if Toyota equipped the 4runners with semi-metallic pads, I will not choose ceramic pad. If Toyota chose ceramic pads, I would like to know that so I can use that information to compare functionality of one pad type to another for informed decisions in the future. I may have 50 years of driving left in me! I'm trying to learn.
I am strongly leaning towards a semi-metallic pad for my purposes. If toyotas replacement sumitomo pad is semi-metallic, I think I'll buy them. I drive less than 5000 miles per year so these pads should stay with me for many years, might get something optimal for my needs.
I like to tinker and learn as my hobby with my 4Runner and motorcycles so I take the slow and complicated path but I have fun in the process.
snowboardwcu
Member
you could always take it to a dealership and say 'replace all the pads' and see what they do. (please dont do that, LOL)
Your reasoning is similar to mine in wanting the best of both worlds during all seasons. I'm in Philly, we've had horrendous winters here the past few. nothing like what you get, i know, but anything under 15degF to me changes my tune on certain things.
feel free to contact me in like january. it will be cold enough for me to have evaluated my decision on mix/n/match. i'll give you as much detail as i can. brakes & tires are priority number 1, always.
LB4Runner05
New member
I wish I knew, my original 05 front brakes lasted 72k and the backs lasted 80k. All original factory. All future replacements lasted 50 k with "Premium parts". I know have 160k.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
blaniac22
Member
I am at 122K with the original pads and rotors on all 4 corners. (Lots if highway miles). Not surprisingly, its time to change them out.
I was set to buy the Semi-Metallic, as most of the parts diagrams point to them with part number 04465-35290, usually between $50-60 online. Then I came across the ceramics (04465-AZ001-TM) which I have found a little cheaper at $40-50.
The money isn't significant, but I would like to put the same pads back. For what its worth, I have after market ceramics on my Camry and really like them. I want to stick with OEM because of how well these have held up.
I am also noticing a little shimmy when hitting the brakes. Do you think I should just have the rotors turned? I have access to a place that will do them for $8.00 each. Or, should I just replace them with 43512-60151 at $50-60 each? Again, the money isn't a huge concern, but don't want to throw it away either.
I was set to buy the Semi-Metallic, as most of the parts diagrams point to them with part number 04465-35290, usually between $50-60 online. Then I came across the ceramics (04465-AZ001-TM) which I have found a little cheaper at $40-50.
The money isn't significant, but I would like to put the same pads back. For what its worth, I have after market ceramics on my Camry and really like them. I want to stick with OEM because of how well these have held up.
I am also noticing a little shimmy when hitting the brakes. Do you think I should just have the rotors turned? I have access to a place that will do them for $8.00 each. Or, should I just replace them with 43512-60151 at $50-60 each? Again, the money isn't a huge concern, but don't want to throw it away either.
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blaniac22
Member
Thanks. I should have researched more before posting. Between the time I posted and now, I have learned when you see the "AZ" or "TM" in the part number, it indicates a lower grade of OEM product, probably designed to compete with chain stores.
What threw me is that 04465-AZ001-TM specifically states Ceramic pads, yet they are less expensive than the others. The 04465-35290 may very well be ceramic, but I haven't seen anything to confirm it.
In the end, I will go with the more expensive OEM pads as they are most likely to be the ones originally installed.
Now the rotors? Are they worth turning in anybody's experience?
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