Brake Downgrade?

[johnbt]

I quickly discovered, soon after buying my truck last November, that when I slowed down, didn't tailgate and generally took things a little more leisurely that I had fewer instances of needing to slow down or stop in a hurry.

And I don't mess with my phone when I should be driving. I don't want to hit and any kids - or chickens.

It's a heavy truck and is still relatively nimble for its' weight and height.

I was wondering just the other day, would my parents' '59 Bel Air have handled like my 4Runner if it had come with KDSS and disc brakes?

John

P.S. - The Bel Air, boat that it was, only weighed 3840 pounds.

 

[SS_Syndicate]

{SNIP}

I was wondering just the other day, would my parents' '59 Bel Air have handled like my 4Runner if it had come with KDSS and disc brakes?

John

P.S. - The Bel Air, boat that it was, only weighed 3840 pounds.

NO! LOL.... I have a '64 Bel-Air I fully restored and left all original which means all drum and no power brakes. Thank goodness they are big empty shells or they never would stop!

 

[SS_Syndicate]

I know some would prefer to never see this thread again, but I wanted to update... I've put in a BUNCH of windshield time since this initial post. I am now just over 6500 miles and somewhere along the 400 miles home I noticed significant improvements in pedal feel and reaction. There is still a little nose dive but it's not nearly as bad as it was.

I wanted to wait until I put some time and miles in our other vehicles before I posted, but even after jumping in again today, the "digital" feel and harshness is dramatically improved.

I don't know if it was something wrong or just break-in as suggested earlier. But it seems totally tolerable now.

:lookout:

 

[JAGMBA]

The used T4R my wife looked at buying last month had a similar feel on our test drive; very strong initial bite and highly progressive in the first 25% of travel. We kept it for a weekend and got used to it. In contrast, her JKU brakes do not have strong initial bite and not progressive in the brake pedal travel.

I would compare the T4R brake pedal to the my 2016 WRX throttle pedal which was programmed to be VERY progressive in order to enhance customer perception of performance (first 10% of travel gave you 25% of throttle and first 50% gave you 100% throttle). Given the feel of the T4R, I'm guessing Toyota wanted to do the same with braking performance in the majority of use customer cases.

 

[Decipher]

This is perhaps the most odd thing I've read here...the brakes are too effective??? Haha.

Our stock brake pads go far longer than any other car I've ever worked on or heard of. I know this because I just changed my original pads at 90,000 miles, and only because I had a warped rotor. Has a rotor not warped, I could have pulled another 10,000 miles out of the stock pads easily. So I think I'd link this issue to the new brakes and give it some time for everything to break in properly. Be grateful you're not shredding pads and replacing them every 15,000 miles.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AsAkite]

I have to agree with the OPs initial post.
As far as Toyota products I've had 2 pre-5th Gen T4Rs, a 2wd Tacoma, a Lexus GS and then a 2011 T4R and now a 14 T4R.

I'm 50, I've been driving since I was 15 (*cough* Expert) and in my opinion the 2 5th Gens are definitely odd ducks when it comes to brakes.

I too have had these overly dramatic brake force applications during, I don't want to say a "panic" stop but more like a startled, quick move to the brake pedal.
The pressure I applied was minimal as I realized in that fraction of an instance that hard braking was not going to be necessary.
But.. it almost seemed as if the pedal "sensed" the urgency in which the initial pressure was applied and then computers and squirrels and elves and Bob Villa all got together and concluded (outside of our spacetime obviously) that MUCH more braking force was needed anyway.
This resulted in, not lock ups, but definite tire noise and embarrasment.
While I do agree that you get used to it.... that doesn't mean there isn't something odd going on.

 

[SS_Syndicate]

[SNIP]it almost seemed as if the pedal "sensed" the urgency in which the initial pressure was applied and then computers and squirrels and elves and Bob Villa all got together and concluded (outside of our spacetime obviously) that MUCH more braking force was needed anyway.

Hahaha, This is awesome... I almost got coffee in my nose from reading this.