Brake upgrade?
- Thread starter Bacon
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TheTurboMRT
Member
I just installed 338 mm bigger PowerStop rotors (and bigger oem remanufactured calipers) they drilled and slotted and I honestly will never go back to oem since breaking performance improvement is astounding. There is simply no comparison. The breaking distance from 60 mph to 0 probably reduced in half! I was sceptical at first due to PowerStop rotors and pads reletivly small price but after couple thousands miles I'm 100 % convinced I will not install any other rotors and pads on this truck. The bonus is, their ceramic pad produce virtually zero dust compare to oem and Raybestos that I had installed prior. I'm not sure why everyone scared of drilled rotors. I tried oem and napa premium rotors before with napa being the worst of them all.
Side by side with crappy napa premium rotors which rusted and warped in less than a year, never again, complete waste of money
This is why people are afraid of crossdrilled rotors:
paraordnance
New member
I didn't order them from dealer directly, so I don't think part number will apply in this case. I bought them from toyotapartsdirect.ca, which is a sister website (for us canadians) of toyotapartsdirect.com who sells OEM parts for Toyotas.
I had NAPA Eclipse caliper for the passenger front and OEM reman unit for driver's front from above mentioned website. They were both replacing Raybestos Professional grade reman calipers which I bought a year prior on Rockauto (froze). When it comes to the quality of materials, craftsmanship and looks it goes like that: OEM reman > NAPA Eclipse > Raybestos.
OEM reman calipers had all 4 pistons brand new! NAPA Eclipse calipers had all old, re-used pistons which head scratches on their walls, the only reason I went with NAPA is due to their lifetime warranty, they assured me they will replace caliper if it ever seized up. We all know it will happen soon or later. Will see how long the OEM unit lasts in comparison. I disassembled them both, carefully inspected, snapped many pictures (I wanted to start a thread here comparing them in detail here, but never did), lubed up cylinder walls with brake lube and assembled back together. OEM reman untis did not come with the metal rings around the rubber boots though, like NAPA ones did. That is one of the drawbacks (I just used rings from old Raybestos calipers), I also liked the black protective coating on the NAPA better than OEM which left smudges of silver paint on my hands.
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paraordnance
New member
There is clearance issue but it gets fixed in seconds with couple blows of rubber mallet to the plate, lol:happy: The rest is direct fit, unless you have 16 in wheels. 16" wheels will not fit!
paraordnance
New member
This is why people are afraid of crossdrilled rotors:
Who makes these rotors pictured? There is many crappy ones out there which can certainly have issues like that. I can't see that happening to PowerStop rotors, and I been through some harsh braking, believe me. I can clearly see that rotor material is definitely different (look closer to the hub, rust vs no rust). I could not find bad reviews about PowerStop rotors. But only time will tell.
2003 SR5 V8 4X4 here. I just swapped to the larger rotors. And 5th-gen calipers.
Used 4th-gen (large) Centric Premium rotors with Centric pads. Pads from all calipers are the same size. The pads are not aggressive and I didn't notice a super-dramatic decrease in stopping distances. But I'm not exactly autocrossing either. Either way, they should outlast my use of the truck.
My truck was an older driveway queen when I bought it in 2014 with only 34k on the clock. I wanted to swap calipers and stave off any freeze.
The 5th-gen calipers were actually cheaper than both sizes of 4th-gen calipers after core return.
I had to replace a CV at the same time so it was all coming apart anyways - the dust shield would have been easy to swap.
But I didn't feel like spending the extra $$ so I just used the pneumatic cut-off wheel to trim the bevel. Once that's gone, everything fits fine.
Used 4th-gen (large) Centric Premium rotors with Centric pads. Pads from all calipers are the same size. The pads are not aggressive and I didn't notice a super-dramatic decrease in stopping distances. But I'm not exactly autocrossing either. Either way, they should outlast my use of the truck.
My truck was an older driveway queen when I bought it in 2014 with only 34k on the clock. I wanted to swap calipers and stave off any freeze.
The 5th-gen calipers were actually cheaper than both sizes of 4th-gen calipers after core return.
I had to replace a CV at the same time so it was all coming apart anyways - the dust shield would have been easy to swap.
But I didn't feel like spending the extra $$ so I just used the pneumatic cut-off wheel to trim the bevel. Once that's gone, everything fits fine.
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CJ3Flyr
Super Moderator
Thanks... I have just the hammer for the job and 17" wheels so I am good to go:eyebrows:
Rocket61
New member
Hey could you please post the which part numbers you bought from that site?
I have the Hawk LTS. They're squealing on a slow stop. In my opinion, i'd go back to stock pads the next go around.
paraordnance
New member
I would think this part number:
Toyota Genuine Factory Part
Part Number: 4773060261
CALIPER 4-Runner; 6 Cylinder; Right; w/o 16" Wheel
Fits 2004 Toyota 4Runner Sport
But this is where it gets tricky. They will ask for VIN when you order to make sure you get the right part, that will not work since your VIN will tell them you don't own the Sport. I actually had to call in and asked for calipers with 13WH marking on the casting. They will tell you that you need 13WL or 13WG calipers but make sure they send you 13WH calipers since you doing upgrade! I paid $250 CDN for the caliper, its strange to see it costing more on US site, really strange. May be they new calipers and not rebuild ones.
TheTurboMRT
Member
To be fair, mine were crappy ebay rotors with Porterfield R4S pads, and on a track car (MR2 Turbo). I was also seeing brake temperatures after my cool down laps of around 750 degrees F. This is rough on a rotor no matter who made it.
Modern pads without excessive outgassing really don't gain an advantage with cross drilled rotors these days. The cross drills actually remove material that could otherwise be used to absorb heat, while slots only remove a small amount from the surface, leaving most of the thickness to absorb heat.
My rotors were not zinc plated, hence the rust, but zinc plating is only about 0.0002" thick, so it almost immediately wears off of the swept area of the rotor, which leaves the same (or similar) cast iron on my rotors as yours.
It's just been my experience, and yours is clearly different. I don't think either of us is going to convince the other which is better. It really doesn't matter, both ways work great.
On my 4R I actually returned the PowerStop rotors due to their poor casting and rough finish around the veins, and got Centric Premium blanks in their place, which had a much nicer finish and looked like a better manufacturing process.
paraordnance
New member
Ooops, sorry, didn't noticed you from Manitoba.
Front disc brake caliper & dust cover. Fits: Toyota 4Runner 4700CC 32-VALVE DOHC EFI, AUTOMATIC 5-SPEED | Toyota Parts Direct
you can see on diagram it is marked as 47730 (RH) and 47750 (LH) but lists same part number for all castings. Make sure you call in and explain that you need 13WH castings regardless of your VIN!
Wow, I see they went up in price. I paid $250 shipped half a year ago. They now sell for $389, ouch
I just don't see the point of drilled rotors. If you want overall reliability, go with good quality blanks. If you want the functional benefits of drilled rotors, go with slotted. I run slotted rotors on everything - my previous WRX, STi, FD RX-7, and current Aston and 4Runner. Slotted rotors do everything drilled do but with much, much less risk of cracking. If anyone claims weight loss for drilled, they're blowing smoke up your arse. I guarantee you can't notice the weight difference between slotted and drilled rotors while driving. I dropped 18 lbs going from 1-piece to 2-piece rotors on my Aston and the difference is barely noticeable under normal driving, and only makes a real difference on the track. And that's a far greater weight reduction than you'll see between slotted and drilled rotors.
Brakes (and tires) are just as much for safety as they are for performance, but a lot of people try to go cheap on them - a huge mistake.
I've been very impressed with my current 4Runner brake setup (see previous post, or the link in my sig). It's more than enough to stop the truck, and I can overpower the ABS and tires if I want to (not that I do lol). Unlike the Porterfield pads on my Aston, the initial bite of these pads is excellent.
I'm on the fence about the setup on my Aston - specifically the Porterfield R4S pads. A lot of people run them and are happy with them because they work well, don't squeak, and produce very, very little dust (especially compared to the super-dusty OEM pads). But they don't have nearly as much initial bite as my last set (Pagid track pads) so it's slightly disconcerting for me. I track my Aston so I'm super critical of brakes. For most people, the R4S pads are great.
Brakes (and tires) are just as much for safety as they are for performance, but a lot of people try to go cheap on them - a huge mistake.
I've been very impressed with my current 4Runner brake setup (see previous post, or the link in my sig). It's more than enough to stop the truck, and I can overpower the ABS and tires if I want to (not that I do lol). Unlike the Porterfield pads on my Aston, the initial bite of these pads is excellent.
I'm on the fence about the setup on my Aston - specifically the Porterfield R4S pads. A lot of people run them and are happy with them because they work well, don't squeak, and produce very, very little dust (especially compared to the super-dusty OEM pads). But they don't have nearly as much initial bite as my last set (Pagid track pads) so it's slightly disconcerting for me. I track my Aston so I'm super critical of brakes. For most people, the R4S pads are great.
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