TBU Wheel grind probs? Done it?

garn79

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Hoping to hear from members who've grinded their wheels to fit the 231s and how long it's been since they did it & if they had problems down the road?

I know no one is going to recommend going this route, thanks in advance!! Got 231's on the way..
 
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Do not grind your wheels because you can seriously throw off your balance. You need to trim the dust shield, get spacers, get larger wheels or ones with more offset, or get the 199mms instead.
 
I think you will regret it. Thats alot of work considering its not a huge difference and your going to hate the soft brake feel. 199 would prob be fine.


Ive bled the brakes a million times and still super soft the first push, The next step is make changes to the master cylinder. Ive had 231 for like 5 years now.
 
231s here and aftermarket wheels that touched just barely after a 1/4" spacer. i paid 40 bucks for the set so i didnt have a problem taking a milimeter or two off the stem of the wheels. (might have them balanced afterwards if you take more off)
they clear just fine now and the brakes are a huge improvement from the factory stoppers. I've had the brakes for about 2 years
I wouldn't grind the brakes without knowing how thick the material is. that was my concern, i would've had to grind on the cylinder just a touch but who knows how much is too much?

If you dont mind changing wheels then dont mess with it but i wanted to run a specific wheel and knew i'd need to do something for the setup to work.
 
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Hoping to hear from members who've grinded their wheels to fit the 231s and how long it's been since they did it & if they had problems down the road?

I know no one is going to recommend going this route, thanks in advance!! Got 231's on the way..
If you aren't rubbing much you might consider grinding the caliper down some instead of the wheels.
 
I don't even recommend this mod and I have done it twice. Good rotors and pads in the original calipers with properly adjusted drums will stop just as well.
 
grinding the wheels is not a good option in my opinion. grinding the calipers is iffy.
as listed you can either go to the 199's or if really intent on the bigger than different wheels. ( for you)..spacers...etc are the options
I went the bigger and they fit my stock 2000 wheels.
I live in the hills...i keep my brakes adjusted...anything I can do for this 3rd gen for stopping is a plus...lots of debates on all this...I just know for me...I could tell the difference and for me...worth it so I dont hit a moose or have issues pulling my 21 ft sjx jet on rare occasions when the taco or ford f250 not available.....sjx...look it up if you care
 
Always remember that no one has ever compared stopping distances between brand new factory brakes and brand new Tundra brakes. New brakes are always an improvement. 199's get you a thicker rotor with the same pad surface area. 231's give you larger pads but mess with pedal feel. Pick what you like but a lot of this is placebo effect. I can warp Tundra brakes really bad too.
 
Always remember that no one has ever compared stopping distances between brand new factory brakes and brand new Tundra brakes. New brakes are always an improvement. 199's get you a thicker rotor with the same pad surface area. 231's give you larger pads but mess with pedal feel. Pick what you like but a lot of this is placebo effect. I can warp Tundra brakes really bad too.

[MENTION=120071]mtbtim[/MENTION] not exactly a 'tool time' but this sounds like a great idea for a video! OEM vs TBU shootout?

--Also grinding the wheels sounds like a bad/dangerous idea, I have heard of people grinding the calipers but even that could potentially ruin the calipers and might be risky.
 
I’ve done the TBU 231mm upgrade on maybe 5 rigs. 2 of those Rigs I daily drive/drove for years.

Never had a soft pedal. Seat-o-the pants says they stop faster. Not that I care about that much. I do it to prevent the constant annoyance of warped rotors.

I’m always curious of these soft pedals. I wonder what the difference is.

I wouldn’t grind wheels. I just buy the Tacoma TRD wheels as take-offs.
You’d need to grind all 4 and test the spare for fit. Otherwise flats and tire rotations would be a pain.
 
[MENTION=120071]mtbtim[/MENTION] not exactly a 'tool time' but this sounds like a great idea for a video! OEM vs TBU shootout?

--Also grinding the wheels sounds like a bad/dangerous idea, I have heard of people grinding the calipers but even that could potentially ruin the calipers and might be risky.

Probably a very costly and difficult to make video. I definitely would love a "BS or not" series on forum mods from over the years like the deckplate and ISR mods.

From what I can tell the 01-02 4-channel abs braking system handles the 231 calipers with less diminished pedal feel. I tend to avoid any personal accounts on pedal feel on here. Do you know how many people think an 18 inch Magnaflow muffler sounds "perfect"? Same idea.

Back to OP's topic. I would grind a caliper way before a wheel. I think you'll know if you grinded too far during the bleeding process if you made a pinhole. Regardless I would say new wheels are the most professional recommendation.
 
Always remember that no one has ever compared stopping distances between brand new factory brakes and brand new Tundra brakes. New brakes are always an improvement. 199's get you a thicker rotor with the same pad surface area. 231's give you larger pads but mess with pedal feel. Pick what you like but a lot of this is placebo effect. I can warp Tundra brakes really bad too.

not commenting on the validity of the results.but I did watch a you tube last wk of 3rd gen guy who claimed he got a 20+ ft @35mph if memory serves me correct.
wait that doesnt.sound.right but.I think.that's what he said, now.I'm gonna.have to.go back and.rewatch dang.it.
 
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Grind the calipers or get wheels that fit. I have ground calipers.

Just know that the factory steel spare won’t fit no matter what you do.


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Correct me if I'm wrong, but the whole point of upgrading to the tundra brakes is to prevent/greatly diminish the amount of shimmy/rotor warping that occurs over time - NOT to improve breaking distance.
The size difference between the pads is much less than the thickness between the rotors, which is the whole appeal, right?
I could be wrong, but this would certainly be the first time I've seen anybody discuss this mod for it's braking distance alone (or even to a notable extent)
 
not commenting on the validity of the results.but I did watch a you tube last wk of 3rd gen guy who claimed he got a 20+ ft @35mph if memory serves me correct.
wait that doesnt.sound.right but.I think.that's what he said, now.I'm gonna.have to.go back and.rewatch dang.it.

He needs to get treated for mania.
 
so what, no grinders? I know you're out there...lurking!! Lurkers..

I've done it. Here's the finished product:

gamefreakgc-albums-interior-body-mods-picture58482-552.jpg


You just need to knock down that edge on the backside of the wheel. I went through a couple of grinding wheels to do two though, that aluminum is tougher than it looks. If you take you time and take an even amount of material off each one there's no need to balance. My wheels were fine with no steering shake even at 70+ MPH.
 
I did it to 2 different 3rd gens and didnt notice any balancing issues. Have over 20k miles on 1 of the runners. I'm not saying to do it or not, but I did it and havent experienced any negative effects. That's a small sample size.

To comment on the TBU, I was cooking my brakes and warping my rotors with prolonged use in mountainous areas on stock brakes. Yeah you can use engine braking or 4 low to slow down, but sometimes the terrain just puts you in that range where you cant find the right speed, especially with heavier tires and loaded down vehicle. I dont experience brake fade nor get as hot anymore compared to what I was before. Now I pull a trailer which solidifies my decision for doing it.
 
I ground mine down. I wanted land cruiser wheels, found a set in the states when I was up there. Shipped them down then stripped and painted them. When they did not fit the TBU yes I ground them down. Those wheels were going on my 4runner. If I had to grind down the mountain to get to the top so be it
 

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