TOUGHER Rotors than OEM

[cognus]

I read very long thread re better-than--OEM brake components but suspiciously missing were valid comments AFTER 40k miles or so on the newbies. Lots of "yeah these are nice".
What I want is Rotors that will do a Lot of stops without warping. The OEMs are too snowflaky.
I've seen other Toyota and other brand vehicles go lots further without getting the shakes

What's hard, tough, true over long haul?

 

[Inv4drZm]

This might be a question for the brake experts of the forum. But do our rotors actually warp that often or is the pulse braking usually from uneven pad buildup after a hard brake and complete stop?

My 'warped rotor' pulsing I experienced I'm guessing was from pad buildup because it fixed itself after a while. A warped rotor wouldn't do that right?

 

[L8Shift]

I found this to be interesting.. :suspicious:

BRAKE TECH: CRYOGENICS 101
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=83

 

[thennen]

Years ago, the after-market rotors on my 2001 warped pretty badly and I replaced them with the same. Those also warped, so I replaced with OEM. Problem solved. Those are the only times I’ve ever experienced warped rotors.

 

[snivilous]

Any time I've gotten warped rotors I upgrade to drilled and/or slotted. My girlfriend's 4th gen has EBC slotted/dimpled with pads and upgraded to the Sport calipers and stops on a dime even when towing. Probably upgrading my Tundra to the same setup soon.

 

[Terminator03]

Don’t know how tough/durable the rotors will be long term, but when I did my 5th gen brake conversion, I went with the Powerstop Z34 (or 36, can’t remember what it was), but it was advertised as the extreme tow/off-road or something like that. Since I often tow trailers, including a fairly heavy boat, I went that route, as they were also powder coated red calipers, and the rotors were drilled/slotted, and coated as well. I’ve only had them for 7-8 months so far, but they look awesome, and perform just as awesome. I like them so much I plan to get a similar package for my Miata just for the aesthetics alone as it has open spoke wheels.

 

[cognus]

Inv - i dunno... glad it magically fixed itself. Dust buildup is an issue, and I asked the head tech about the quality of the pads and he said they were 'good quality', but that he had several 4runners that he thought were of the same age as my 07 that had warpy rotors - that is, he had to turn them often.
When I've gone in previously with other vehicles for pad replacement, if it was braking smootly I told them to skip the rotor truing. With the T4R, I just want the pulsing to go away so maybe they just do it knowing its a nuisance to have the customer drive away only to come back the next day with more of the same.

The 2000 model I had was an odd package - I bought it new back then [expensive bugger] and it was a 2wd SR5 "gold package" that had a hitch and "heavy duty" tow package with cooler and upgraded brakes. I don't know to this day what was "upgrade" about the brakes but they went 4ever with no issues - not even pads. I want to say it was 100k or so before pads. Same with my 04 camry. Same with my 03 GMC Sierra. NOT the same with my wife's former Mazda 5 - she always waits to the last instant to slam on the brakes.

So, we don't have a testimonial in the house yet of someone changing rotors and going say 50k or more without any shakes?

I read the cryo-treatment article but I don't see any reviews of that particular centric product. I did see in the other older thread I read some kudos for Centric Pro rotors, but again, not high mileage, just "yeah they work"

 

[RickF]

Following this closely. I was just about to pull the trigger on the Z36 setup when I read in a different thread that more than one person was unhappy with the setup after having it for a while.
Not sure if the Powerstop setup is worth it, how it compares to the EBC setup. I've had the shakes almost since I got it, had the rotors turned multiple times, just keeps coming back.
I'm asking folks who have a year or two (or more) on their brake kits to post about their performance in the long run, not just the first few months.
Many thanks in advance!

 

[trd_v8_sport]

I run brakeperformance.com dimpled and slotted rotors and Wagner OEX pads all around (the ones that come with the rotors suck). the rotors have a lifetime warranty against warpage and by some miracle i was able to get 5 years out of my front set through towing, hard driving, and 2 calipers. My rear set is still going strong. I still cant believe how well they hold up over time and with the Wagner pads bring the truck to a stop even loaded with a trailer.

 

[awhitney1]

[MENTION=112299]Formidable[/MENTION] has some TOUGHER brakes on his by Rotora

 

[cognus]

this is encouraging.
are you saying that they went for years [how many miles roughly?] without the shakes? or just that they stopped the vehicle well?
if you happen to have a link or part num that would be big help

I run brakeperformance.com dimpled and slotted rotors and Wagner OEX pads all around (the ones that come with the rotors suck). the rotors have a lifetime warranty against warpage and by some miracle i was able to get 5 years out of my front set through towing, hard driving, and 2 calipers. My rear set is still going strong. I still cant believe how well they hold up over time and with the Wagner pads bring the truck to a stop even loaded with a trailer.

 

[trd_v8_sport]

this is encouraging.
are you saying that they went for years [how many miles roughly?] without the shakes? or just that they stopped the vehicle well?
if you happen to have a link or part num that would be big help

I have the sport so mine may differ from yours unless you also have the sport. In those years I put roughly 100k on them, and they stopped the truck on a dime even with loaded trailers some of which were almost 7k lbs. I recommend tossing the pads that come with the rotors, they're alright but the brake dust is horrid and they dont stop as confidently as the wagners do. Dont get me wrong, even with the free pads it still sopped better than OEM but after putting the wagners on I never looked back

Premium Dimpled & Slotted Brake Kit

 

[Rodtheviking]

I went with Max brakes, I got the Elite XDS kit with their carbon pads, so far so good. They were only 98.00 shipped to my door in about a week.

Quite an improvement over the stock squishy feeling brakes.

Max Advanced Brakes | Your Stop For Everything Brakes

 

[AuSeeker]

I have the sport so mine may differ from yours unless you also have the sport. In those years I put roughly 100k on them, and they stopped the truck on a dime even with loaded trailers some of which were almost 7k lbs. I recommend tossing the pads that come with the rotors, they're alright but the brake dust is horrid and they dont stop as confidently as the wagners do. Dont get me wrong, even with the free pads it still sopped better than OEM but after putting the wagners on I never looked back

Premium Dimpled & Slotted Brake Kit

Which pads came with the rotors, the semi-metallic or the ceramic?

 

[nevada]

This might be a question for the brake experts of the forum. But do our rotors actually warp that often or is the pulse braking usually from uneven pad buildup after a hard brake and complete stop?

My 'warped rotor' pulsing I experienced I'm guessing was from pad buildup because it fixed itself after a while. A warped rotor wouldn't do that right?

correct, its most likely NOT warping, but instead material build up.

I haven't noticed that one brand of rotor is more/less susceptible than any others. a proper break in procedure when replacing the pads is important. as is making sure you resurface the rotors any time the pads are changed.

 

[trd_v8_sport]

Which pads came with the rotors, the semi-metallic or the ceramic?

I dont remember it was so long ago lmao but the wagners are only like 78 bucks so well worth it in my opinion

 

[Terminator03]

correct, its most likely NOT warping, but instead material build up.

I haven't noticed that one brand of rotor is more/less susceptible than any others. a proper break in procedure when replacing the pads is important. as is making sure you resurface the rotors any time the pads are changed.

I agree. Bedding properly according to the manufacturers instructions for the specific pads is literally the most important step of the whole job! If done correctly you will have years of trouble free performance (unless the calipers seize or something...), but if done wrong, you can ruin pads and rotors quickly. Generally they can be saved by resurfacing, however, you still need to bed them properly after that, or your back at square one.

 

[Bluesky 07]

OP is looking for a 40K+ report, and I get it, everybody loves the gear when it's just been installed. Not there yet but at 1 year and 15K, I'm 100% satisfied with the PowerStop Z36 kit on the pavement and off. Steep grades, water crossings, road trips, good weather and bad, they've been solid.

Some say they avoid drilled & slotted b/c of dirt clogging after going off-road. I've been through some mud (the typical kind, not axle-deep suck your shoes off your feet stuff) and never had an issue.

FWIW, here's my passenger side front as of today:

Stay tuned for a 40K update in mid-to-late 2021. ;-) (Edit: 40K came earlier than expected.)

 

[AuSeeker]

I dont remember it was so long ago lmao but the wagners are only like 78 bucks so well worth it in my opinion

I just looked at RockAuto and they have the Wagner OEX front and rear pads for $27 each plus shipping.

 

[cognus]

we're getting some great input now.
To the question: the semi-metallics come with the pair [looking at front rotors] but today the ceramics are only 1 dollar more. Is there any downside to the ceramic? they are having a 4th July sale so all the kits are minus 35 percent

Bluesky that's a great report! be awhile b4 that 40k..

but now I gotta figure out which size rotor i have - - how do i measure that without yanking the rotor off? 319mm vs 333 is the diff....
did 333's only come with 18's for instance?

I dont remember it was so long ago lmao but the wagners are only like 78 bucks so well worth it in my opinion