Yes I made jokes. Probably shouldn't have.
Many people out there think because they read something then it must be true, especially on the internet.
With that said the two most important components on a vehicle are brakes and tires. Let's talk about stopping ability for a bit. I am not really going to talk about the more esoteric aspects of braking systems because hey, this is a 4600 lb top heavy slug of an SUV right? I don't see track days in the 4Runner's future so improving brakes for less fade and unsprung weight reduction really have no bearing here. Looks? Sure, I will give him that. Red calipers look better.
With that said lets look at the stopping ability of the 4Runner or any vehicle for that matter. Basically breaking is dissipation of the vehicle's kinetic energy. How quick you stop depends on:
1. Reaction time
2. Tires
3. Road Surface
4. Braking system
To decrease stopping distance assuming that items 1-3 are the same then you need to modify the breaking system so that, from time of actuation to the tires being on the edge of sliding, you decrease that time.
Right now, especially with the exceptional braking ability of the 4Runner in panic mode, there are very few things you could mod that will decrease that time. I do not know the exact time from initial control actuation to tires at the edge of lockup but it is measured in milliseconds. How do you speed that up? You modify the electronics in the ABS not the caliper.
Now let's examine the other three items. Reaction time is what it is. Some people have quicker reaction times, some don't. Calipers won't help there.
Tires are extremely important if you want to decrease stopping distance. A big soft, sticky tire would shorten stopping distance considerably. Remember that it only took milliseconds for the tire to go from no breaking to edge of skid breaking. Sticky tires will let the vehicle stop quicker because they provide more adhesion to the road.
Road surface is especially important whether it is wet, ice covered or dry. We usually have no control over that though.
Having slotted rotors, ceramic brake components, carbon parts, more pistons in the caliper and other cool mods are more geared towards repetitive slowing of the vehicle, not stopping. In every day use our 4Runner is just like all the other passenger vehicles out there and stopping is the most important thing the brakes do.
If I really wanted to improve the braking performance of the 4Runner I would:
1. Change out all the brake lines to the strongest available and
2. Get the widest, softest, non aggressive tread tire I could afford to run.
These mods would knock a few feet of the 60-0 stopping distance. The mod that would knock the most off the stopping distance? Reaction time. In the real world you take about 1/3 of your stopping distance to react. There's room for improvement there in everyone.
Here's a link if you want to know a bit more about ABS
newtonian mechanics - Does ABS shorten stopping distance of a car? - Physics Stack Exchange but at the end of the day I will enthusiastically concede the point that red calipers look cooler but only if all four are red.
