Tundra Brake Upgrade Problem

Typical Subaru bro.. got back to your own forum troll...

:cheers:

Buttttttt....i've got a toyota now too!

I did apologize to him a few posts later. Trolls don't apologize. They just keep trolling!
 
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I weighed the options when I needed to change my front pads. I opted not to spend the money on the tundra calipers and to not have to modify my wheels. I got some new wholesale clearance brembo blanks and akebono pads from rockauto for less than $100. They feel good to me and have plenty of stopping power for my needs. Haven't regretted that decision, but then again, I'm not doing anything extreme or towing.

I don't think anybody has touched on the fact that with the 199mm Tundra brake upgrade, you DON'T have to grind the wheels.

It's only with the 231mm. I went with the 199mm calipers since I had stock wheels and didn't want to grind / change them either.
 
I can't speak for anyone else, but I plan to do a lot of mods (probably about 300lbs + of armor), I carry lots of spare equipment (probably about 100lbs of just-in-case supplies and tools), and I do drive a lot (in all sorts of road/weather conditions with all sorts of loads).

So, with all of that and some large/wide tires (courtesy of a previous owner) I am planning to upgrade the brakes as soon as I save up the money. My stock brakes fade badly under heavy and/or repeated breaking. Making my truck somewhat more dangerous than I like.

I have 250k on my runner and plan to keep it for much longer.
 
I can't speak for anyone else, but I plan to do a lot of mods (probably about 300lbs + of armor), I carry lots of spare equipment (probably about 100lbs of just-in-case supplies and tools), and I do drive a lot (in all sorts of road/weather conditions with all sorts of loads).

So, with all of that and some large/wide tires (courtesy of a previous owner) I am planning to upgrade the brakes as soon as I save up the money. My stock brakes fade badly under heavy and/or repeated breaking. Making my truck somewhat more dangerous than I like.

I have 250k on my runner and plan to keep it for much longer.

If you're getting bad fading it's entirely possible it's just a cheap set of pads. All these shops like to put the "100k mile warranty" pads on, and they suck. They last 100k miles because the friction material isn't right.

The Tundra brakes are a very worthwhile upgrade, but a good set of pads on the stock brakes will make a huge difference over the crap that's out there. I used Akebono pads when I did the upgrade and they are very good once they're bedded in (which takes some work). You can pick those up for the stock calipers for under $30 IIRC.
 
If you're getting bad fading it's entirely possible it's just a cheap set of pads. All these shops like to put the "100k mile warranty" pads on, and they suck. They last 100k miles because the friction material isn't right.

The Tundra brakes are a very worthwhile upgrade, but a good set of pads on the stock brakes will make a huge difference over the crap that's out there. I used Akebono pads when I did the upgrade and they are very good once they're bedded in (which takes some work). You can pick those up for the stock calipers for under $30 IIRC.

Thanks for the suggestion. The pads are the one's that came with the truck (I'm only responsible for the last 25k miles, no prior service history). I'll look into better pads, I would really like to get better stopping power on the truck.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. The pads are the one's that came with the truck (I'm only responsible for the last 25k miles, no prior service history). I'll look into better pads, I would really like to get better stopping power on the truck.

Good plan. These pads are really easy to change, probably a 20 minute job if you don't need to turn the rotors at the same time.
 
Only your style of driving will determine your need for the upgrade. Here's my experience with OEM brakes.

I bought a '97 new, and replaced the rotors more times than I can remember. I made it to 330k with that rig, and because I only had the 15" wheels, I was sticking with OEM.

After a brake job:

"Man, these brakes are smooth!"

They would work great, until I went on a single trip into the mountains, with a load of camping/climbing gear.

One descent on a mountain pass, and by the bottom, the brakes would be shuddering.

"Crap."

I'd suffer with the stuttering brakes until I couldn't take it any more, and then repeat the cycle.

The brakes never failed to stop the rig, so any upgrade would be technically unnecessary, but if you are driving loads down long descents on a regular basis, I'd do the swap. I just swapped the brakes on my new rig, and it was the first thing I did. It has 230k+.

I tow trailers on a semi-regular basis, and am carrying full loads on top and in back all the time. Every time I stop the new rig now, I smile. But: that's due to 330k of suffering through bad brakes. Honestly, you'd appreciate the new brakes more if you drove a set of OEMs to the point where they were warped, and then did the swap.
 

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