Upgraded front brakes, NOT the Tundra mod and it's awesome.

[Majindan]

So, I've done all the reading, research, etc and decided against the Tundra mod. Instead, I went with Hawk LTS pads and following their own recommendations, 16" Brembo Blanks.

I must say, even during the bedding process, I am very impressed. Disclaimer: I do not tow, or climb mountains daily. Just saying, if you don't want or can't do the Tundra upgrade, this combination for OEM is fantastic.

 

[johnbyebye]

So, I've done all the reading, research, etc and decided against the Tundra mod. Instead, I went with Hawk LTS pads and following their own recommendations, 16" Brembo Blanks.

I must say, even during the bedding process, I am very impressed. Disclaimer: I do not tow, or climb mountains daily. Just saying, if you don't want or can't do the Tundra upgrade, this combination for OEM is fantastic.

Care to share where you bought these items?

Thanks.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Hawks are great pads for stopping but can end up squealing like no other pad I have ever used.

 

[TheDurk]

Care to share where you bought these items?

Thanks.

I got MY Brembos on Amazon Prime:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000BZPS6K/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I39Z0HYMO6FLVZ&colid=3RKU64S353HL1

I went with Akebono ceramic pads. No squealing, no dust, smooth stopping.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C1LL96/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Majindan]

Care to share where you bought these items?

Thanks.

Amazon.

 

[Majindan]

Hawks are great pads for stopping but can end up squealing like no other pad I have ever used.

Damn I hope not, but if they do maybe a shot of brake cleaner will fix it?

 

[LittleCaesar]

Damn I hope not, but if they do maybe a shot of brake cleaner will fix it?

I am guessing my two sets didn't get bed in properly, but they were on two different cars. Great stopping power though when they weren't squealing.

 

[99problems]

My issue with the stock brakes wasn't that they lacked sufficient stopping power, it was that the rotors couldn't stand up to the abuse of driving down into Denver every day and were warping as a result. The 231mm TBU has significantly thicker rotors which don't suffer the same warpage issues that the stock 199's do. I wonder if a setup like yours would exacerbate the initial problem by creating even hotter braking conditions, or if the pad material is able to better dissipate heat in some way (which seems unlikely given the necessary contact with the rotor).

 

[habanero]

I replaced the original warped rotors with Brembo blanks, don't remember the pads I used, something recommended by the Brembo bandstand back in '05 or so. They warped fairly quickly. Noticed the TBU info around that time but aftermarket wasn't available yet and I couldn't justify the cost of Toyota new at the time. Drove on the Brembos until 2010 when aftermarket calipers became available.

In 2010 I went with and am still happy with a set of Wagner Tundra rotors that have now been on the truck over 90,000 miles. Works for me.

Do make sure your rear brakes are properly adjusted too.

 

[Majindan]

I replaced the original warped rotors with Brembo blanks, don't remember the pads I used, something recommended by the Brembo bandstand back in '05 or so. They warped fairly quickly. Noticed the TBU info around that time but aftermarket wasn't available yet and I couldn't justify the cost of Toyota new at the time. Drove on the Brembos until 2010 when aftermarket calipers became available.

In 2010 I went with and am still happy with a set of Wagner Tundra rotors that have now been on the truck over 90,000 miles. Works for me.

Do make sure your rear brakes are properly adjusted too.

So far so good after about 100 miles including rush hour AM/PM traffic yesterday and this morning. Rear brakes are this weekend...almost too many tutorials to choose from lol. Anyone prefer a particular walk through over others to make it stupid easy?

 

[johnbyebye]

I got MY Brembos on Amazon Prime:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000BZPS6K/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I39Z0HYMO6FLVZ&colid=3RKU64S353HL1

I went with Akebono ceramic pads. No squealing, no dust, smooth stopping.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C1LL96/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks.

I just replaced my rotors and pads but I'm wondering if trying a different set of both would fix my groaning just before stopping. It's getting rather annoying.

 

[HeelAndToe85]

My issue with the stock brakes wasn't that they lacked sufficient stopping power, it was that the rotors couldn't stand up to the abuse of driving down into Denver every day and were warping as a result. The 231mm TBU has significantly thicker rotors which don't suffer the same warpage issues that the stock 199's do. I wonder if a setup like yours would exacerbate the initial problem by creating even hotter braking conditions, or if the pad material is able to better dissipate heat in some way (which seems unlikely given the necessary contact with the rotor).

I replaced the original warped rotors with Brembo blanks, don't remember the pads I used, something recommended by the Brembo bandstand back in '05 or so. They warped fairly quickly. Noticed the TBU info around that time but aftermarket wasn't available yet and I couldn't justify the cost of Toyota new at the time. Drove on the Brembos until 2010 when aftermarket calipers became available.

Both of these guys are right. I too thought if only I buy really high quality 4Runner brakes they would last... I was wrong. My brembo blanks warped in 9 months.

I went Tundra brakes at that time and will never look back. Just FYI I bought Tundra Brembo blanks, OE pads and OE shims, NAPA rebuilt 231 calipers.

I recommend driving your setup until they warp and then go Tundra.

 

[repo]

Are those pads much better than stock pads? I used the Brembo blanks but with Toyota pads just because they last forever. My KO2s seems to be the weak link in stopping ability.

 

[TheDurk]

Both of these guys are right. I too thought if only I buy really high quality 4Runner brakes they would last... I was wrong. My brembo blanks warped in 9 months.

I went Tundra brakes at that time and will never look back. Just FYI I bought Tundra Brembo blanks, OE pads and OE shims, NAPA rebuilt 231 calipers.

I recommend driving your setup until they warp and then go Tundra.

I'm sure Colorado driving puts major extra stress on the system and the upgrade makes sense in that case. I ran my my factory rotors 19 years and 170k through three sets of pads and they never warped---but I live in New Jersey. I live on a mountain, the top of the Second Watchung Range, at a whopping 500 feet above sea level. A molehill, a wart by Colorado standards. I just don't need the TBU.

I do believing hand-torquing lugs from Day 1 and maintaing the rear brakes helps to avoid warping, but it wouldn't make a difference in Colorado.

 

[Scramble]

I'm sure Colorado driving puts major extra stress on the system and the upgrade makes sense in that case. I ran my my factory rotors 19 years and 170k through three sets of pads and they never warped---but I live in New Jersey. I live on a mountain, the top of the Third Watchung Range, at a whopping 500 feet above sea level. A molehill, a wart by Colorado standards. I just don't need the TBU.

I do believing hand-torquing lugs from Day 1 and maintaing the rear brakes helps to avoid warping, but it wouldn't make a difference in Colorado.

Plus we downshift. I never warped a rotor either. I've never seen a 5 speed guy complain about warped rotors.

 

[Kanoe]

Plus we downshift. I never warped a rotor either. I've never seen a 5 speed guy complain about warped rotors.

I agree. I have no problems with OEM originals. But mine has no added weight and I don't tow.

 

[marcus clarkus]

Plus we downshift. I never warped a rotor either. I've never seen a 5 speed guy complain about warped rotors.

I was gonna say the same thing. I drive all around Colorado and have no need for the TBU. Coming out of the mountains into Denver I leave it in 4th and pretty much don't have to touch the gas or brakes for the whole way down.

 

[Boudin]

Love Hawk LTS pads. I've also had them on my 4runner for about a year. Stopping power is awesome, they bite hard. Only downside is dust, I haven't had an issue with squealing. I had to go through the bedding process 3 times to get even pad deposits on the rotor and eliminate the 'warped' feeling of the rotor.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[absalom]

Remember guys, the rotors aren't actually warping. What is instead happening, is that a glaze is being built up during heavy braking, and then the vehicle is parked prior to the glaze drying in a uniform pattern on the rotor.

A great way to reduce or prevent this effect, is to properly bed the brakes, and then be gentle on brakes for about 10 minutes prior to parking the vehicle. This happens all the time to track cars in between sessions.

 

[HeelAndToe85]

Remember guys, the rotors aren't actually warping. What is instead happening, is that a glaze is being built up during heavy braking, and then the vehicle is parked prior to the glaze drying in a uniform pattern on the rotor.

A great way to reduce or prevent this effect, is to properly bed the brakes, and then be gentle on brakes for about 10 minutes prior to parking the vehicle. This happens all the time to track cars in between sessions.

This can definitely happen, but that's not what happened to me. I have spent a lot of time on a race track and am very familiar with proper bedding procedures. I tried to re-bed my brakes when I first bought my 4Runner that had warped rotors... nothing happened except the vibration got worse as rotors heated up (as expected if there is warpage). Then when I installed new brembo blanks I bed those in right away and it was fine for 9 months... then the warpage started to come and I re-bed again just in case it was pad material and again it just got worse as rotors got hot.

I wish I had a setup to measure rotor runout...

Also, if it truly was pad material left on the rotor then the TBU folks would still be reporting brake vibration. But you almost never see that.