Need new front discs and pads on my 2011. Has almost 90k now and I tow the boat frequently so the stockers are smoked. Where is the best place to find factory replacements for cheap? I hate aftermarket cheap brakes that shake and squeak so would rather find the real deal at a discount. Ideas suggestions are appreciated!
where do we find cheap OME discs and pads
- Thread starter cmyrunner
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FrontRange4Runner
New member
Just be careful in your search. I remember reading that Toyota now has OEM, and a new OEM "budget" line of pads. A few of the people on here are techs and should be able to give you more info, but I think the consensus was that the budget pads sucked. Then again, you can get high quality aftermarket brake parts from companies like EBC or Hawk that wont be much more than OEM from the stealer and should preform better under high heat and towing applications.
Have already turned these once and they are warped to all heck so going to get a full set of front discs and all new pads. Recommendations on if high quality aftermarket or stick with my ome? Drive the 299 10 times a month and is a nasty highway with mountains and one of the windiest fwys in California and tow the boat across so need something that will hold up the heat in the valley (110) and the moisture in the coast of Humboldt. Thanks for the help
Zeusmotorworks
New member
Ok... I'm "new" here but come from aerospace manufacturing and had my own rally car business for quite some time, raced a bit in SCCA tarmac and a little dirt, bla, bla, bla.
Cliff notes:
Turning rotors is usually bad/unnecessary regardless of shade tree myth and brake shops wanting your money.
Scuffing old pad material off and just replacing pads saves money/less WASTE!
Cmyrunner, in layman's terms, when you get your new rotors/pads don't let some jack ass in the future lie to you (or misinform you) that your rotors need to be "turned". In MOST cases all you are doing is removing the precious mass that the system uses to transfer/dissipate heat. People will tell you, and old shade tree myths you grew up with will support that they are "warped" because you can feel the pulsation of the pedal and the "grab/release" of the pads as you come to a stop. What it really is IN MOST CASES is uneven pad transfer. When you properly bed your brakes a thin layer of pad material is evenly transferred to the rotor. With crap pad material or pushing even good material passed it's thermal capabilities the transfer becomes uneven causing these high spots in the surface. Hence the "feel" you get.
For almost two decades now I've never allowed my rotors to be "turned" on both vehicles for business and personal. All that is required (if you do your own work) is gently taking a wire wheel to knock the old compound off the rotors surfaces. Don't cut into the surface, but more so a light scuffing. I had a little terror of a rally car that went though countless sets of Ferodo DS2500/3000s (about $250 a front set) and Brembo pads on a single set of rotors. I always "scuffed" and mic'd (measured) them to knock the old compound off and make sure they didn't wear too thin to be safe. I've done the same on both my 07 FJ Cruisers one of which was traded for the Wife's new 2014 TE Premium. That vehicle will get the same service. OE or equivalent pads and a good scuffing for new pads IF I change compound or feel anything in the pedal.
Last, a good non OEM rotor is Centric Premium. Has to be their Premium line though as they caved on the eco series. I'll be happy to provide anyone who wants a contact someone who might give you a price break for dropping my name but don't want to break any rules. When the business went away I lost contact with him but still have his info.
...and I've given up on any forum discussing the folly of cross drilled or slotted rotors on less than a high end street/race car.
Cliff notes:
Turning rotors is usually bad/unnecessary regardless of shade tree myth and brake shops wanting your money.
Scuffing old pad material off and just replacing pads saves money/less WASTE!
Cmyrunner, in layman's terms, when you get your new rotors/pads don't let some jack ass in the future lie to you (or misinform you) that your rotors need to be "turned". In MOST cases all you are doing is removing the precious mass that the system uses to transfer/dissipate heat. People will tell you, and old shade tree myths you grew up with will support that they are "warped" because you can feel the pulsation of the pedal and the "grab/release" of the pads as you come to a stop. What it really is IN MOST CASES is uneven pad transfer. When you properly bed your brakes a thin layer of pad material is evenly transferred to the rotor. With crap pad material or pushing even good material passed it's thermal capabilities the transfer becomes uneven causing these high spots in the surface. Hence the "feel" you get.
For almost two decades now I've never allowed my rotors to be "turned" on both vehicles for business and personal. All that is required (if you do your own work) is gently taking a wire wheel to knock the old compound off the rotors surfaces. Don't cut into the surface, but more so a light scuffing. I had a little terror of a rally car that went though countless sets of Ferodo DS2500/3000s (about $250 a front set) and Brembo pads on a single set of rotors. I always "scuffed" and mic'd (measured) them to knock the old compound off and make sure they didn't wear too thin to be safe. I've done the same on both my 07 FJ Cruisers one of which was traded for the Wife's new 2014 TE Premium. That vehicle will get the same service. OE or equivalent pads and a good scuffing for new pads IF I change compound or feel anything in the pedal.
Last, a good non OEM rotor is Centric Premium. Has to be their Premium line though as they caved on the eco series. I'll be happy to provide anyone who wants a contact someone who might give you a price break for dropping my name but don't want to break any rules. When the business went away I lost contact with him but still have his info.
...and I've given up on any forum discussing the folly of cross drilled or slotted rotors on less than a high end street/race car.
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1engineer
Moderator
Good stuff. Only thing I would add (from experience) is the OEM pads are great. My '11 had 70K and still had a little less than 1/2 pad left and listen about the rotors. I don't know about you guys but when I hit the brakes in panic stop condition its hard to imagine any component stopping this vehicle faster. It stops right now almost scary fast.
Bay33saw
New member
I have a buddy that used to race motorcycles like I did and still has a 2001 Taco, in all the miles he has done is his truck (and he brakes at the last moment, if you get my drift)
He has replaced his pads twice but swears that using a wire wheel get's all the craps off his rotors.....just his .02c
He has replaced his pads twice but swears that using a wire wheel get's all the craps off his rotors.....just his .02c
3wbdriver
New member
Excellent and informative post. I am walking away from this with new knowledge. But I WILL NOT allow a wire wheel anywhere near my genitals. There must be limits!!! :faint:
Zeusmotorworks
New member
As the youngsters say... Siri owns me 
hwell:
Then again, spelling was always my downfall. :doh:
hwell:Then again, spelling was always my downfall. :doh:
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Antman
Elite Member
Great post! I have been doing my own brakes for about 20 years now and your post proves that there is still more for me to learn!
Question- So when I replace my factory pads with new factory pads (exact same compound) if I have no pulsation in my brakes then I would not wire brush the rotor, but leave the pad material already on there alone? I'm curious if the new pad would be better off bedding into a fresh material surface or if it will not matter...
PS- FWIW- at 60k my brakes feel and work great. Only thing I want to change is the squishy pedal. I'll probably replace the rubber lines with stainless lines when I put pads on.
KidVermicious
New member
Oh, I like this one. Can we keep him?
1engineer
Moderator
I don't know...he just showed up on the 5th gen doorstep and actually knows what he is talking about. He actually helped instead of needing something. What is the world coming to lol. I will say it is refreshing to read actual fact instead of hearsay and internet rumor though from a new guy lol.
nevada
Senior Member
we have ran into this before.
the only issue I see is, how do you know its the exact same compound? manufactures change things OFTEN.
personally, I would remove the old material, and start fresh.
also, to the "not turning rotors" that's all fine and dandy, if they are still flat. most of the time they aren't. the pads wear into the rotors, and its not always exactly a smooth surface. you don't want to throw a smooth brake pad on a grooved rotor. you usually cant see the small grooves. get them on a lathe and take a light cut, and they show up.
Zeusmotorworks
New member
True about compound... however, if you purchase "good pads" consistently from the same place you should be fine as long as they don't "switch up" on you. Even OE is frequently different from OEM replacement parts and often the they out source to different vendors providing only their "spec". My aforementioned Ferodo pads were VERY consistent in their compounds (and should be for $250 pads) and I could literally drive to the track, switch race pads on,lightly bed them, have fun, switch street pads back on, lightly bed them, and drive home without the lightest of shimmies. If it's of any concern, or when in doubt, simply scuff them.
Grooves... good point and a serious consideration. IF (and a big one) you consistently use quality pads AND rotors you will find that grooving will be reduced to a minimum provided you don't try and get those last few mm of pad "life". Think about heat transfer on a brand new pad. All that compound between the rotor surface and the backing plate (heat sink). Then think about only a mm or two (worse none) now bearing all that thermal load between the surface of the rotor and the backing plate. Does not take an engineer (no offense) to see how the physical properties of that compound might be drastically changed under those conditions. Service your gear properly, AND timely and grooving will normally be insignificant. As a test, I HAVE done this same procedure on rotors that had some grooving and after an extended bed in/light breaking they wore in just fine again with no shimmy. However I don't necessarily recommend it. Also, often times they appear more grooved than they are to the naked eye which even if highly trained and experienced is a far cry from modern measuring equipment. So when in doubt just replace the bad things. If they have suffered enough load to warrant actually being turned down, they've suffered enough to be replaced. It's only potentially your life, and as infrequent as most of us need to replace them, not really even a huge financial drain.
To
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Zeusmotorworks
New member
Antman,
The Toyota pads seem to be great for what we need them for and I easily recommend them. Measure the thickness of your rotors to make sure they are still well with in spec and march on. for the gentleman who spends more time in the mountains WITH a boat behind him (hope it has brakes too), he might need to spend a little money on a little "more" pad and make damn sure he always gets quality rotors.
As for the lines, you may or may not need them depending on the last time your brake fluid was flushed, what it was replaced with, and who actually did the work. Have obviously not done brakes on the Wife's 2014 yet, but if they are half as easy to flush as my FJC, I'm going to be real happy!
The Toyota pads seem to be great for what we need them for and I easily recommend them. Measure the thickness of your rotors to make sure they are still well with in spec and march on. for the gentleman who spends more time in the mountains WITH a boat behind him (hope it has brakes too), he might need to spend a little money on a little "more" pad and make damn sure he always gets quality rotors.
As for the lines, you may or may not need them depending on the last time your brake fluid was flushed, what it was replaced with, and who actually did the work. Have obviously not done brakes on the Wife's 2014 yet, but if they are half as easy to flush as my FJC, I'm going to be real happy!
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badhabits
New member
People tend to forget this, this is probably the most important system on the vehicle, why would any one cut corners on the brakes.
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