Tacoma Brake Upgrade

[Bread]

It’s getting time for new front brakes for my 2011 Tacoma. My current rotors are really warped, likely due to heating up when braking the truck with a loaded FWC Fleet shell. I’ve been told that it’s unavoidable. Would an upgrade kit with higher quality parts be helpful?

Also, I’ve heard that installing stainless steel brake lines can help, as well as changing the rear drum brakes to disk. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[PJorgen]

I've learned a thing or two about brakes from sports car racing, so here are my thoughts:

Rotors rarely warp. Pedal pulsing is usually caused by uneven transfer of friction material from pad to rotor. In race cars we deal with this by repeatedly hard braking from 120mph down to about 30 to get the rotors really hot and scrub off the friction material. Probably not an option for you. You can try polishing the rotors with some emery cloth if the pulsing bothers you, but it doesn't really affect braking performance.

Are you having problems like brake fade? If this is the problem, changing your braking technique and/or adding additional cooling ducts to the system can help. Is your rig over GVWR? If so, you're asking for trouble and you should look to reduce weight or get a bigger truck.

Not sure what you mean by a brake upgrade. Bigger rotors and calipers can help, but that's a huge investment, $1000+. If it's time for new pads, look for a heavy duty truck pad like Hawk LTS. Get new rotors - OEM are fine - and do a complete brake fluid flush.

If by stainless steel lines you mean the flex lines with braided stainless covering, those can add abrasion resistance and some people say they give a firmer pedal feel, but they don't increase stopping power.

Swapping the rear drums for disks probably won't do anything unless your rear brakes are locking up. If you put disk brakes on the rear you'd probably have to change the proportioning valve as well so you don't screw up the brake bias.

Tires are an often overlooked component in the braking system. Make sure you have the right tires for your truck, properly inflated and not worn out.

 

[ntsqd]

There are forum threads out there that detail swapping Tundra front brake parts onto Tacoma's. Not sure of the process or upsides/downsides since I don't own one, just know that it can be done.

Cheep chinesium rotors have been known to actually warp. Used to be a myth. Not so much any more.

Uneven transfer layer can be removed or reduced by using a long bodywork sanding board with no finer than 80 grit paper. I use the self-adhering sanding strips. You can have them turned if they are still within thickness spec. I don't do that and I don't advise it, but sometimes it is the best solution. I don't advise it because you're loosing rotor mass in the process and mass is what makes them work.

 

[JHanson]

I second P Jorgen's remarks wholeheartedly. For more please look here. The aftermarket brake world is shockingly full of garbage products and garbage information.

 

[Taco around the world]

I'd check out Tacomaworld. these guys do alot of modding on their trucks. Here's one link: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2nd-gen-brake-upgrade-recommendations.485682/

My Tacoma with a fleet flatbed is at 7,000 lbs with a full tank of gas but otherwise empty. my only mod will be to change the OEM brke pads to the TRD version. My 2019 is rated to pull (and presumably stop) 6,500 lbs of trailer so i think the brakes are already stout enough. I would be sure to purchase OEM (or TRD) rotors as i read that there's quite a few chinese knockoffs selling for cheap out there

 

[knoxswift]

The only upgrade I did is switch to slotted/drilled rotors and ceramic pads.Make sure fluid is not old.
I felt an improvement over stock.
I believe that's all the TRD upgrade is as well unless you go to change calipers too. Which then you'll have rim issues and be changing those as well.

 

[CougarCouple]

Hello Taco around the world.
I believe you might want to look into towing laws in your state. In Nevada I believe that any trailer over 1500# requires trailer brakes. This makes a huge difference in the actual breaking your vehicle does. So I believe the manufacturer sizes brakes on vehicles to what your gvwr is.
Hope this helps.

Russ

 

[PJorgen]

The trailer is required to break? That doesn’t sound good. My vehicle does very little breaking, I try to keep it in good condition.

Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

 

[moveinon]

I have a 2011 Taco and upgraded the brakes about 25,000 miles ago. My truck also had warped rotors, meaning there was build up on them and breaking was not even or great, not that they actually warped. Taco OEM rotors are notorious for that as you can see from Taco forum and if you replace rotors I would highly recommend going with better quality. I upgraded to ARB slotted rotors and green pads, I do not like drilled rotors for a variety of reasons. It clearly brakes better than it did, but does not become miracle braking. Braided brake lines gives my truck more protection from rocks and branches and a slightly quicker brake response but does not improve overall braking. On a previous Taco I upgraded to bigger brakes using the Tundra upgrade. It was simple and cheep to do to use junk yard brake calipers, new pads, and new rotor. Only requires slight modification of the metal brake shield. That change made some more difference than the ARB upgrade. I am carrying somewhat less weight with my Fleet now than i was on the other truck and smaller tires so did not go that direction on this upgrade. Green pads do wear a bit faster than OEM pads but replacement with new ones is simple and ARB is both Baja and race proven. A good Tacoma big brake kit from other vendors costs around $1,700 on sale and tend to be made more for racing than street driving so is engineered different than most people would want on their pickup camper.

 

[Bread]

Wow, so much good info. My Tacoma with TRD package is slightly over Gross vehicle weight. I like the idea of putting Tundra brakes on it. I've had the original rotors for some time. Thanks!!