200 Series - Replacing Front Brake Pads (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Jun 16, 2020
Threads
7
Messages
44
Location
Madison, Mississippi
So, I am replacing my front brake pads next weekend. Planning on using Toyota parts, unless there are other suggestions.

The question is, what else should I do or check while I have the wheels off? Cruiser has 116,000 miles. New to me but meticulously maintained in its past life.
 
Better experts than me here. But stock pads on my LX left me wanting. It was a toss up between TRD pads and Akebono Performance pads. I chose the latter and am happy with them.
 
I would throw a set of OEM rotors on there too. They are surprisingly affordable and you know you’ll be starting with full rotor mass/thickness and an ideal bed-in surface.
 
I would throw a set of OEM rotors on there too. They are surprisingly affordable and you know you’ll be starting with full rotor mass/thickness and an ideal bed-in surface.
Sorry, but isn't that a waste of money? I reused my rotors for 7 times and they are still good, I even only resurfaced them once. Unless they are warped or thin I wouldn't change them. If they are not smooth I resurface them. It costs about $10 here to resurface a rotor. (This is what I do, not what you should do)
 
Sorry, but isn't that a waste of money? I reused my rotors for 7 times and they are still good, I even only resurfaced them once. Unless they are warped or thin I wouldn't change them. If they are not smooth I resurface them. It costs about $10 here to resurface a rotor. (This is what I do, not what you should do)
Having fresh rotors without any corrosion and full mass means they will simply work better. Resurfacing rotors removes metal that acts as a heat sink on a vehicle that produces plenty of heat in the brakes, and I’d never do it because I need all the braking performance I can get between the size of my tires and the way I drive.
And again, they are cheap.

Also, brakes don’t “warp”, or at least not in a way that causes brake pulsation. That phenomenon is actually uneven pad deposits, and if you are interested in learning more about it I can dig up the white paper that stoptech did on it.
 
Having fresh rotors without any corrosion and full mass means they will simply work better. Resurfacing rotors removes metal that acts as a heat sink on a vehicle that produces plenty of heat in the brakes, and I’d never do it because I need all the braking performance I can get between the size of my tires and the way I drive.
And again, they are cheap.

Also, brakes don’t “warp”, or at least not in a way that causes brake pulsation. That phenomenon is actually uneven pad deposits, and if you are interested in learning more about it I can dig up the white paper that stoptech did on it.

While your 2nd part is right, the first part isn't.

A thicker rotor will actually retain heat and increase the chances of the latter in continuous braking. There are slotted and cross drilled rotors that can assist with dissipating heat, but it comes at a cost. Generally aftermarket cross drilled rotors on a street driven vehicle will crack and actually reduce e braking power. (The point of a cross drilled rotor isnt to increase braking ability in regular circumstances- pads work best at a certain temperature range - the cross drilled will struggle to get to the right temps plus their purpose is to reduce the potential for fade in constant hard braking - like racing).

By your description of a stock rotor having less thickness it will be able to shed heat better by having less solid mass to retain the heat.

The minimum thickness is the designed point where the brakes are still fullyfunctional, as designed.
 
Personally I’m not very worried about continuous braking because on a street driven vehicle I should be managing that with vehicle speed and gear selection. These are 6500-7000# refrigerators when loaded, not track cars. The vast majority of us are better served by having more brake mass to act as a heat sink from a sudden stop to zero where the rotor was relatively cool then gets hot and doesn’t have much subsequent airflow to convect that heat away.
The second part of my post being correct underlines this point. Quite a few people post here about warped rotors, and I’ve had to post that white paper over a half dozen times. My belief is those owners uneven pad deposits are caused by stopping from freeway speeds to zero and sitting with their foot on the brake in gear. Hot rotors, pad clamped in one position = lots of pad material in that spot. Now if we hypothetically tripled the rotor mass, outside of the unsprung weight issue adding momentum we’d have much cooler rotors when we finally came to a stop, and less pad transfer. Yes I know we wouldn’t want to actually triple our rotors but this was an example to make a point.

So yes, for a vehicle with our weight and typical use case, I believe factory rotor thickness helps braking performance and durability. Someone’s 911 turbo is a different story entirely.
 
So what is the best treatment for these pad deposits that cause the common pulsation? If the rotors don't need to be turned, what should be done to eliminate the pulsing?

Are certain non-OEM pads less prone to this issue?

Thanks
(feeling a slight pulsation and also LC200 OEM brakes are not particularly strong to begin with so interested in best choices for remedying)
 
I would throw a set of OEM rotors on there too. They are surprisingly affordable and you know you’ll be starting with full rotor mass/thickness and an ideal bed-in surface.
Hi I appreciate all of your input. I think I am going to start with new OEM rotors just so I know where I am starting from. Do you have a suggestion regarding the pads? It looks like you were concurring with Dan Lee suggestion.
 
While you have the wheels off and in the area, I would check the boots for the axles, tie rod ends, and ball joints to make sure none are ripped. Also just poke around, get a feel for how things look. Make sure you don’t see any drips or missing bolts. If you plan to rotate the tires yourself in the future, being familiar with the innards will help when you spot something off.
 
It seems like everyone here thinks rotors are cheap? is the almost negligible difference in performance really worth $500? I feel out of touch. It's a truck not a track car.
 
It seems like everyone here thinks rotors are cheap? is the almost negligible difference in performance really worth $500? I feel out of touch. It's a truck not a track car.
You need a new parts supplier :) Front OEM rotors can be had for less than $70 each, at least for the '08-'15 brakes.
 
Another view point is down time. Most of the time, it’s easier to swap rotors and be done in the same session. To resurface rotors, you need ride to the machine shop, have the time to get to them while they’re open, wait while they turn or worst case, drop off and pick up later. Turning can be cheap if you’re not in a rush.
 
OEM rotors IMO.

Most aftermarket stuff can be a hit or miss, unless they are first tier quality with prices to match. Most come from questionable foundries with lesser metallurgy and quality controls. Definitely don't get any slotted or cross drilled. That's for the fast and the furious set and offers no real benefits to braking. They do compromise durability and wear. This is coming from a prior track junkie.
 
I agree with Teckis. OEM has toyota standing behind the quality. And yes, if you are laying 250 each you are getting ripped off. I think I bought my fronts for 58 each two years ago from the discount website of a local dealer and picked them up in will call. At $500 the case for rotor machining starts to get much stronger.

As for pads, OE is acceptable and zero dust, but I was able to cook a set. I can dig up the thread if you’d like. I replaced with TRD pads and new OE rotors and have been very happy with them, though they are definitely wearing the rotor more quickly. Which isn’t a huge issue, as I replace rotors each pad change, for the reasons discussed above.
 
@bloc @Sandroad I never asked local dealer but this is the price online at megazip for 4 rotors(idk if they are overpriced)

order.png
 
That's pricey!!

Try this. I don't know if they are the cheapest on the internet but they've been really reliable and fast for my needs.

You can try your local dealer also to see if they will price match. Can save on shipping with will call pickup, even if they don't completely match.

 
OEM rotors IMO.

Most aftermarket stuff can be a hit or miss, unless they are first tier quality with prices to match. Most come from questionable foundries with lesser metallurgy and quality controls. Definitely don't get any slotted or cross drilled. That's for the fast and the furious set and offers no real benefits to braking. They do compromise durability and wear. This is coming from a prior track junkie.

Guess you've never driven the car hard enough where stock brakes at a track catch fire.... yup, been there. They're for increased ventilation during continual hard braking (example- driving into a preferred braking area and then using the brakes at their full capability... over and over) to reduce fade.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom