Brake Upgrade (1 Viewer)

[squeezer]

Hello Mudders,

The steering wheel pulse under brakeing says its time to do brakes on Attila (my 06 Hundy).
I have done a bit of research on the net and of course on this forum and can't come up with a clear direction.

Options on the table are:

The Brembo upgrade. 405mm rotors, 6 Pot calipers, lines, brackets, pads. $4123 price point.

The Stillen upgrade. 342mm rotors, 6 pot calipers, lines, brackets, pads. $3300 bucks.

The Stoptech upgrade. 355mm rotors, 4 pot calipers, lines, brackets, pads. $2500 bucks

The DBA replacement. Pads and rotors. $417

The Powerstop replacement. Pads and rotors. $340

First are there any other options I should be considering?

Next does anybody know if the big Brembos fit under the OEM 18" wheels? A no would rule them out. Further does anybody on the board have that setup? Its pretty high dollar but I am willing to spend the money if they are head and shoulders above the other offerings. (OK to answer the obvious question on what the truck is used for. Its my daily driver/commuter, pulls a 4000# boat around all summer including trips through mountain passes. The daily commute is 10 miles of twisty mountain back roads) A hundred series isn't a sports car but really goods brakes are at the top of my list for things I like about sports cars...

The Stillen looks to be priced out of the market when compared to the Stoptech. Does anybody have this setup?

Stoptech, on paper they are my current performance per dollar candidate. Specs only tell part of the story however so again can anybody who runs the 100 series system provide some feedback.

The replacement systems all seem to be pretty similar. I would lean towards the Powerstop stuff simply because I can source them through Slee...

Mostly I am looking for some real feedback on the "Upgrade" systems from people who have them on a 100 series.

Thanks in advance.

Chris

 

[overhanger]

While I can't help from personal experience on 100s here is a link to some that can: StopTech : Balanced Brake Upgrades In their technical section, you may want to read about the brake pulse myth, as they call it.

 

[1loudLX]

I have Slee Front rotors with OEM pads and all OEM rear.

The stoptech bbk install instructions SHOW A 18" WHEEL in the pictures...so yes it does fit with the OEM wheels.

 

[DesertRun]

I am also interested in what you find out about real world improvement. I am ready for breaks and considering the same upgrade include new brake lines. I have 16" wheels so that limits some of my options. I will keep an eye on this thread.

 

[bkgee]

Applied Rotor Technology, ART, is another option for slotted and cryo'd rotors. They are made to order, so don't expect immediate turn-around.

 

[BBQ BOY]

$4123???!!!!!!!
That's $4,123 dollars? Is that in yen?

 

[SmoothLC]

$4123???!!!!!!!
That's $4,123 dollars? Is that in yen?

Probably yuan the way the Fed keeps printing money, but that's for another forum...

Anyway, purchased a pair of DBAs for the front last year and have been very happy with them (OEM pads).

Pulled around some light trailers (less than 4K) a bunch since then and they work great as expected. Good stopping power, no fade, etc., like new.

Looking to get the rears replaced soon - staying with DBAs.

 

[spressomon]

I've got right at 100k miles on my ART rotors (4) on my '99; 110% pleased. Combine them with Porterfield carbon-kevlar pads and you'll significantly increase your peak stopping power while keeping stock diameter rotors and OEM calipers.

However I would expect the Stoptechs to provide similar peak braking power with better overall modulation. Please order, install and report back on these will ya? Come on: You know you want to be the first!

 

[petrotk40]

How much are ART rotors?

 

[spressomon]

How much are ART rotors?

I don't know how much they are today but when I installed mine in '06 IIRC the whole package (ART roters and carbon-kevlar pads) was right at a grand for 4-wheels worth.

 

[pman]

Do you have a link to the Brembo kit? i never knew they made anything for the 100

EDIT:

Did a google search, the only brembo kit i found is for the 200 series and requires 19" wheels minimum......interestingly enough its about the only BBK i have seen that has a setup for the front and the rear......each set is still $4000+ though.....so $8000 total

 

[OregonLC]

Maybe I'm just a light brake user (rarely tow, and never anything heavy) but I have nothing but good things to say about the OEM brakes. Rock hard pedal, never any fade, no pulsations. Seems like a well designed system and very adequate considering the weight of the rig...

 

[DesertRun]

I have been satisfied with my OEM brakes but running 8,000lbs I worry that in an emergency I might have a problem. I just wonder if the aftermarket would be a better replacement when I change out rotors and pads. I am torn on this one.

 

[jonharis]

I installed Slee's rotors along with Axis ULT brake pads from Zeckhausen (Highly recommend them, both the company and the pads). They work awesome for me. Much better stopping and less fade than stock, and waaaay cheaper than big brake kits. No offense but I'm starting to wonder if you are spending money for the sake of spending money. A setup like above works fine for almost every situation. If I was driving my hundy around the Nurburgring I may think otherwise but that's not the point. I can go from 80 to 0 in a heartbeat going down Vail pass and it always works out fine. Good luck with what ever way you go.

 

[tsarte]

While I can't help from personal experience on 100s here is a link to some that can: StopTech : Balanced Brake Upgrades In their technical section, you may want to read about the brake pulse myth, as they call it.

I suggest to save your money. I agree with what Stoptech says 100%. That pulsation you feel on the steering are not warped rotors but just uneven pad material deposited on your rotors. This has got to do with both your driving style and the route you normally drive. You can actually remove this uneven pad deposits by turning the rotors (which I do not recommend) or install aggressive race pads for a few days or a week.

Also keep in mind that its the tires that ultimately stops your car when you apply the brakes. This could be bit difficult to explain and/or understand but for example installing aggressive race pads on a car with street tires actually increase stopping distance on the street and the race track.

On the street, race pads do not typically reach the optimal heat range that it requires to provide the high friction coefficient it was designed for and the driver will have to actually step on the brakes much harder to allow the pads to heat up and stop the vehicle. Thus all this time increases the stopping distance.

On the track, race pads on street tires can reach its optimum heat range but actually lock up the tires too soon causing abs to engage prematurely. Let me exaggerate a bit to say that threshold braking on race pads/street tire combo happens at about 20% of full pedal pressure versus race pads/race tires combo will increase threshold braking to about 85% of full pedal pressure. The race tires are able to handle the heat/friction power of race pads without locking up the brakes.

So imho upgrading the landcruiser to big brake kits (rotors, calipers and pads) is a big, big waste of money and will not really improve and could be detrimental to its braking distance.

You can certainly get more aggressive pads but stay away from the lure of having race pads for daily driving.

Sorry for the long email - just trying to help and contribute to this great forum, on a subject that i have some experience in.

cheers

 

[spressomon]

Toyota increased the rotor diameter and caliper size on the 200 and Tundra for some reason .

Stock rotors with stock pads with 35" tires and 8,000lbs of rolling weight did little for me out here in the land of big mountain passes; flatlanders need not apply . The ART's are able to process more heat and the carbon-kevlar pads are able to generate more stopping power for such an easy bolt-on mod. But I'd still like to have the Tundra/200 rotors and calipers (or equivalent) for even better modulation with that level of stopping power.

 

[squeezer]

Nobody with Big Brakes...???

So tons of good discussion and opinions being floated out here but seriously nobody has the Stoptech upgrade (or any other). Anybody with actual experience??? Anybody????

Moving on from that lets put the dollar discussion on the table... Yes the full blown big brake kits look expensive but lets break it down (excuse the pun...). A decent quality brake job on the front costs $350 or so bucks plus the labor and/or your own time. Throw in some braided lines for 100 bucks and call it $450 for hard parts and $4-6 hundred for labor. Yea some people can do it for cheaper than that myself included, but keep reading. I fully buy into the cementite theroy on why rotors feel warped and have never had any luck turning rotors... In 90K miles of 80 series ownership I "warped" and replaced rotors 3 times (And yes I did the full bed in procedure each time) . I will take 100% responsibility that it is driving style and road condition related. I have owned the hundy for almost a year (12K miles) and have developed the standard wheel shimmy. If experience holds true I will probably have to replace rotors every 30K... An upgraded rotor and caliper system should reduce (maybe eliminate) the new rotors every other year drill I have become accustomed to. If the upgrade gives me twice the brake (rotor) life the real cost is a wash in 4 years. Add in the spousal derived value of not having a brake pulse develop in the middle of a vacation through the Rockies and the out pf pocket costs don't worry me all that much. (How many of us drop $2K on a bumper and winch that gets used once a year just for fun?) If a big brake kit actually does what the manufacturers claim thats a fantastic performance value. But there is the rub, we read claims but nobody can come up with actual test data for our trucks.

The higher end replacement stuff (DBA, Powerstop, etc) is a no brainer of course. This thread is to help me decide if I want to be a guinea pig for Stoptech.

Cheers

Chris

 

[mechanixhorseman]

I'm using these cryogenically treated slotted rotors combined with the heavy SUV Hawk brake pads and they have performed flawlessly. Expensive, but cheaper then a BBK, which in my opinion is highly unnecessary. If you're worried about brake fade, you will need to upgrade your fluid and lines long before a BBK like brembo's is going to offer you any improvement. Just my two cents though. Link below.


Right Frozen Rotor Slotted 1508 FZR SR

 

[mechanixhorseman]

Just a couple other things to add to the discussion after reading it:

-That pulse IS a warped rotor, which I can personally attest to after resurfacing my OEM rotors and having it disappear for a while, although not a very permanent fix.

-My OEM rotors lasted 140k with one resurface at around 110k. If you are considering an option that is going to require you to change your rotors more often than you change your tires you may want to look elsewhere. Good rotors, especially cryo treated rotors, will last a very long time.

-Do you really want to put an $8000 brake system on a $14,000(ish) vehicle? It is not a track car or even a very fast street car, and while a good brake system is important to such a heavy vehicle, you are not likely every going to need such an aggressive system for just about anything you will probably do with it.

I don't mean to discourage you from buying what you want, just hoping to give you some perspective. Thing of all the other parts you could get with that kind of cash.

 

[tsarte]

Toyota increased the rotor diameter and caliper size on the 200 and Tundra for some reason

But I'd still like to have the Tundra/200 rotors and calipers (or equivalent) for even better modulation with that level of stopping power.

Yes its a fact that larger rotors = more metal = can take more heat. Toyota gave the 200 and Tundra larger rotors and calipers but of course matching master cylinder.

If there is a big difference between the 100 and 200 master cylinders the brake feel/effort and pedal travel could be very poor. I have not really experienced the BBK vs master cyclinder issue and have only read about it.