Drum to disc brake conversion?

I've seen a website or two offer brake kits for drum->disc conversions, but Idk that I've seen anyone do it. Especially with all the knowledge and experience in here I figured I would.....but since I haven't....it seems as if it isn't worth it. Is this correct?

 

Pickup trucks don't really need the power and precision from disc brakes. There's just no weight bake there to matter.

People do disc conversions on rock crawler rigs and such, but I'd look into the Tundra swap before you do anything in the rear. The Tundra front brakes are a bolt-on swap (rotors and calipers). Search for that, tons of people have done that. It's on my list.

 

Ya I'm in the process of deciding which route I want to take for the tundra upgrade. Just going through a couple sites and I've ran past the conversion kits. Was just curious.

 

I agree with jbrant. Do the big boy Tundra brake swap. You definitely won't be thinking about rear discs after you feel the epic awesomeness of the Tundra brakes. Feels just as good as my 345mm Audi brakes.

 

tacoma drum brakes are massive. larger than the drums that came on the rear of full size trucks of the time. they are more than sufficient. hell without a proportioning valve they would lock up my 35s with ease.

 

Agreed; upgrading the front Taco brakes to the Tundra brakes was a huge improvement. I also have an Audi S4 and can confirm that my Taco with Tundra brakes stops just as good as my S4.

 

I've done both the 231mm Tundra upgrade and rear discs.
Did the Tundra upgrade and they made a big difference.
When I did the rear discs, I also installed a Wilwood PV near the MC and discarded anything related to ABS and the LSPV.
It stops on a dime all the while retaining my original MC.

 

Nice setup!

That super fresh brake fluid reminds me that I need to do a flush when i feel a little more motivated.

 

It's a pickup truck. I can probably lock up the rear brakes with a decent set of mountain bike brakes.

 

Yup. Many are missing out by not upgrading to the 13WL calipers.

 

This ^^^^^ Otherwise why did Toyota provide anti-lock back there?

 

What's funny is I upgraded to the Macan calipers on my Audi and my Toyota truck brakes feels just as good. Haha. Even with two ATV's in the bed with a loaded cooler and chairs etc, it stops perfectly every time.

 

Notice any difference before/after the PV? Or did you do it all together?

 

I would only do that mod if you don't carry varying weights in the bed. That's the whole point of the LSPV is to vary the braking power based on the weight back there. More weight = ability to have more braking power applied.

With those manual valves, it's a guessing game each time you load a motorcycle, a bunch of rocks, or whatever else you put back there.

The only way to really know if the valve is set properly is to do a series of panic stops and adjust the valve until the rear tires don't skid and yo minimize your stopping distance. No way in hell I'm doing that with a load of rock in the bed, lol.

Or just run a LSPV...

 

^^
So when you actually upgrade your brake system, front or rear, you’ll know what we’re talking about.
The Wilwood PV unit is a set it and forget it mod.
Tacoma’s are not Ferrari’s.

 

Before I did the SAC, the Tundra upgrade was awesome. My Diamond solid axle accepted the same upgrade. All was well. I did feel a slight dive in the front after the conversion which did not accommodate the OEM ABS garbage connections.
Once I added the rear full float Diamond with discs, I had a bit of ABS stuff, which included the LSPV, that needed to be removed.
I removed all of that stuff, added the Wilwood unit, spent some time to dial it in and all is good.
It’s nice to not have the ABS unit punching back while off road and in a precarious spot… and I can stop.

 

I've upgraded the front and carry heavy loads, no issues.

 

i run the wilwood pv. tundra brakes along with the master/booster and the entire abs system deleted. brakes are way better now with 35s and weight added then stock brakes and itty bitty 235 tires. I set the pv with no load.

 

Adding disks to the rear is a waste of money and time. There's a guy on T4R.org that's selling his disk kit. When I asked him how much improvement the disks have over drum, he couldn't give me an answer because he hadn't done any type of comparison of the stock set-up and rear disk set-up. People who had done a rear disk conversion did chime in and said the difference is minimal at best. So, you spend a bunch of money and time doing a mod that pretty much does nothing for you other than you can brag to your friends you have rear disk brakes on your 1st Gen Tacoma or 3rd Gen 4runner.

I agree with the others that if you want stronger braking, do the TBU.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/P8zy-j4UBUo

I also suggest you buy the following for your TBU:https://www.lceperformance.com/Stainless-Brake-Line-Kit-Tacom-To-Tundra-Upgrade-p/1055114.htm

 

Oh, I thought it was an upgraded LSPV not a manual one.