Educate me on Tacoma brakes

This afternoon I changed the brakes on my Taco for the first time and was dumbfounded by the design of the calipers as well as the brake lines. First off, I have never seen calipers that go from a rubber line, back to a hard line at the caliper. Why not run the flexible rubber line to the caliper? Doesnt a hard line create a "weak point" in the brake design if there is an impact? What is the benfit of having a hard line where a rubber line would suffice?

Secondly, why are the caliper pins so thin and only one one side of the pad? I get that the Tacoma is not a performance vehicle, but shouldnt the braking capabilities be the same? By having the pins on one side, vs in-line with the center of the pad/caliper pots, wouldnt there be uneven pressure? If the pins got gunked up, the pad could move off axis. Also why dont the pads clip into the pots?

Sorry for all the questions, but I am not used to seeing this kind of brake design. I have never changed the brakes on an Asian vehicle before, only european cars such as BMWs, Volvos, and Mercedes, which may be why this design is new to me. None of it makes mechanical sense to me so educate me on why!

 

I don't know why your complaining. The Tacoma has some of the simplest brakes on the planet. All you need is a pair of pliers, a 17mm wrench and 2 screwdrivers. Eurotrash brakes are way more complicated with electronic rear calipers and all the little clips and pins in the front and torx bolts. And not to mention they can't even design a lug nut right for heavens sake. As for the lines. Hard lines are way stronger. What do you think comes out of the master and runs the whole length of the car. The rubber lines are there to flex with the vehicles suspension and for removal purposes. The line is fixed in place from the bracket on the knuckle to the caliper. If you bend that line in a crash I think the line is the least of your problems considering your steering knuckle is probably sheered in half.

 

The Tacoma has the same 4 piston caliper type setup as most sports cars with brembo brake options. They have been using the same calipers on most of their trucks since the mid 90s. As for the eurotrash. You need 1000 dollars in brake tools just to change the pads and rotors. Not to mention if you have to bleed the master and abs module you better have a good scanner with eurodata.

 

If your whole braking system was plumbled with rubber lines, you'd have really squishy brakes.

 

This OP made me laugh.

 

In my opinion, simple =/= good performance. Yes you could argue that its a truck and if I wanted performance, I should swap in a BBK. I was just curious as to why they were designed that way. Sure, I understand what you are saying for the hardline, Im just used to rubber lines, and not having to replace a hard line every other time I change the brakes. As for how easy it is to change the brakes, I honestly prefer European brakes, but thats just my opinion.

Not trying to call you out but do you have any examples? All of the brembo, stop tech, willwood, etc calipers I have worked on use the same brake technology as my BMW. Pads that clip into the pots, rubber lines directly to the caliper and thick caliper pins that allow the entire caliper to move perpendicularly around the rotor.

Sorry for the confusion, I know that an entire rubber plumbed system would be squishy. I was referring to just the one foot section that attaches directly to the caliper.

Glad you had a laugh!

 

The Tacoma has a 4 piston caliper. Did you not see this?

 

Sorry, didnt mean the number of pistons, I meant the design with two 3/16 pad guides on the top of the pads. I have no issues with the number of pistons. Just the design where the pad is free floating and only traveling on two guide pins.

 

Not sure if serious.

Cause you know, let's compare BMW and aftermarket performance brakes with... oem midsize pickup brakes.

 

Toyota has been using this type for over 30 years and they work well unless the pins get rusty

don't like it? then get some thing you think is better and post your solution




oh a BMW driver, that explains the thread just perfectly now

sell your taco and go buy another BMW, this isn't the ride you were looking for and you will never be happy with it

 

Clean the damn pins off with a wire wheel and lube them with some high temp brake grease. It might be a skinny slide pin but you can run that pin over with a tank and it won't bend

 

Fair enough. I was looking at T4R brakes, but the calipers have the same pin design.

So a pickup that weighs the same as a BMW shouldnt be able to stop the same distance because oits a cheaper make/model? Dont get me wrong, I understand that its not apples to apples, I just dont understand why brake technology has not trickled down. I cant see european caliper designs being that much more expensive to manufacture, considering materials, the same number of pistons, etc.

 

Yes, thats what I did. They are actually bent a little so I will have to buy new pins. Thanks for the input though!

 

You have obviously never bought brake parts before. I can buy a set of rotors and pads for my truck for about 1/2 of what a set of slotted rotors costs for a eurotrash car. Not to mention if your not doing it yourself eurotrash has a higher labor rate than its Japanese rivals.

 

Do you think a HiPoint will outshoot a Les Baer Customs 1911? (Do you know the difference?)

One is designed for large scale production and balancing stop efficiency versus noise, brake wear, etc.

The other (BMW, aftermarket) is designed for hard braking in corners, heat dissipation, in exchange for faster wear. It's designed for a vehicle likely driven at higher speeds, etc.

Trying to argue they should both be the same is plain stupid.

EDIT: I'll say this. When it comes to brakes I'm a total layman. But I can expertly say that you are wasting your time in this thread whining about how unfair life is that you can't have the exact same brake setup on every car you drive.

As someone else said - if you don't like it, put something else on it. There's zero point in arguing about whether a BMW and a Tacoma should have the exact same brake setup on them.

 

I call bs. And you must have bought some cheap pads. The napa adaptive one sets come with new slide pins and hardware

 

Have bought and changed brakes on Volvos, Mercedes and BMWs. I wasnt outright debating cost, but I understand where youre coming from.

 

Let's play nice in here.

Tacoma brakes are fantastic. I got 290,000kms on my OEM brake pads. I JUST did them. Other than having to use a punch and a hammer to get the pins out, no issue. And that was just from the rust. As started, I used a wire wheel on a grinder and slathered them in anti seize when I put them back. Golden.

 

Yes I understand your reference.

I also understand trying to balance all aspects of braking. However, its not like other brands are not mass produced. I was never trying to argue it, I was simply asking why. And I guess I have gotten my answer; because its cheaper.

Google my username if you need proof of my other build threads where I have swapped breaks. Negative. Swapped out the OEM pads yesterday for hawk pads. I can pull the pins to show you when I swap wheel hubs.

 

I like antiseize a lot but for brakes I use high temp synthetic brake grease. Only draw back is the stuff is expensive. Antiseize tends to clump up in slide pins if left baking too long. It has its drawbacks here on the gulf coast.