Les Schwab brakes suck. Now what?

Long story short-
Gen 2 taco. Toyota brakes weren't terrible, but Les Schwab has toiled over both front & rear brakes & they still suck. I think its the quality of parts. Both front/rear have lots of life left, but the braking power leaves a lot to be desired. Do I eventually switch to OEM, get a second look at them or upgrade? Just dropped about $7k on it so Ide rarher not get too carried away.

 

Just go back to OEM Brake pads and shoes. They work very well IMO.

 

stock brake sizing: StopTech cryo slotted rotors w/ TRD Ceramic pads or that one race pad company, I forget the name

or going bigger like Tundra MC + 4runner calipers + whatever else

some people let the brakes slowly bed themselves in first and then perform an actual bed in procedure to help. As well as knowing fluid is good/bled and possibly upgrading to SS lines.
But if the pads and rotors are low quality then they're low quality and nothing else is gonna make up for it.

They make money on parts and labor. If they charged you $200 for parts, they bought them for $100.
If they charged $300 out the door, they are going to lower the price of parts as much as they can, to keep the profit. Regardless of what bottom of the barrel shit they might give you.
Les Schwab is not a specialist, dealership, or DIY'er who knows what they're doing. That DIY'er could be you, your friend, potentially anyone.

they're not gonna charge you $300, spend $290 on high quality parts, and pay themselves $10 for hours of labor to do the job.
Having done brakes many times and knowing the prices of them, I always marveled at how a friend's uncle would do his brakes for $60. Unless he paid for it. Because that's literally less than what parts cost.
I understand shops get better pricing through WorldPac and IMC. I have used these programs before. But still. It only saves so much and high quality comes with a price.

I don't know what they used. 2g Taco has a reputation for stock brakes warping under any significant (or even regular) use.
I'm not using Centric High Carbon Premium rotors, which they advertise as being G3500 or G4000 metallurgy.
But if someone told me they were using Centric C-Tek Standard regular rotors on a Tacoma (lower metallurgy, not high carbon) it would sound like a mistake, even though it technically "fits"

Some shops also use a lathe. The rotor may be within minimum spec. Less metal grinded off = less heatsink dissipation.
I put my old stock rotors on a lathe to fix the warp with a fresh surface. It came back in a week.
Current Stoptechs haven't done it. Even after wheeling and mountain towing.

 

Local Toyota dealership actually went through my front brakes, new calipers, rotors etc with OEM parts for $500, didnt seem to bad, Les Schwab is crazy, they wanted something like $600 more than Discount Tire for a set of 4 Nitto Exo Grappler tires

 

Air in system, maybe

 

They did the front & rear at seperate times. Both times, I had to go back several times to get it adjusted. They said something along the lines of Taco's are tricky to adjust with rotors in front & drums in the rear. They bled the lines.

 

There are 2 different OEM pads available for the 2nd gen (or at least there were 5 or so years ago when I replaced mine). The pricier ones seem to be what comes stock -- the cheaper ones seem to be available to compete with other aftermarket options. I went for the pricier ones, so no experience with the cheaper ones. My TRD OR would stop on a dime if I stepped hard on the brakes.

 

LMAO

 

My Tacoma was by far the easiest brake job I've done in a long time. Especially if you have a TRD OR since the booster makes bleeding the brakes very simple w no pumping the pedal needed. Drums are a little more complicated but even still, super simple compared to other vehicles.

If you end up swapping the front pads out, go with a set of the original OEM Toyota ADVICS pads or grab a set of Akebonos. Did you swap out the rotors too?

 

Surely that wasn't the brakes alone? You at least got an oil change too, right?

They'd say your open septic tank smells good too.

When a tech at a big box store blames the uniqueness of a vehicle, 98.74% of the time it means the tech is the problem.

 

Surprised no one posted this thread yet: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/brake-upgrade-stoptech-rotors-trd-performance-pads.523829/

Short of an expensive and more complicated upgrade in the size of the brakes the above is probably the best you're gonna get with the stock brake system. My truck was terrible when I bought it. I honestly didn't understand how there was so much love for these trucks when the brakes are GARBAGE. Did the upgrade outlined in the thread above and it was a massive improvement. I'd say they're on par with a regular, modern vehicle now. Nothing special, but perfectly suitable - this should have been how the truck came from the factory.

 

Jeez... and here I am frustrated with how strong and grabby my brakes on my TRD OR are.

I've had extremely good luck with Wagner thermoquiet ceramics. They are like $30 on Amazon.

 

What year is your truck? They may need to use the tool to cycle the ABS module.

 

Went with StopTech Big Brake Kit. Will do the master cylinder some time next year.

 

Maybe I'm just used to sports cars and have high standards? Although, the '99 F150 I had prior to my Tacoma had way better brakes than my Tacoma. But it also wasn't lifted with larger/heavier tires.

 

Its a 2006

 

I agree - my TRD OR brakes are nearly as grabby as my M3 & my FIL's Carerra.

Maybe it's a Sport thing. The TRD OR's do use a hydraulic brake booster to make A-TRAC possible whereas the Sports & other non OR trims use a simple vacuum system for the lower demand of a TRAC-only system. Several threads on here about the differences between the two

 

The $$ was on other non essential stuff. Cuz Im a dummy.

They had 3 or 4 techs working in it. I even called the manager & he joined in. Needless to say I was pretty annoyed.

 

I'd love for my TRD OR to have brakes like my WRX (calling it a sports car is mildly generous) My WRX has much more variable pedal then my truck. My truck chirps my 35s if I am quick on the pedal at all. It goes from squish to firm grab in about 2mm

 

Yes. The shysters did the rotors as well.