Topic: rear drum brakes w/ 35" tires?

[Espi]

 
Are rear drums & front discs sufficient for stopping a 89 4 runner with 35" tires??

Any input appreciated,

Espi

[BigMike]

The concern would be the front brakes since they do the most work, and I would say that - Yes - the stock front disk brakes are sufficient - they have decent stopping power - BUT - since the 4Runner is a heavy truck and with larger tires, the brake pads will run hotter then an upgraded set would, will wear faster then an upgrades set would, the rotors will get hotter then an upgraded set would, and they can warp sooner the normal.

So my opinion is that yes, they are OK but it doesnt take much to get some fade going and the pads are always working like 80% just to slow ya down for a red light on a flat road.

Their are some options such as higher temp brake pads and drilled rotors (which both I highly recommend). I would love to tell ya that you can upgrade to the Landcruiser rotors but actually since your truck is already an IFS its got the larger calipers and vented rotors on board. So your brakes are much better than any thing that was available on the solid axle setups (which were single disk/non-vented). I am not sure about V6 brakes if they are stronger or not, but I think you can use a bigger master cylinder but then your pedal pressure will be greater unless you can find a larger booster (I dont think one exists).

Your brakes are good but you know OEM tires were max. 33" so ........ Marlin's Tundra's brakes ALWAYS warp and go bad. Toyota didnt get the brakes right with that truck. They've since made larger brakes now-a-days for the new models, but in my opinion Toyota could have placed bigger brakes on their trucks.

BigMike

[gferris5]

Hey,
I think there's also a thread from a long time ago where a guy talked about all his brake mods, all the way from playing with the rear prop valve and redrilling his brake pedal to get more leverage on the booster, his claim was that he could lock up 36's. Impressive. i have 35's and stock brakes. They're okay at best. Just pretend that you're driving a cement truck. That's what I do, no more 2 second following distance, more like 5 seconds. I once rear ended a person (different truck and stuff) but that ended my days of following or getting close really quickly. Upgrade and drive accordingly...

[WHITE_TRASH]

Actually it was 38"s and yes they will still just about lockup!  They used to lock up easily but with the new suspension I have weight transfer like a mother!  The front will get just to the point of wanting to lock up but by then Im stopped.  Great mod it has worked very well for me so far.  If ya have any questions feel free to ask.
WT

[BigMike]

I think this is the original post.

WT, how long do your pads last? 4,000 miles?

[WHITE_TRASH]

Actually the pad wear isnt all that bad.  I just did a complete brake job new wheel bearings and all about a month ago.  The pads still had about 1/3rd left on them. 
WT

[BigMike]

Wait, so in one month they have worn 2/3 ?!

[WHITE_TRASH]

No no no the pads had about 1/3rd left that I replaced.  As in they had worn about 2/3rd's of the material away.  This time I used a different type of pad it stops damned good now but I take it easy on the pedal to save on rotor life.  Im not sure exactly what gives me such good brakes but whatever it is Im tryung not to change it!  I have 38x12.5" tsl's on it now it still stops awesome now it has more contact patch than with the old sx's
WT 

[Espi [OP]]

Thanks for the advice on the rear drum brakes.

 

Espi

[gferris5]

Ah,
I should have known it was you W/T, who else woudl hammer their brake lines?
That's a good thread by the way, we'll have to keep it around.

[WHITE_TRASH]

Im gonna do the exact same thing to the lil truck soon
WT

[Thumper]

Your brakes should be fine my buddy had an 87 4runner with 35 procomps then went too 35 thornbirds and the brakes where great on it and they were alll stock.
and he dident have anyprobs with pads or rotors wearing down very quick, pads lasted about a year or so and he drove it 150 miles a day too school then work, so you should be fine with stock brakes.
As for the rear brakes i would bypass ur load senceing valve and it will use ur rear brakes more and stop 10 times better, and put a proportioning valve on the rear line that way you can adjust how much of the stoping you want them too do.
Just my .02 cents
adam