Best Aftermarket Brake Pads

[basmith]

Greetings Everyone,
I haven't posted on here in at least a year (been busy with new baby). I have 40,000 on my 2002 access cab tundra and the brakes have been squeaking for the past 10,000 miles. I have had them checked out and the brake place said the pads and everything were fine. I've cleaned them and still squeak. My buddy is going to put some new pads on for me in a few weeks as he is good at these kinds of things. What is the best pads out there? I am going to be buying a trailer soon to pull two quads so I want something that will be reliable and will not squeak. Thanks in advance for your help...

Barry

[RitcheyRch]

My opinion is to use factory pads.

Greetings Everyone,
I haven't posted on here in at least a year (been busy with new baby). I have 40,000 on my 2002 access cab tundra and the brakes have been squeaking for the past 10,000 miles. I have had them checked out and the brake place said the pads and everything were fine. I've cleaned them and still squeak. My buddy is going to put some new pads on for me in a few weeks as he is good at these kinds of things. What is the best pads out there? I am going to be buying a trailer soon to pull two quads so I want something that will be reliable and will not squeak. Thanks in advance for your help...

Barry

[dgg2002]

My opinion is to use factory pads.

I agree. I actually got the same advise from the mechanic who does the work on all of our family vehicles.

[Jack Burton]

Greetings Everyone,
I haven't posted on here in at least a year (been busy with new baby). I have 40,000 on my 2002 access cab tundra and the brakes have been squeaking for the past 10,000 miles. I have had them checked out and the brake place said the pads and everything were fine. I've cleaned them and still squeak. My buddy is going to put some new pads on for me in a few weeks as he is good at these kinds of things. What is the best pads out there? I am going to be buying a trailer soon to pull two quads so I want something that will be reliable and will not squeak. Thanks in advance for your help...

Barry

Hey Barry,

First off, have you had the front brake TSB done..?? If so, you have a bigger pad size (D976) than the stock '02 pads (D812). Make sure you tell the parts store which size you have when ordering the pads......

How fast do you want to stop..??

Semi-metallic pads will have the best stopping power but might give off some brake dust. HAWK HPS pads are one of the best out there for our trucks. Pep Boys have them.PERFORMANCE FRICTION pads are highly rated as well. Auto Zone has them.

Ceramic pads offer a slight improvement over stk stopping power and give off less dust and are pretty quiet. Be aware that ceramic pads, when used at high temps like when towing downhill, can transfer heat to the rotors which can cause premature failure of the rotors....... Not likely but it can happen.
Both Hawk and PF make these pads as well...........

I'd suggest changing out your brake fluid when you have the pads swapped.
Ate makes a great fluid that can go 2-3 years w/o changing it...... JB

[RitcheyRch]

Same here. It seems everytime I use any of the aftermarket pads I get noisey brakes and a lot of dust.

I agree. I actually got the same advise from the mechanic who does the work on all of our family vehicles.

[Jack Burton]

Same here. It seems everytime I use any of the aftermarket pads I get noisey brakes and a lot of dust.

Hey Rich,

Which aftermarket pads did you use..??

[basmith]

No I haven't had any brake work done. It sounds the best pads to stick to are Toyota. Thank you all for your help...

Hey Barry,

First off, have you had the front brake TSB done..?? If so, you have a bigger pad size (D976) than the stock '02 pads (D812). Make sure you tell the parts store which size you have when ordering the pads......

How fast do you want to stop..??

Semi-metallic pads will have the best stopping power but might give off some brake dust. HAWK HPS pads are one of the best out there for our trucks. Pep Boys have them.PERFORMANCE FRICTION pads are highly rated as well. Auto Zone has them.

Ceramic pads offer a slight improvement over stk stopping power and give off less dust and are pretty quiet. Be aware that ceramic pads, when used at high temps like when towing downhill, can transfer heat to the rotors which can cause premature failure of the rotors....... Not likely but it can happen.
Both Hawk and PF make these pads as well...........

I'd suggest changing out your brake fluid when you have the pads swapped.
Ate makes a great fluid that can go 2-3 years w/o changing it...... JB

[coal miner]

For best all around use the original Toyota pads are best. Coal miner in Jersey

[lelandstanford]

http://www.babcox.com/editorial/bf/bf30322.htm

[KLS]

I really like the Performance Friction pads I'm using, but your pads are probably OK.

Try sandpapering both sides of the rotors to remove any melted-on pad material. Apply anti-squeak goop to the back sides of the pads.

If your quads and trailer weigh over 1000# combined, get a trailer with brakes.


Ken

[dennis4djb]

The stock pad is (in my opinion) the best for people who want the same performance and do not want any surprises. After all, of all parts on a vehicle you probably want the least surprises from your brakes.

However, I have had great experience with "Carbon-Kevlar" pads from Porterfield brakes in Costa Mesa, CA.

http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/

In other vehicles (mild to wild) their own "Carbon-Kevlar" pads are wonderful! The only slight bad part is that "right out of the garage" they require slightly more pedal effort than stock pads. (You get this problem with almost every performance pad) However, once you drive down the block, they require less pedal effort than most pads on the market and stop faster than a sober prom date at that "special time of the month."

(NOTE: all brake calipers have a bit of "residual drag" that heats up your brakes and keeps them warm so that they work efficiently upon demand. This is why even people who drive only on highways with almost NO braking still have to replace pads at certain intervals)

Further, these pads are extremely "rotor friendly" and do not wear rotors anywhere near what stock pads do. Because of this, they also take a huge amount of abuse before any possibility of rotor warpage.

In my history of using them, they always have perfectly even wear across the rotor and usually do not require having the rotor "turned" when it's time to replace them (don't your hate when your rotors get their "groove on?") In fact, because Porterfield uses KEVLAR in these brakes (same as policemen's bullet-proof vests) you may even say they are bullet-proof.

Unless you are actually a professional off-road racer, I recommend the "R-4S" pads for street use. Especially if you are worried about the effects of "performance pads." Porterfield also sells many other performance brakes. Check them out!

D

[jsny]

A couple questions. Based on what I've read on this board, I went and purchased Toyota pads for my '02 Tundra. They were $110 for the front pads and shims! Are they worth that? Seems like double the price of most aftermarket pads.

Also, I have not had the calipers replaced via the TSB. Is this something the dealership will do without much question? I'm not currently experiencing any of the brake issues but it sounds like the change should be made anyways. Thanks in advance for the help.

[dennis4djb]

Update:

OK, I was in the area and decided to stop in to Porterfield Enterprises in Costa Mesa, CA and purchase their pads. I have loved them on past vehicles and decided to put them on my Tundra.

I only have 20k miles but because I tow (and after going through the "too late/you're screwed" rotor problems in the past) I decided to install these. At first I thought, "hey, pretty good pad." (I am no longer the young "Ricky-racer type) But when I towed, I thought, "Wow! Damn great pad!" I am very happy that I made the change. The stock pad’s fade was gone. The pedal effort was extremely low (compared to stock) and they modulated great!

By the way I had about 50% pad left at 20,000 miles probably because of towing.

Once again, with Porterfield Carbon-Kevlar R4-s pads...

http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/

...you get uniform, even wear, low rotor wear and usually when you replace them (much less often than stock or most after-market) you just install and haul! No- I DO NOT work for Porterfield but it would be great for others to buy them to keep this company in business since I hope to buy their pads and shoes forever!

Definitely recommended!!!


Another quick note for all of those with warped rotors or brake shudder and attempting to get Toyota to pick-up the bill through a TSB; When Toyota sees excessive wear, warped rotors, brake shudder, etc. they assume that you are “pushing the envelope” of normal driving habits. In other words, you are racing around! Again – this is the way the Toyota techs see it! You better come up with a damn good story as to why your brakes got in the condition that they did.

Hey, I was there once; when I was younger I always pushed my brakes to “see what they could do” or to “know what to expect when pushed to the limits.” You guys who are “rough” on your trucks are the ones who keep the industry going! Gotta love you guys who beat the sh** out of those new vehicles. You keep Toyota R&D on their toes!

[dennis4djb]

By the way - unlike other posts that I have seen, I get absolutely NO squeek or other adverse problems!

[UsE_To_RoCk]

I'm lovin' my Akebono Pro-Act Ceremic pads I got off Tirerack.
Paired with Brembo rotors they've been doin great!
I will however probably try out some EBC HD Pads and some slotted rotors.