With my truck pushing close to the 6,000 lb mark after all my mods and 35" tires, I'm looking to upgrade the pads and rotors. The wife scared herself while driving it the other day. She didn't think she was going to stop in time! :eek: Currently I'm running cross drilled and slotted rotors from Wheelers Off Road along with some of their mid-grade pads. However, I feel that the braking can be improved further without going to a "big brake" kit. At the moment, my first choice is EBC Brakes (http://EBCBrakes.com). I'm looking at either their Red Stuff or Yellow Stuff pads in combination with either their USR slotted rotors or the 3GD slotted sport rotors. Does anyone here have experience with these products? Should I be looking at another brand?

Since my Tundra is no longer my daily driver, I'm less concerned about longevity and more concerned with improved braking. Since I also tow a 5,600 lb 26' travel trailer (with electric brakes), I want the truck brakes to work their very best for the safety of my family and those that share the road with me.

With my truck pushing close to the 6,000 lb mark after all my mods and 35" tires, I'm looking to upgrade the pads and rotors. The wife scared herself while driving it the other day. She didn't think she was going to stop in time! :eek: Currently I'm running cross drilled and slotted rotors from Wheelers Off Road along with some of their mid-grade pads. However, I feel that the braking can be improved further without going to a "big brake" kit. At the moment, my first choice is EBC Brakes (http://EBCBrakes.com). I'm looking at either their Red Stuff or Yellow Stuff pads in combination with either their USR slotted rotors or the 3GD slotted sport rotors. Does anyone here have experience with these products? Should I be looking at another brand?

Since my Tundra is no longer my daily driver, I'm less concerned about longevity and more concerned with improved braking. Since I also tow a 5,600 lb 26' travel trailer (with electric brakes), I want the truck brakes to work their very best for the safety of my family and those that share the road with me.

Herb,

I've had some experience with EBC reds for a different vehicle and was not impressed with them. Switched over to axxis ultimates and it was night and day.

For the Tundra I've been thinking of going with Hawk LT or HPS pads. I'll do so one of these days when i get around to updating to the 03+ calipers.

Tirerack stocks both the LT and HPS pads. No tax and will be at your door in 1-2days.
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/hawk/index.jsp


For rotors I've always been partial to oem style rotors since they're cheap and just replace them each time with new pads.

Thanks Dennis, I'll take a look at those too. Anyone else willing to toss in their .02?

When I switched to Hawk LTS last month I was amazed at the stopping power compared to the EBC Greenstuff I used previously. I think EBC prides themselves on the lack of brake dust, but if your vehicle doesn't stop as well as it could it sucks!!!

I got some cryo'd Power-Slot (just the slotted ones for more bite) rotors with the Carbon Kevlar pads from the wheelers site. Step down on the brakes hard enough... you and everything else not strapped down will feel like its going to get thrown through the front windshield. And things do fly around:D .... get dis-organized/lost more than I like this way. The truck stops better now than it did with stock tires and stock rotors/ceramic pads.

Tires now are the 33x12.5 BFG mudders and 38 lb's a piece steel wheels. Best overall setup now without upgrading to the big brake package(s) out there.

After my wife drove the truck again this past Friday, she said go ahead and order some new pads and rotors, so I did! :D After a whole bunch of reading and research, I decided on EBC brake pads and rotors. More specifically, the Yellowstuff pads and the Ultimax slotted rotors. Free shipping plus a $25 discount valid for today only. That covered the sales tax here in CA. :rolleyes:

Looking forward to giving these a try. :tu:

let us know how it turns out. I'm in the market for some replacements for my '02.

Will do. My Toyota mechanic buddy is currently rather busy with recall stuff, so we are looking to do the replacement next month. I have all the parts, now it's just the time.

I be interested in how you find the EBC combo, too. I'll be needing to do the brakes sometime in the not-too-distant future and have been studying the internet for parts; EBC keeps popping back up in my mind - SSBC or Wilwood doesn't make kits or parts for 1st Gen Tundys, so I think I'll get some later calipers and rebuild them, and gather the stuff I need.

One thing that I believe is that the reason so many folks have difficulty with aftermarket stuff, especially the things that are made in sets, or engineered together is that they pick one part from one guy, and a companion part from another guy; when the parts do not work as well as they would like, they blame the parts. I think you got the right idea in getting your rotors and pads from the same manufacturer, as they were engineered together, and the manufacturer has done the testing and development to provide the best and most efficient combination of parts; it would be to their extreme disadvantage not to do so.

I look forward to your report.

Ran into my friend last night at the local Lowes and looks like we'll do the brakes this coming Saturday the 6th. I need to re-read the instructions about 'bedding' in the brakes, but I think it will be a couple of hundred miles of regular use before they will be up to full stopping power. Once they are installed, I will post up about how they feel in day-to-day commuter type driving.

The new pads and rotors are on! Now I need to go through the bed in process. For the first 200 miles of 'urban' driving they say to brake nice and easy. After the first 200 miles, find a nice safe stretch of road and go up to 60 mph, then brake firmly down to 20 mph. Repeat 5 times. They should be fully bedded in around the 500 mile mark. Since I don't daily drive my Tundra anymore it will take me a little while to get there. So I think I will start driving it to work for a week or two and get 200 miles of 'urban' driving so I can at least do the five 60 mph - 20 mph braking passes. Once I get that under my belt I'll report back with my initial impressions.

New EBC Ultimax rotor and Yellow Stuff pads:
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1621.jpg

All buttoned up:
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/6/6/7/s_img_1623.jpg

Well I finally hit the 200 mile mark and did the bed-in process. I've driven her another 200 or so miles since then and the butt-o-meter tells me she stops better. The wife-o-meter tells me the same thing. :D There is more brake dust on the front rims, but that was totally expected. Unfortuantely I don't have 60mph-0 stopping distances from before and after, but I am happy with the upgrade. :tu:

So how much did all this cost, if you don't mind? I'm needing to replace my rotors and pads soon. I'm deciding to either go with dealer rotors or if I should go aftermarket. I'm comparing prices, and I want to go as cheap as possible but as expensive as necessary.

I installed my ebc slotted sport rotors today along with the ebc 4000 yellowstuff kevlar pads. I drove a little while with the ebc's and performance friction carbon metallic pads and they definately bit harder than with the stock rotor. Tonight when ups dropped off my ebc pads I installed them but haven't been able to drive it yet. I expect them to bite even harder than the new pf pads I replaced.

So how much did all this cost, if you don't mind? I'm needing to replace my rotors and pads soon. I'm deciding to either go with dealer rotors or if I should go aftermarket. I'm comparing prices, and I want to go as cheap as possible but as expensive as necessary.

Sorry for the delay in responding, I was out of town for a few days. I believe I bought them from AutoAnything.com. Currently the Ultimax rotors go for $198.67 a pair (free shipping) and for the Yellow Stuff pads - $128.04 a pair, also free shipping. The "free shipping" is a big savings as the parts are heavy.