brakes

[JimKellyfan]

I looked at a lot of different brake set ups, from bigger brakes, to set ups from the higher priced guys and figured to take a chance and try the brakes and give them a hard run after brake in when I did not need them, to make sure they will be ok for when I do need them or not.
I went with Max Brakes out of Canada.
http://maxbrakes.com/c-1002950-brake...ries-kits.html
I ordered and received the Elite XDS, slotted and drilled with pads.
They are 88 bucks on their website right now, but I bought mine from Amazon for 102.
I will get them on in the next few weeks and update on how they are a few weeks after that.
Anyone else fell free to chime in on these or others they bought and are happy (or not) with.
I received them already and the rotors are heavy.
They look nice, hopefully they stop nice too.
One other upgrade I was going to do was to change all the brake fluid out to DOT4.
If I didn't go with this set up, I was going to get Centric rotors and Wagner Thermoquiet pads. Right now, at about 105K miles, I am on OE rotors and whatever off shoot aftermarket pads they have, look (and sound) like Advance auto metallic cheapies, so second set of pads it is on, but about to be third set. Drums still OE, with probably one more time adjusting coming up.

[invader166]

Interesting. I've never heard of this brand before. Looks promising. Definitly post back and let us know how it goes.

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

[ilikerice]

Bruh....

Don't waste your money on slotted/drilled rotors, I don't care how cheap they are. There is no benefit unless this is a show car, even then it's unsafe if its not on a trailer.

This man can explain it much better with facts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78wbht355R8

[JimKellyfan]

Interesting points on decreased surface area with drilled/slotted or both. I guess that was why they came with a one year warranty against cracking. Yeah, from what I saw performance wise, there wasn't much out there. I guess if one wants performance, buy a Lexus, right ? Some are just trying to generate a poor man's performance car. In any case, that video almost touched on, "they can be made strong enough", but didn't dive into a strong area needed to be dove into. The rotors made out there today, aftermarket, there is a lot of junk floating around. Different metals, less cooling vanes, the list goes forever, on how easy it is to buy junk rotors, whether they are slotted or n drilled or just vented. Also, storage, no one touches on that, lay them flat, as standing them on end tends to warp, pending metal type, I know would affect, but, good rule of thumb. In the end, I believe I have better heat dissipation with the Konig Feathers, so, my heat cycles should not be so bad, or one would think. Like I said, I am gonna try em out, and put them through emergency stop testing before an emergency arises, but after a mild break in period. I will report back. Basically, what I saw out there, say Brembo, wasn't impressed, then a couple other brands, just seemed overpriced or out of my range anyway. The rotors I got are heavy iron, so good choice of metals to counter the less surface area and heat dissipation. Too, they are from Canada, lots of snow, and corrosion, so I think these will do it.

[ern-diz]

Not a gear head in the slightest, so you'll have to forgive my ignorance, but I wonder why someone would want to upgrade the brakes on this car? It's so small and light that I find it brakes crazy good in daily driving. I've got 61k on the original brakes and they're still good to go. Given that we have very non performance drums in the rear, can you help me understand the benefits? Do you track the car?

[tmontague]

All I know is that if Jason and other racers on this forum said the stock brakes are more than good enough (except for upgrading pads) than that means they're good enough for me to not worry about upgrading and I'd rather spend the cash elsewhere on this car.

[ern-diz]

Originally Posted by tmontague

All I know is that if Jason and other racers on this forum said the stock brakes are more than good enough (except for upgrading pads) than that means they're good enough for me to not worry about upgrading and I'd rather spend the cash elsewhere on this car.

That's what I would have assumed, but I'm not a grease monkey at all.

[WeeYari]

Only reason to move away from OEM, if you are into it, is bling factor. This requires going to BBKs and rear disc conversions in order to fill out the space behind open spoke wheels. Yes, the small rotors and drums are ugly/awkward looking on up-sized alloys. Other than that, OEM are astoundingly good brakes for what 99.9999999% of owners need them to do.

[rbennett2082]

I agree with WeeYari. I just replaced front pads and rotors. The only upgrade I made was to Hawk pads. These cars are roughly 2300lbs and under 115hp even with most mods. OE style rotors and premium pads is all you need anything more is waste for 95% of us on the forum.

[Kalispel]

I'm more than happy with the OEM brakes on my Yaris. It seems to stop on a dime. I'm not sure if the SE 4-wheel disc brakes actually makes a difference versus rear drum, or the slightly larger discs up front versus the L/LE, but stopping power is excellent here.

[ilikerice]

Agreed. All bling factor. You will never go through so many extreme heat cycles to need slotted or drilled rotors. Just because it was built in Canada doesn't give them any more credit than being built in china. If a radiator was built in Mexico, does that make it better than one built in the states?
If you apply full brake power to the pedal and you eithet activate the abs or lock the wheels. You have plenty of stopping power. If you want more bite, upgrade the pads. If you want more pedal response, get stainless steel braided hoses.

I feel you only doing this for the looksame which is totally cool. But just don't lie to yourself about the reasoning

[invader166]

Originally Posted by ilikerice

Just because it was built in Canada doesn't give them any more credit than being built in china.

No kidding! Practically everything in Canada is made in China. Hell even the railroad was made by chinese immigrants.
Woudn't surprize me if they outsourced the manufacture of these rotors/pads and they're actually made in China simply because it's cheaper to do so, then shipped and sold in Canada.

Originally Posted by ilikerice

Agreed. All bling factor. You will never go through so many extreme heat cycles to need slotted or drilled rotors. Just because it was built in Canada doesn't give them any more credit than being built in china. If a radiator was built in Mexico, does that make it better than one built in the states?
If you apply full brake power to the pedal and you eithet activate the abs or lock the wheels. You have plenty of stopping power. If you want more bite, upgrade the pads. If you want more pedal response, get stainless steel braided hoses.

I feel you only doing this for the looksame which is totally cool. But just don't lie to yourself about the reasoning

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

[JimKellyfan]

Thanks for the input. That was exactly why I started it, I wanted input from all, so as to point people in the right directions when wanting to upgrade, and even if it is worth it and why. Currently, I have aftermarket pads and stock rotors, which was done just before I bought car at 68k. The rotors vibrate a bit, but I believe there is enough meat to save for when these other Canadian ones fail or need replaced. But, yeah, to my point, there was a few threads on this and not one was really clear on what was available besides the high dollar conversion. In my aftermarket experience, I know Toyota pads are great, but know there are some other good aftermarket performers, like Thermoquiet by Wagner, I believe Napa has a good top of liner, but forget name, etc. Yeah, with the Konig Feather rims, I was completely into the bling factor, but was hoping it was an upgrade, as even with stock rotors and pads, too much hard braking and they shake (warp rotors), and in my opinion, a bit too easily, even if using an on the car lathe. So, I was in the quest for a cheap or poor man's upgrade. I am gonna jump to a DOT4 brake fluid, make sure rears are in adjustment (they are pretty close now, maybe a click or two out) and then pop these Canadian rotors on, aye. My reference to being made in Canada was merely that they have so much snow and are a rust combatant area, these rotors are iron and coated. It wasn't like that old Dudley Moore movie "Crazy People", buy Sony because Caucasians are too damn tall, by any means. Thanks for the inputs, many points not considered.

[ilikerice]

I get that. I think your rotor warping isn't from hard braking though. That may have happened from something else like previous owner riding the brakes or over torque the wheels on hot rotors at some point in its life. Or something totally different. I autocross my car every month and my abs has been used numerous times during these events.

[firebird1999us]

Good info! I have 230k miles and I seem to be experiencing a slight wobble sometimes when braking... I was curious how aftermarket stuff compared and now I know! That said - when it comes time for a full brake overhaul and the rotors need to be replaced is there a cheaper source for replacement stock rotors other than the dealership?

[invader166]

Stoptech has a good article regarding "warped" rotors.

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-su...nd-other-myths

In summary:

...every case of "warped brake disc"...has turned out to be friction pad material transferred unevenly to the surface of the disc.

So I guess what they're saying is, cheap pads can screw-up your rotors. (duh!)

I currently have the same problems as described above with a vibrating pedal when breaking at high speeds due to "warped" rotors. In my case though, I think this is happening because I'm still using the original rotors that have been in service for nearly 7 years, and are showing signs of severe rust build-up.

[ilikerice]

Originally Posted by firebird1999us

Good info! I have 230k miles and I seem to be experiencing a slight wobble sometimes when braking... I was curious how aftermarket stuff compared and now I know! That said - when it comes time for a full brake overhaul and the rotors need to be replaced is there a cheaper source for replacement stock rotors other than the dealership?

Rockauto.com

[tmontague]

Rotors rarely ever warp. What you're likely feeling is burnt pad on your rotor which causes different friction points at different areas on your rotor, hence the pulsating "warped" feeling.

This can be cause by hitting the brakes hard and then staying on them while at a stop (think hitting sudden traffic stop on highway). It can also be caused by worn out rotors that are thin and can no longer dissipate heat effectively. The heat start to burn the pads.

This second scenario happened at 320,000km on the original rotors on my Echo. I used a grinder and self turned/grinded the rotors flat while lifting the front of the car and putting putting in gear. It worked but after a week the problem came back and since the rotors looked very thin I knew that was the problem and not heavy braking.

Purchased cheap rotors from RockAuto and no more issues.

That being said I will be spending extra an getting good pads for my Yaris. I like grabby pads.