Question to all the modded 2nd gen guys

[270+Camry]

I see a lot of you have made you cars faster, which is awesome. I also see a lot of you also made the car handle better which is also great. My question is, what are the upgrades available in terms of stopping the car? I know some of you might have ABS which I think is supposed to be rare, but is anyone rocking some sort of larger rotors or drilled/slotted rotors? I know good tires make a world of difference also.

I ask cause I've pondered beefing up my motor or doing a swap, but since I have no abs it makes the decision alot harder. I know you can be a great driver but all it takes is some jerkwad to run a red and cross you or have a deer go kamikaze on you for you to lock up the brakes and go from driving a car to riding backseat on a bobsled.

I read here that some v6s had rear rotors, which is great. Also read about ABS being an option, hell i think the lexus counterpart had ABS too, anyone ever thought about installing ABS (i know thats a job and a half lol)? In case there is no aftermarket for drilled rotors anyone think of takin new rotors to a drill-press and praying for the best?

Just looking for feedback from all you people who have put time money and heart into upgrading these gen2, thanks for your time, have a good one.

[white90dx]

First, go for good pads and stainless steel brake lines. The V6 rear brakes are a pretty easy bolt-on too.

The brakes are generally the same as a Celica (and many other 5x100 Toyotas), so any of the same upgrades can generally be done on the Camry - it all depends on how far you want to take it.

I have my big brakes all planned out, pretty much, but haven't been able to move forward with them because I don't have my WRX as a backup car at the moment...

-Charlie

[oscaryu1]

Bought some zinc plated cross drilled/slotted R1 rotors on eBay for $80 yesterday (shipped).

Ceramic brake pads can also be found for $20 on eBay (fronts).

[270+Camry]

Originally Posted by oscaryu1

Bought some zinc plated cross drilled/slotted R1 rotors on eBay for $80 yesterday (shipped).

Ceramic brake pads can also be found for $20 on eBay (fronts).

sweet dude, let me know how well they work.

[270+Camry]

Originally Posted by white90dx

First, go for good pads and stainless steel brake lines. The V6 rear brakes are a pretty easy bolt-on too.

The brakes are generally the same as a Celica (and many other 5x100 Toyotas), so any of the same upgrades can generally be done on the Camry - it all depends on how far you want to take it.

I have my big brakes all planned out, pretty much, but haven't been able to move forward with them because I don't have my WRX as a backup car at the moment...

-Charlie

so would that mean if celica brakes swap over, then maybe celica breaks upgrades would too? know if anyone here has done some kind of major brake overhaul or a rotor conversion to rear or ABS conversion to go along with the power increase? would love to read up on some of that. thanks.

[white90dx]

First, stop even thinking about adding ABS. Its not worth it and will not help shorten stopping distances. ABS systems are designs for average/dumb drivers to be able to stomp the pedal and still be able to steer - not to stop the car faster.

You can do a full V6 w/ ABS disk swap (rear disks + 1" bigger fronts). You can do any of the Celica and tC (and a few other car) brake upgrades with minor (if any) modifications.

Make sure you don't just add a bunch of braking power to the front without matching it in the rear. Too much front braking also lowers your braking distance.

Remember, if you can lock up the brakes, you don't need any more braking power. Big brakes are there for extra heat capacity more than anything else.

-Charlie

[270+Camry]

heat capacity is what im going for, I was more into looking for something to deal with brake fade. i drive a lot of windy roads and i drive them hard, my tires hold up ok and my suspension leans some, but i have noticed that on long runs when im pulling hard the brakes start to mush up some. the twisties arent as bad as long steep downhills out on the mountain. so my whole question for bigger or vented was just to deal with the amount of heat im getting. the whole abs question wasnt about stopping faster either, was just about maintaining the abilty to steer around an object while braking hard. I also dont plan on building the front to be insane and leaving the rear stock, my main thing was looking to get rid of drums cause i always feel like drums just keep way too much heat. wanted to upgrade rear and upgrade front evenly, also looking into ceramic pads. thanks for all the pointers btw, that helps alot. it is also awesome to hear what some of you have done. any kind of upgrade that i hear you guys make always makes me more hopeful towards building a car i enjoy as opposed to just leavin it as DD and then buy a car toy for the fun driving.