Lets Talk Brakes Upgrades! My Gen3 Project to Come

[Champagne96Carmy5sfe]

I've been driving my Camry from 183,000 when I bought it to now (235,000M) and one of the areas I've been pondering is the brake system. I have the run of the mill 96 5-sfe sedan disc/drum, with the exception of ceramic brake pads and year old cheap rotors that one is beginning to pulse...
My question to all of you more in the know than I am:
Are the 6 cylinder brake setups different and are they swappable into 15" Lexus alloys?

Also with my current setup, I have noticed the tendency for the rear brakes of my camry to grab harder than the front during panic stopping, which resulted in me losing control of the car due to resulting over steer that was unexpected. I have repeated the test on dirt and the back definately grabs harder than the front, I can bring it around tight in a corner with no handbrake, just a quick solid tap of the pedal. With all my friction material well within spec and no leaking fluid in the drums, does anyone have any ideas about this? Is it possible the ceramics are just that much weaker in typical driving conditions? Thinking about going to slotted and semi metallics again.

Thanks ahead of time all!
Chris

[Chris Crash]

You can do the V6 rear disc swap, that's about it for the rear. For the fronts you can do the ES300 dual piston caliper swap or a sexy supra TT swap, but probably not with 15" rims...

[LynchburgCSI]

Definitely go with ceramic pads if you can afford them. Stainless steel brake lines also offer a huge upgrade. As for disc brake swaps... Chris is right.

If you keep the 14" steel wheels that come on 4 cyl cars, then all you can do it upgrade to V6 sedan/coupe rear discs.

Now, with 15" wheels, you can run ES300 dual piston calipers or V6 camry sedan/coupe calipers + a larger rotor. For the rear, you can also run es300/camry wagon rear discs. These are larger than the sedan/coupe setup.

And of course, the Supra TT front calipers can be run with an adapter. This requires 17" wheels though, and not all styles of wheels clear the caliper. There's also a 300zx turbo quad piston caliper setup.... but no one here as done that to my knowledge.

edit: Oh wait.... both of you are Chris.

[pmesfun]

Does the Gen 1 Avalons (99) have the same brake setup as the ES300?

[iovaykind]

Ifff you're ever interested in the supra tt rotors, I have the caliper relocation brackets

If you're still on stock 14" wheels, I suggest upgrading those first.. then slowly you will see the drum brakes in the back and want to switch them out to discs. When you do, switch to ES300 or camry wagon discs.. the v6 or i4 w/ abs discs in the rear look really puny. Wish I had gone camry wagon/es300 from the beginning.

For the fronts, if you get larger rear discs than the v6, I'd do with the supra TT rotors. Definitely helps stopping power as it allows for less wheel lock ups. it'll lower your car's mpg a bit i think since tt rotors are pretty heavy and large.

[PortugalFocus]

You can also upgrade to LS400 calipers, they bolt right in to a Gen3. They are dual piston calipers also.

[LynchburgCSI]

Originally Posted by pmesfun

Does the Gen 1 Avalons (99) have the same brake setup as the ES300?

The Avalon rear discs are SLIGHTLY bigger than the es300s, IIRC. Like 0.2 millimeters.

Originally Posted by PortugalFocus

You can also upgrade to LS400 calipers, they bolt right in to a Gen3. They are dual piston calipers also.

Yes, that too... for the fronts. I believe they're about the same as the dual piston V6 camry/es300 ones though.

[ecms171]

You can also get a four piston caliper off a 300zx from a guy on solaraguy ill post a link when i get home, on my gf pc at the moment. I think going from drums to discs will be dramatic, but not half as dramatic as going from two piston calipers from a family sedan to four piston calipers off a race coupe.

[LynchburgCSI]

Originally Posted by ecms171

You can also get a four piston caliper off a 300zx from a guy on solaraguy ill post a link when i get home, on my gf pc at the moment. I think going from drums to discs will be dramatic, but not half as dramatic as going from two piston calipers from a family sedan to four piston calipers off a race coupe.

Already mentioned that. It is pricey though. I'd post a link, but SG is down currently.... at least for me.

[MCX20-XLS]

From 1996-2004 the Avalon maintained brake rotors that were 10.7" up front & 11.4" in the rear, almost an inch larger out back. The ES always had smaller rear rotors. I assume the vented front brakes with dual piston calipers were all similar...

Originally Posted by LynchburgCSI

The Avalon rear discs are SLIGHTLY bigger than the es300s, IIRC. Like 0.2 millimeters.



Yes, that too... for the fronts. I believe they're about the same as the dual piston V6 camry/es300 ones though.

[LynchburgCSI]

The ES DID NOT always have smaller rear rotors. 92-96 ES300 rear discs are 11.33" and 10.82" front.

Edit: The calipers are all similar across the camry/es/avalon line. Some are single piston and others are dual piston though.

[MCX20-XLS]

My mistake, so those first gen ES rotors are similar sizes to the gen 1 & 2 Avalons...

Not to thread jack but if there arent Hawk rear brake pads available for then I should be able to use some from early ES300's ?

[LynchburgCSI]

Originally Posted by SR20 Infiniti

My mistake, so those first gen ES rotors are similar sizes to the gen 1 & 2 Avalons...

Not to thread jack but if there are no Hawk rear brake pads available for then I should be able to use some from early ES300's ?

No. The avalon rear setups are slightly different. Different pads, rotors and (maybe) calipers. (As a note, the avalon's setup CAN be used on the camry... it's just that EVERYTHING has to come from the same model of car.)

[MCX20-XLS]

Man this gen 2 Avalon is lost between models...

Im looking to get rear Hawk pads...

Im finding 2 common parts numbers from the Hawk Catalog.

HB401x587 FMSI D325 is listed for the 92-99 ES300 & 99-03 Solara

HB610x587 FMSI D835 is listed for the 00-01 ES300 & Camry.

Which would be the best choice ?

Thanks

[LynchburgCSI]

^ The one that fits your car.