Brake upgrade. - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Ryan01le · 02-13-2011, 02:48 PM

Has anyone upgraded from rear drum to disc brakes on the 4 cyl. gen 4.5 camry? im thinkin it wouldnt be a big deal to do. any input anyone?

Yuko · 02-13-2011, 03:08 PM

DO IT!

It cost me about $100 (salvage yard parts) for me to convert the rear to disc with new brake pads.

Here a DIY by AGS12: Gen 3 and 4 Rear Drum to Disc DIY
Gen 3 and 4 Rear Drum to Disc DIY

PortugalFocus · 02-13-2011, 06:29 PM

Then add LS400 calipers on the front and that will make it feel like you threw out the anchor.

uibalnme · 02-13-2011, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PortugalFocus

Then add LS400 calipers on the front and that will make it feel like you threw out the anchor.

Yeah, if you can find an LS400 in the bone yard. I've only seen one in the yards I frequent. Lucky for me I found a gen3 with twin piston front calipers. Either way, the twin piston calipers are a great upgrade over the standard single piston V6 calipers.

4Cyl'erThriller · 02-13-2011, 07:38 PM

I went with a full setup from an es300. Twin piston calipers up front and drum to disc in the rear. Pretty straight forward. The biggest pain in the ass is the E brake cable. Its up under the heat shield above the exhaust and its a pain to get to and the bolts were rusted on mine. I assume its pretty much identical to the gen 3/3.5s. Other than that its a piece of cake. I personally wouldnt upgrade just the rear at least with the 4 cyl. It seems to me it would throw off the brake bias just a bit. Id upgrade the front first then do the rears Just my 2 cents.

redgtxdi · 02-13-2011, 10:15 PM

While the bias might naturally slide to the rear a bit, I can't imagine that would be a bad thing (especially for stock suspension Gen4's as they tend to nose dive & this would help in that regard).

But.........I'd also think that just the rears might be ok providing you've got good working fronts. I know when I use the Autozone Gold pads with the Napa premium rotors I get a nice "bite"......(I'm not a fan of ceramics, at least not the Raybestos QS as they tend to crack).......but man, I'd certainly love to feel a dual-piston w/ rear disc stop in my Gen 4. That probably WOULD feel like throwing out the anchor.

4Cyl'erThriller · 02-13-2011, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redgtxdi

While the bias might naturally slide to the rear a bit, I can't imagine that would be a bad thing (especially for stock suspension Gen4's as they tend to nose dive & this would help in that regard).

But.........I'd also think that just the rears might be ok providing you've got good working fronts. I know when I use the Autozone Gold pads with the Napa premium rotors I get a nice "bite"......(I'm not a fan of ceramics, at least not the Raybestos QS as they tend to crack).......but man, I'd certainly love to feel a dual-piston w/ rear disc stop in my Gen 4. That probably WOULD feel like throwing out the anchor.

Yeah it pretty much does. I has no abs and Ive locked em up a few times momentarily. Yes It will stop on a friggin dime. People dont like how I drive now they get nervous when I dont brake till much later. Hehehee. I love it tho.

edit: the brake bias going to the rear worries me because Think about it when you lock up the rears with the ebrake you have no control. IDK Its just my opinion. I dont want anyone getting hurt because of anything like this. Safety should be the first priority.

ShawnTRD · 02-14-2011, 04:49 AM

On a 1998 LE Camry what year LS400, or ES300 brake parts (front and rear) bolt on? What parts should I get from a junk yard and what parts from the parts store? What about the LS400, or ES300 Master Cylinder or booster? Any upgrade available there?

4Cyl'erThriller · 02-14-2011, 10:33 AM

The master cylinders are the same. Im not sure on the booster. It really depends on the condition of the stuff you can find in the junkyard. Id normally say get new pads and rotors but salvage everything else. Sometimes it is a good idea to rebuild the calipers before doing a swap like this but once again it depends on the condition/miles on the parts. I didnt rebuild mine because they looked pretty nice. I also reused the rotors from the yard because they looked almost new, but I still had them resurfaced. Everything I had in my swap was from a 95 es300.

PortugalFocus · 02-14-2011, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShawnTRD

On a 1998 LE Camry what year LS400, or ES300 brake parts (front and rear) bolt on? What parts should I get from a junk yard and what parts from the parts store? What about the LS400, or ES300 Master Cylinder or booster? Any upgrade available there?

"Search" is your friend...

ugh.. Anyway here it is...

LS400 Brakes on a Gen3/4? Done....