New to forum....2006 Camry XLE: Need help to upgrade brakes

[keith91]

Hello all,

I am a newbie who just inherited a 2006 Camry XLE from my brother. Like many things about the car, but hate the brakes. I have tried to do some searches to get more info, found a thread on recommended pads, but not on other stuff on my questions. I found this thread:

05 Camry Mushy Soft Brakes

This is what is going on with why I don't like the brakes....to much travel and soft feel. I am no racer, but I drive about 90 miles a day and in downtown D.C. every day for work......and the lack of confidence, initial bite, and travel in the brakes is really bothering me. I am willing and want to upgrade the brakes to get rid of the travel and give me much quicker stopping and reaction time.

Like I said, I am no racer so I am not looking to spend thousands and thousands putting in a race type system. But I am willing to invest a fair amount of money to make the brakes better. Also, will not be upgrading the rims, so I will need to stick with stock rotor size. So here is what I am looking for input on:

--I figure pads and rotors are a must to start. Good ones to recommend?
--To eliminate the travel, do I need to replace the calipers as well? If so, what calipers are recommended to get me upgraded performance without breaking the bank for race quality? Willing to go to more pistons, but again, don't want to spend an outrageous amount.
--Read in the link above about the master cylinder. Is the master cylinder the main culprit for the long pedal travel? If so, will changing this cure a big part? If so, which master cylinder do I get?
--If there is a brake kit that will save me money, I am open for it.

Finally, I will be doing this myself and have changed calipers, rotors, and pads before, so I am no newbie to that. But don't want to get into changing brackets for bigger rotors. Never done a master cylinder change, but think I could handle it.

To give you a ballpark on $$, I know I could spend about a thousand or two for some good parts and that is ok. But I also saw caliper/rotor/pad kits for $2500-3K per axle, and that is too much.

Thanks and feel free to PM or email me directly if you want. I appreciate any help.

Kg

[MrSo0h0o]

if you dont want the mushy feeling, get stainless steel brake lines. that will help with the soft pedal. for a better bite to the brakes, get better brake pads such as hawk or EBC.

do some more searching and you will find more recommendations on brake pads

[Hellblitz]

3k per axle ?
thats WAYY to much, i dont even thing the dealer charges that much :|
i had brake work done on my former 2006 LE (traded it in for a 2010 LE)
ended up spending around $900 for all 4 brakes, rotars, pads and labor
They were MONROE premium pads i think :S
i got it done a my local canadian tire store, but thats here in canada
not sure about maryland tho
u only need new brake pads and new rotors.
i wouldnt pay anythng over $1000

[sxe-10]

Hawk street pads are great, but for some reason they are more expensive for our camry's than say compared to an accord, usually pads alone will provide considerably more stopping power than stock denso pads. Or you can see if you can pick up some bigger calipers that are used (ex. used supra calipers can be had for about $500usd) go to a machine shop and have them make adapters so you can install them in your car. You will prob need bigger rims for the bbk.

[keith91]

Thank you for the input. A big issue for me is the long travel before the brakes even engage. Will upgrading the brake lines, rotors, and pads get rid of the long travel?

Or is that caused by the caliper or master cylinder?

Thanks
Kg

[keith91]

Originally Posted by sxe-10

Hawk street pads are great, but for some reason they are more expensive for our camry's than say compared to an accord, usually pads alone will provide considerably more stopping power than stock denso pads.

What rotors would you recommend to go with the Hawk pads?

Thanks for the help.
Kg

[gdanaher]

The first things that I would do is to check the rod from the brake pedal to the brake booster and see if it has somehow become loose and is not at the correct length. Adjust accordingly. Second, a mushy brake is most likely the result of having some air in the brake lines. I'd get a quart of good fluid and and a helper and bleed the brakes out using a clear jar as a collector and see if you don't get some bubbles/foam coming out. I'd wager that this will sove much of the mushy feeling. Don't throw money at the car unless you have to.

[sxe-10]

Originally Posted by gdanaher

The first things that I would do is to check the rod from the brake pedal to the brake booster and see if it has somehow become loose and is not at the correct length. Adjust accordingly. Second, a mushy brake is most likely the result of having some air in the brake lines. I'd get a quart of good fluid and and a helper and bleed the brakes out using a clear jar as a collector and see if you don't get some bubbles/foam coming out. I'd wager that this will sove much of the mushy feeling. Don't throw money at the car unless you have to.

He speaks the truth, try flushing out the oem brake fluid with something else, i flushed and bleeded the brakes with motul dot 5.1 prior to tracking it

[JohnGD]

Hawk HPS brakes (~$50-60 an axle) for stopping on a dime type of confidence. Might squeal a bit but a recent TN member reported quiet; Akebono ProAct ceramic for long lasting, low dusting type of situation.

http://www.hawkperformance.com/
http://www.akebonobrakes.com/aftermarket/index.asp

Rotors go with Brembo (~$60 Amazon), if can't find them go with Raybestos Advanced Technology. Apparently OEM rotors suck.

Long pedal travel: was it sudden like this? If so probably a failing master cylinder. You should have brakes engaged with just a little travel (about 0.5-1", can't really measure with my foot). But if engaged half way down your primary piston cup may be gone. Of course, like others said, maybe the push rod suddenly got out of adjustment or was misadjusted. But I'd think that's much less likely.

Or, you may have air bubbles in the system. Only the dealer with an ABS actuator can properly bleed this. Don't let them standard bleed and cheap their way out. Normal circuits can be bled without actuation (as some manuals say), but not the secondary pressure-relieving circuits, ever. Make them tickle the ABS module properly and swear to do it after taking your money. (Some still don't).

Why change calipers? Rust? Why not rebuild them yourself? If you can do a master cylinder?

Originally Posted by keith91

--I figure pads and rotors are a must to start. Good ones to recommend?

--To eliminate the travel, do I need to replace the calipers as well? If so, what calipers are recommended to get me upgraded performance without breaking the bank for race quality? Willing to go to more pistons, but again, don't want to spend an outrageous amount.
--Read in the link above about the master cylinder. Is the master cylinder the main culprit for the long pedal travel? If so, will changing this cure a big part? If so, which master cylinder do I get?
--If there is a brake kit that will save me money, I am open for it.

Finally, I will be doing this myself and have changed calipers, rotors, and pads before, so I am no newbie to that. But don't want to get into changing brackets for bigger rotors. Never done a master cylinder change, but think I could handle it.

To give you a ballpark on $$, I know I could spend about a thousand or two for some good parts and that is ok. But I also saw caliper/rotor/pad kits for $2500-3K per axle, and that is too much.

Thanks and feel free to PM or email me directly if you want. I appreciate any help.

Kg

[keith91]

Thanks for the replies. On the long travel, it is not like the master cylinder went out (I know what that feels like), but you need to push the pedal down about 2 inches before get get the bite of the brakes. This is much more play than I am used to and like. If nothing can be done about it, then oh well, but I get in my truck and the wife's minivan and I jerk them when I hit the brakes since they grab much sooner when you apply the brakes.

Anyway, I will make some changes per your recommendations and see where it gets me. I need new pads soon and most likely rotors, so I am going to replace them, put new and better fluid in, and then see how it goes.

Kg

[LE05]

if your pads are worn out, you will get longer pedal travel since the pads have to travel that much further to reach the rotor. how often has the brake fluid been flushed? old brake fluid will also contribute to long pedal travel.

i think if you put new pads in and flush the brake fluid most of what you don't like about the braking will disappear.

[LE05]

its true if the pads (therefore the piston) gets pushed back in by the rotor run out. tapered pads will also cause the piston to misalign, creating the same symptom.