performance brakes - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

bigcarlos59 · 06-07-2002, 02:08 AM

i have a gen3 5s-fe camry I want to put performance brakes on it does anyone know of a conversion to put rear discs on an i4. if so who makes the best brakes for the app

thanks

woshiagni · 06-07-2002, 03:00 AM

I asked this around February, and the consensus was that you'd need torque plates, the hub assembly, and the rotors from a v6 camry or es300 (or for gen3, a 5s-fe camry with ABS). Try searching for the post, I think some other parts were required. Nobody makes a "kit", you'd have to do it yourself ordering parts from Toyota or visiting junkyards.

It's generally not worth it for two reasons - 1) it's expensive, I think used parts would run something like $300 US from a junkyard, and 2) since your front brakes do something like upwards of 70% of your braking anyways, rear discs don't really do anything for performance, only looks if you have rims.

IMHO, save the money for a big-brake kit, or buy drilled/slotted rotors and get performance brake pads (both up front). I have drilled/slotted rotors with EBC greenstuff pads and braking performance is noticeably improved over stock without touching the rear drums.

henry bui · 06-08-2002, 01:52 PM

man thats not the info he wants. haha jk. but i think its worth it. i mean you get the looks but also it breaks with all 4 breaks better with that even though more is up front and it has seperate shoes for the ebrake. so you have both disk and drums basically if you get the brakes. but what i did was just basically get the whole rear suspension of the camry with brakes. doesnt matter what model. anything that is gen3. supposedly gen4 works but dont quote me on that. it can have abs or not. but no abs would be better. it only cost me 350 for the whole thing. and i got plenty spare parts and parts that later on i will send out to see if anybody can stiffen it up a little more. so i think it was a good investment. but you might as well get new brakelines while youre at it and new pads. shouldnt run you more than 500 total us dollar. and i wouldnt reccomend getting slotted or cross drilled on stock size rotors. you dont really get an effective braking as stocks do.l i cant exactlyremember why, 1 reason is becasue of surface area, but many of the major big break companies told me. so ifyou do get crossdrilled or slotted big brake is the way to go. but not sure is brembo actually fits ours becasue it was for the gen4 but its only up front. but kvr brakes will make custom 1s. http://www.kvrperformance.com its also aobut the same price as brembo for 6 pot 2 disk floating type. better than the brembos casue 6 vs 4.

woshiagni · 06-09-2002, 05:54 PM

Hmmn... I thought that was the info he wanted.

Anyways, I didn't say you don't get better braking performance with rear discs, I'm just saying that it's not worth the cost because your front brakes do nearly all of the work. KVR makes the crossdrilled/slotted rotors, as does Powerstop and Powerslot. Brembo only manufactures blanks - I was one of the ones in on the sc3 group buy that had an independent machine shop do the drilling and slotting. The rotors are wonderful, especially with aftermarket performance pads. On the gen3, Bradi makes rear discs if you have a V6, otherwise they're also available from Brembo.

As for surface area on crossdrilled/slotted rotors, people who say that it's reduced are correct - the holes reduce the surface area. However, you need to look at the full picture. With better venting to reduce gas buildup you help prevent fading, and the slots mechanically assist braking by biting into the pad instead of relying on friction alone. Whatever you pick, it'll be an improvement over stock.

Just my two cents.

henry bui · 06-10-2002, 12:02 AM

oh on the info thing i was talking about stock sized rotors that are slotted or crossdrilled. the slotted dont do much for cooling. they do something else. i cant exactly remember what but dont want to say the wrong thing. but if you do have crossdrilled it may cool it down a little but doubt it if its stock size. it wouldnt help out much if it does. i have talked to many of the brake techs, if thats what they are called, and stock sized crossdrilled dont help as much as stock full face with better brake pads do. so its really on preference and looks if you go that way. and for the big brake kit its for looks and performance.

SGG · 06-10-2002, 12:13 AM

i'm just gonna piggyback on this thread and ask about pads:

I bought some raybestos PG pads (#4 ~$75USD). I have no clue as to what's recommended...so start suggesting. I haven't installed them yet so I can still return them. I've heard EBC greenstuff is good...do they come in packages of 4 and where would I get it?

thanks bunches
jon

woshiagni · 06-10-2002, 03:27 AM

henrybui, that's correct, slots grab the pad, they don't assist in cooling. I never said they did. The crossdrilling is what helps vent the hot gas. I'm not a mechanical engineer, so I admit I can't tell you quantitatively how much better crossdrilling and/or slotting is.

Anyways, I'm not trying to turn this into an argument about whether they're effective or not because of the rotor diameter, because the money's out of my pocket and at least to me, it's an improvement. Did you install them and not like them? Depending on where you go and who you talk to, people will tell you all kinds of things about cars, but you can only really know what's true when you experience it for yourself. =)

Jon, try the Tire Rack. (http://www.tirerack.com) The EBC greenstuff comes in packs of 4 pads (which is two pads per rotor), so one pack is enough for two wheels, roughly $85 US shipped. Performs fine, the pricing is supposedly the same everywhere. If you want a slightly cheaper solution, check out the KVR pads and the Hawk pads as well, should be around $50 US for pads to cover two wheels. KVR is the OEM for the Hawk pads, or maybe the other way around. Either of those should perform okay too.

Hope this helps.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: woshiagni on 2002-06-10 04:33 ]</font>

SGG · 06-10-2002, 06:45 PM

so the front pads are the same as the rear, eh? hmm. ok, obviously i'm too lazy to go upstairs and read the repair manual. :grin:

***EKam*** · 06-10-2002, 06:59 PM

Not going to say this once again (as both henry bui and woshiagni had pointed out what I want to say earlier).

All in all don't try to waste your money just because people tell you it's better. Unless you're going to the track, forget about getting those any of those aftermarket rotors. Street driving won't even allow yourself to notice the effectiveness of the upgrade.

6 pots caliper? Yea sounds like it's all necessary on our 100'ish hp cars since 400hp+ F50 uses 4-pot.

woshiagni · 06-11-2002, 03:04 AM

elegantcam has a good point there. =) Though our cars aren't the fastest around, it's nonetheless nice to see people interested in stopping as well as going.

Quote:

SCG: so the front pads are the same as the rear, eh? hmm. ok, obviously i'm too lazy to go upstairs and read the repair manual. :grin:

I can't be sure about this, I have drums in the back =( If you don't want to read the repair manual, you can call Tire Rack - they have computerized listing information, although I would double check that info if possible. I thought the rear rotors were smaller than the front? I'm not sure about pad size... but this is just hearsay. =)

SGG · 06-11-2002, 05:26 AM

well, it was actually a pretty dumb question because i have the boxes of pads i just bought and they are different sizes. so i wonder why tirerack only sells the front pads on the website. i'll have to call i guess.

in other news, my lugnut installation kit is coming in from discounttiredirect today ($40, no s/h, Gorilla locks) so i'll do get off work early, do my brakes, and mount them wheels. awesome.

***EKam*** · 06-11-2002, 09:07 AM

Quote:

On 2002-06-11 04:04, woshiagni wrote:
Though our cars aren't the fastest around, it's nonetheless nice to see people interested in stopping as well as going.

True. And IMO, a set of performance pads + SS brake lines will serve most people well.

You guys should try flushing the brake fluid. Mine was pure black (don't think it's been changed for at least 2 years) and I was supirsed what kind of difference that made.

woshiagni · 06-11-2002, 03:54 PM

Quote:

And IMO, a set of performance pads + SS brake lines will serve most people well.

You guys should try flushing the brake fluid. Mine was pure black (don't think it's been changed for at least 2 years) and I was supirsed what kind of difference that made.

I'm holding out for a SS group buy. =) Hee hee. I'll probably give in by fall... noooo... must... save... for... rims....

***EKam*** · 06-11-2002, 04:40 PM

Quote:

On 2002-06-11 16:54, woshiagni wrote:

I'm holding out for a SS group buy. =) Hee hee. I'll probably give in by fall... noooo... must... save... for... rims....

LOL same here. I hope I will pickup my rims soon.