Team... seeking inputs. In my opinion, my Tc's Brakes are spongy and weak. Dealer says they are fine. Any reccomendations on pad and/or rotor upgrades I could do for a modest price.

I am willing to start with pads and add rotors later... i dont have a ton of cash ( military) so I am looking for effective but fairly cheap.

Cheers From Oklahoma City

Rhino Sends

 

Axxis Ultimates. http://www.importrp.com Ask for Mike

 

speaking of the brakes. i almost rear-ended someone today. I had to hit the brakes and swerve off into the emergency lane.

 

why put a racing pad on a street car?

I've had axxis pads in stoptechs... and if you run your brakes hot or you live in hill/mountain regions they are great for fade. But if you don't, you will hate them. They squeal like bat from hell and have brake dust gallor....

 

i find them to be weak too.

 

Why not?

 

I actually think the TC's brakes are excellent...they are the exact same brakes as on the Celica GTS

 

Except the Celica GTS weighs about 500 lbs lighter.

 

They aren't full race pads. And even when they are "cold" from the moment of initiation, they still perform well. My setup on my MR2 is metal masters in the front and axxis in the rear. I have NO squeel at all, and minimal brake dust. I did put that orange stop squeel stuff before replacing the pads. As for my setup, the pads are on napa rotors. I have a $175 brake setup ($80 rotors, $85 pads), and it's awesome for everyday use and I know it will hold up in an autocross.

 

thats the thing... they are in the rear doing nothing. all your braking happens in the front.

 

Not sure if they make them yet for the tC but check out EBC brakes, they are great. I have their rotors and "green stuff" pads on my Camaro SS and they don't make a sound, hardly dust at all and have great fade resistance and are completely streetable.

Hopefully EBC will roll out with some pads/rotors for the tC soon...

 

Upon further investigation it looks like EBC does have a pad (and rotor set) already for the tC... http://www.ebcbrakes.com and yes the pads are actually green but you can paint them before installing, thats what I did on my Camaro.

 

I think the brakes are fine. big improvement from my previous car. the brakes on my mustang were weak as hell!!!

 

I don't think the brakes are bad at all. big improvement from my 3G eclipse.

 

i would go with porterfield brakes R4S compound.. it's a street compound, works great on my old civic.. and much better stopping. great, positive brake pedal feel. carbon/kevlar is the compound..

But about the tC's brakes, I can only think of two things that would cause you to almost rear end someone with these brakes..

1 - the brakes may not have broken in correctly.. and..
2- the OEM tires don't have that much grip..

I changed tires as most everyone who reads my posts knows. I switched to the pzero nero m&s and it's night and day difference between the original tires and these..

But yeah if you want a better pedal feel and stop better I would go with Porterfield's R4S pads.. I think they have the front pads but are still getting the rears done.. here's their website

http://www.porterfield-brakes.com/pads.html

 

My advice to you is to not spend your money on brake upgrades; at least not yet.

In my opinion, the spongy and weak feel is mostly the fault of the tires. Your pads may try to get the job done, but your ABS says ‘no way => tire slip’, which feeds-back to you as mush.

I base my opinion on the dreadful 0.82 skid pad rating for the tC. While the suspension may have something to do with it, the pads and rotors do not. But the car handles well under mild conditions, which again suggests that the tires basically suck.

I’ve only got 80 miles on my tC, but I’ve owned a ’70 Triumph GT-6, a ‘71 240-Z, and two Gen III RX-7s (still have the ’94). One thing I can say with utmost certainty is that the tires make most all of the difference in handling and stopping.

Try this experiment: Disable your ABS (pull the fuse?) then do some panic stops. I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that the mush won’t be there. But hang on tight and wear some earplugs so that the tire squeal doesn’t get you.

I plan to follow at least 2-1/2 seconds (instead of 2) behind on the X-ways so that my tC and I will live to see those tires wear out. Once I’ve gotten my monies worth out of them, then I’ll get something better.

 

I dunno what you guys are talking about... these break are amazing! Maybe because I'm only comparing them to non-abs breaks off a 98 corolla but yeah.. I think they are very very very good

-Emo

 

The brakes on this car are just fine. It never ceases to amaze me the way people create problems with their cars in their minds.

 

this is my opinion:

while your driving, have you ever realized that your going faster than you think you were because the ride is more quiet due to all the dampening material they use in the engine compartment. well i have, and not realizing how fast i am going, i dont apply the brakes early enough. its like slowing down a car going 40mph in the space needed to gradually stop in 25 mph. jsut my experience, i've been applying my brake earlier since i know im going faster, and its stopping nicely.

also, i think the tires may have soemthing to do with it too. since i know our tires aren't as gripy.

anyone here changed their stock tires yet? and haven't touched their brakes?

 

Yea, on topic, the brakes are fine. They just feel different. (I drive 4 other Toyota's to compare too).

Also, the axxis work "best" when they are warm. Not to say they do better or as well than oe when cold. They are doing something also, I replaced the rears with ultimates then drove around for a week before putting the metal masters in front, humongous difference even with just the ultimates on.