I know there's quite a few Tundra owners here that use them for towing their race cars. I have a '03 Tundra TRD that I use to tow my EG Civic race car on an open deck trailer. Any suggestions for a good set of brake pads for the Tundra? I find the OE pads pretty weak and they're getting to the point that they need replacing. Anyone else have trouble with front rotors warping?

Thanks for any suggestions

 

They make Axxis Ultimates for my Tacoma, and those pads work great for towing because of they don't need a lot of heat to operate well. You might want to check into those.

 

I haven't had my front rotors warp. Current miles on my '03 is 31000. I am still on the stock pads.

 

You could also try http://www.tundrasolutions.com

 

Hawk HD if they make them. Check with Carl at Trac Racing. He'll hook you up...

 

No issues with the brakes on my '02 Tundra. There is a TSB out there for the brakes up to early '03 models, so look into that, and you might get a free brake job.

If I got new pads, I'd likely look into some of the ceramic offerings.

Does your trailer have brakes? My total trailer weight is around 4600 lbs and I've never had issues (electric brakes on one axle).

Scott

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jsi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hawk HD if they make them. Check with Carl at Trac Racing. He'll hook you up... </TD></TR></TABLE>

Not offered in the 03-present last time I checked.

They only decent aftermarket pads I could find for the tundra was porterfield, and they were pretty expensive.

 

I don't have a Tundra, but the sucky stock brakes on my Tacoma drove me to find better pads. Based on a lot of Tacoma owners reccomendations from a certain bulletin board, I went ahead with Performance Friction Carbon Metallic pads and have been very happy with the Tacoma's braking performance since then! Performance Friction pads + Azenis RT-215 tires = Tacoma actually stopping fast!

Performance Friction pads


Modified by Vracer111 at 12:35 AM 4/13/2005

 

Thanks for all the good info, guys. I'll let you know if I have any luck finding a cheaper option than the Porterfields. Hopefully Axxis of Performance Friction make an affordable ceramic pad for it. Carl @ TRAC already told me Hawk doesn't have a pad that'll fit my '03 Tundra

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Maxi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Carl @ TRAC already told me Hawk doesn't have a pad that'll fit my '03 Tundra </TD></TR></TABLE>

Stupid isn't it. I mean, they make a pad for the 00-02, but all the 02's have a toyota TSB on them to upgrade the brakes to the 03+ spec. So, the pads are kind of useless.

I would buy them in a heart beat if they made them for the 03+!

 

I have a Tundra, which I use to tow a race car and spares. Mine is a 00, and had the early model brakes.

What you say is true, Hawk makes early model pads, but not later ones. I found really good pads for the 03+ caliper from wheelersoffroad.com.

My 00 without the TSB was good for about 10k miles before the vibration was intoerable. I went the cheap route (racing budget!), and got some used calipers from a recycler (sunrise auto in Rancho Cordova, CA) and the pads I mentioned from wheelers.

The TSB actually calls for new rotors, dust shields and bearings, but I just stuck the calipers on my existing rotors. So far, about 1k miles out, its vibration free, and the stopping power is great. The only thing odd about the 03 caliper install was to cut the dust shield, which took about 5 minutes with a dremel.

The other towing mods I've made include air bags (yes, the higher rate 4wd bags fit on a 2wd!), a brake controller, and D load range tires.

Scott

 

Presumably Hawk will start making a 03+ pad eventually since there can't be much market for the pre-03 pads after the TSB. We can hope

avu3, I too added a set of AirLift helper bags on the back of my Tundra. My trailer (open deck 16'') has the axles so far back that it's really tough to balance the load and keep the tongue weight reasonable, and even when I do get it right it seems like it's really easy to overload the rear suspension. I hate rollin' down the highway with my headlights blinding the person in front of me, so the air bags really help keep the truck/load nice and even and flat. It probably doesn't help that I have the TRD suspension, since I assume it's designed for improved off-roading rather than towing I only got the TRD because I bought the truck used and got a smokin' deal on it.

And I added an electric brake controller for the trailer brakes too. I wouldn't tow without trailer brakes!