HaveBlue

Hey all!

I FINALLY replaced the pads and rotors on my 4Runner. This is a project I've started and then got distracted many many time.
I replaced the rotors with a set of slotted Brembos. I replaced the pads with a set of carbon-metallic Performance Friction pads. I also replaced the brake lines with stainless braided lines. I thoroughly flushed the system and checked all my connections. I've noticed that it takes quite a bit more effort to get my truck to stop - i.e. I have to practically stand on the brake pedal to really stop hard. With the stock rotors and pads, if I stood on the pedal, it would nearly lock up.

Do I need to swap pads? Any recommendations/ideas?

Thanks!

Localmotion

did you bleed the system?

MudMonkey

Some rotors have a thin film of oil on them to keep them from rusting during shipping. It shoud burn off after a while.

HaveBlue

I'm sorry, I should have also said that I now have 1,200 miles on them.

2000t4r

I would bleed the system again, there could still be an air bubble.

MudMonkey

Disregard my previous statment...

rocket

iTrader: (1)

If it's not air in the system, i'd try OEM pads.

instigator

you said stock would stop better? what was different in the installation than stock i.e sloted rotors, bigger calipers etc..

did you remove the calipers completely? or just pushed the pucks back into the cavity?

possibly air got into the system somewhere.
or the job took so much out of you that you cant apply the brakes like you used to.

superjoe83

I'm having the same problem, new slotted rotors and PF pads, the only way i can get decent braking out of them is to get them really hot, almost to the fade point then they work good, I'm very disappointed, before with the stock rotors and Toyota pads i could easily lock the front wheels, i did not open the system when i installed them....

boogyman

Sounds like there's air in there somewhere. especially if you replaced the front lines with steel ones. Get a bottle of brake fluid, and flush it all out again.

HaveBlue

That's exactly my problem. No air in the system. I thoroughly flushed the system. My wife helped.

manofsteele2003

It is possible that you didn't bed the pads in correctly and they became glazed over causing them not to work as they should. Also, I've found that the performance pads take a little longer to wear in than standard ones do. Was the 1200 miles, mostly highway? I'd start with a new set of OE pads first.

heddleston

I noticed the same problem when I changed my pads and rotors. I changed to PF pads and immediately felt like I lost braking power. I also noticed that I needed to apply increased pressure on the brake pedal. I do not think the PF pads are as good as the stock pads that I had. They have improved with time and I can now easily lock up the brakes, the pads seem to have improved. My pads have at least 3000 miles on them including a lot of mountain and city driving. I was careful not to glaze them as manofsteele said, is that a possibility?

quattro

Bedding in new pads on new rotors is critical. Go out onto a back road late at night and do qty:3 of 80 or 90 mph down to 30 mph's, by getting really hard on the binders something just short of where the ABS kicks in. Be smart about it as the speeds to make this work well aren't legal... Anyway once you've done that drive for 10 or 15mins at cruise throttle staying off the brakes to let everthing cool down. Now turn around and repeat the same process while going home. Make sure when things are hot you avoid sitting still with your foot on the brake pedal and you'll be fine.

A more race-oriented pad will need more heat to be as effective at lower pedal operating pressures where stock pads feel grabby. Once the pad is bedded this usually shows up as cold-pad/rotor squeal as well as that unnerving feeling that the truck won't stop. Once things are warm they will feel good.

If after attempting to bed things in you still have less braking feel than you think you should, pull the pads and look. If things are glazed it looks pretty obvious. If that happens take a sanding block and tough-grit sandpaper and de-glaze your pad surface and try again. You can also take a scuffing pad and rough up the surface of the rotor to help things re-mate.

DoubleZero4x4

Interesting thread...I had exactly the opposite results from slots with PF pads. They stopped perfectly from day one. Only seemed like they got better over time.

My suggestion would be to re-bleed the system.

One question though...how are you bleeding the system? Is this a pressure bleeder, vacuum, or brake pedal pump method?

I completely flushed my system when I changed them out. I flushed out about 6oz of fluid from each wheel so that it all came out clear.

Mikey

That's not the way to bed the pads. Repeated stops yes. But not from 80, Too much heat. This is straight from Bendix

I personally don't like the PF pads either. I have them on mine and think that they suck. Same Symptoms you described. I have a set of Hawk pads that I'm going to try, but I just haven't got around to doing them.

quattro

The recommendation was based around a performance pad compound as described in the post. I suspect that the Bendix documentation is for organic or stock compounds which do not need as much heat. Not to mention that there's no way Bendix could officially recommend a proceedure that violates the speedlimit...

My experience and recommendation comes from bedding pads in on rallycars and track cars with brake pads geared at track and full-on competition where the bedding process is much more agressive. Either suggestion will work.

cackalak han

To add: Slotted rotors do NOTHING, as far as performance. There is less braking surface, so in fact, it probably hurts performance. Same with drilled rotors. I just get Autozone rotors for cheap (plus, they've got warranty) and use OEM pads. If you'd like more of a bite, try out some ceramic pads (I don't know if they have 4Runner pads, but Cobaltfriction.com has some good prices and pads).

DoubleZero4x4

Do you honestly think you are going to notice the 1% to 2% less surface area?

The slots have never overheated (fade) on me so they must be doing something.

cackalak han

Technically, it's more like 5%. Do you know why they came up with slotted rotors? It's because the older brake pads emitted much more gas than the modern ones and the grooves provided a route for the gases to escape. With the modern pads, that is no longer necessary. If you're noticing no fade, it's due to your pads, not rotors.