jfrahm

Hi all,
I had read a lot about the brake upgrades and was interested, as my brakes were pretty soggy.

Since my truck (1998 SR5 V6) had decent rotors and who-knows-what pads from the previous owner, I decided to try replacing the front pads only before going to a full Tundra swap. I did some research and decided on Wagner Thermoquiet pads for a couple reasons:

Good reviews.
Under $30 from Amazon, and under $15 if I get the rebate (via paypal and tracked online.)

I installed the pads last week and it was dead easy as you can imagine. I found a broken sway bar end link though. No big deal. Glad I found it.
I also re-bled the fronts, carefully, and that was also no problem. I actually can do this myself with a couple scraps of wood braced on the front seat to compress and hold the pedal. I have never had luck with vacuum bleeders and my I do not have a cap to use my pressure bleeder with the 4runner (any leads on a cheap cap I can tap for my pressure bleeder?)

After bedding the pads I find the brakes are much better, the initial bite was the main problem with the old ones and these grab straight away. Fade should be better with bigger brakes but if you get good bite, good feel and can lock up the tires then your brakes are big enough unless you tow and/or do not know how to go down hills. I drive in the mountains a lot so we shall see. I am used to great brakes on my cars (968, 928S4) and sportbike so I should be able to be a good judge.

I got these:
Wagner ThermoQuiet QC436A Ceramic Disc Pad Set, Front $28
I added an air filter, Purolator A34886, to get to the minimum for free shipping.

OBRebate: Generally I get about half the rebates I apply for despite making a pretty good effort. We shall see with this one.

Cheers,
-Joel.