I am changing my brake pads this week and am wondering which pads I should use. Are the oem pads the best choice or are there better ones for less money?
They are going on a 2000 4runner sr5 4wd.

 

Brakes are not the place to get chincy. Go OEM or good quality pads and make sure you turn your rotors. It will save you a lot of headachs and time down the road.

That is of course if you like grippy quite brakes...

 

Is is necessary to turn the rotors, Im doing the brakes early the wear indicators are not squeaking yet but its been almost 4 years since I bought it and have not done the front brakes. The rotors seem smooth. The dealership has the oem pads for 68.87 which I dont mind paying.

 

New pads need to seat into the rotors and the only way to do that is to have a flat machined surface. Your rotors might appear to be smooth, but they might be warped a little bit and that is hard to see with the naked eye.

If you do it right and get good OEM pads and have the rotors turned...your brakes will be good for another 60,000 miles.

I learned the hard way on this. When I was young and dumb I just replaced the pads because I thought the rotors looked fine. Well after i did the job, everytime I hit the brakes I got a bad vibration and they squelled bad. Had to do the entire job over again the right way. In the end I spent twice as much time and money than I would have if I just did it right the first time...

 

IMO, I would NOT turn the rotors. In my past experience, they always tend to warp much quicker. My local place charges $20/rotor, so that's $40 out the window. I just get new rotors from Autozone (Duralast) for ~$35/rotor (IIRC). They've got a 2 year warranty on them, too. These rotors have not failed me yet. (Had some on my old 4Runner and now my Tacoma). Going on 30k now and performs solid. I live in the Rockies and go up and down canyons frequently, which means heavy brake use. Still solid.

Also, for pads, get a good set of ceramic pads. I've heard Hawk LTS pads were good (tirerack.com). I personally use Autozone Duralast ceramic pads. They were about $40. The best thing about these pads is that they have a lifetime warranty. This warranty covers even just normal wear. If they wear out, just go back in for new ones! Some Autozone stuff is subpar, but I'll vouch for these pads (and rotors).

 

Like others have mentions, don't cheap out on the brakes. You'll find many opinions for many different applications, just do a quick search on "brake pads" or "rotors".

For me, I went with the Brembo blanks b/c I had a warping issue with the OEM's rotors. The Brembo's are great...no problems so far -- 5 months and counting. They will cost a little more than the OEMs but the money is well worth it IMO.

I ended up going with Toyota pads. Some people here will say the stopping power is not enough for them, but since I do not tow anything on a regular basis they work great for me. If you want to go aftermarket, I would go with Hawks...the guys on here swear by them. They have more grab than OEM but they also have more brake dust (if that bothers you). Again a little more than OEM.

Also check tirerack.com...lots of selections, decent prices, and tons of reviews.

Good luck!

Chris

 

After 119000 miles on the original brakes I also need to do some brake work. Looking at EBC 6000 pads and Brembo rotors. Is this a good combination? How is the brake dust with these pads compared to stock?

 

For pads go with OEM Toyota or Hawk pad. I run Hawks on my truck and they are great. Do go with cheepie Raybestos or Autozone brand.

 

I can also vouch for a good pad/rotor combination...

NAPA sells two lines of brake rotors (at least in Canada they do), and have just started selling these Adaptive One brake pads. I can say that the stopping performance is quite impressive! Different formulations for inboard and outboard pad. Virtually no dust, and ZERO noise! And the first line rotors have a 2 year warranty, and have this coating to prevent corrosion. I've been impressed so far... Been on my truck for 1 month so far, no warpage with heavy city and hilly driving.

 

Toyota part number 04465-35240 work excellent for me.

I was told they were the upgrade pad for 4Runners but others say it is the stock part number. Mine is the 99 but believe they work fine for all 96-02s.

Whatever the case you can certainly get them for less than the $68 mentioned.

TRDparts4u.com likely has them for less. Or Rock Auto

 

I can't believe there are still a few of you who didn't do the tundra upgrade yet..... awesome, imo

 

Akebono Pro Act ceramic. hard to find but well worth it.

 

I don’t even have 12.5” rotors and I am fine in my truck (I go up and down mountain passes frequently, too). For my purposes, the tundra upgrade would be overkill. Not everyone will benefit from doing that upgrade. IMO, if you’re not towing or hauling heavy loads (or freakishly using your brakes like crazy), it’s a waste of money.

 

omg....i can't believe what i see on this post... if you do not turn the rotors it will put the same groves back into the pads and were them out quicker not solving anything.... it is nessary to turn or replace rotors(if necssesry) when doing pads unless you just don't care or have tight budget..... no turning rotors would keep the same shake or shimmy while braking.... regular OEM pads and rotors(if desired) i use dualast pads they are pretty good with a resonable price. when changing pads make sure to remove some brake fluid from the master cyl before pushing caliper pistions back or else it will over flow and get everywhere causing corrosion if not cleaned up....

 

If I need the extra braking power, I just have to drive my Tundra!

 

Tundra+massive truck=massive brakes required....

 

I'm really curious about this Tundra upgrade!!! I mean the brakes I have now are awesome, but can you imagine.... biiiiiiiiiig brakes!!! Time to search

Damn bugs put in the ear

 

Just did my pads at 110k. The truck had factory pads put on at 90k, no rotor work. At 110k the rotors are still fine. This notion that you need to turn your rotors is garbage. If your truck shakes when you hit the brakes then you should REPLACE the rotors, otherwise don't waste your money. Turning the rotors shaves a bunch of metal off the rotors. This reduces your braking efficiency and causes the brakes to heat up quicker and warp even more than before. And thats assuming that the shop does it right!
Anyway, the stock pads stopped decent but squealed and dusted like crazy. I put on autozone duralast gold ceramic and they don't dust much, don't make any noise but the stopping power is lame. Get hawks.

 

I'm hoping you know that they're THICKER brakes, not bigger as in the diameter. This is good for heavy brake users, as it will be more resistant for heat soak.

 

I have to agree, I just had the adaptive one pads installed, and the improvement in braking is phenomenal.