Well I Changed My Pads And Rotors

SKperformance · February 18, 2006

My brake pad wear indicator came on about a week ago so i know i had to change my pads and decided to do the whole thing fresh.

I ordered a set of drilled rotors and pbr pads for all 4 corners. I had the fronts double drilled as they are 13 inches and can handle quite a few holes. All holes were also chamfered which reduce stress points on the edges by having a large load bearing surface to disperse heat better and prevent any chance of cracking. I am not worried about cracking as i don;t autocross or track the car which would involve such high heat temps. The rotors like most aftermarket ones are not perfect but are very straight after spinning them.

The only deficiency was the vanes uses to cool the rotors are not the exact same length so it may cause a slight balance issue later. For now they are holding perfectly fine in balance and the car is smooth.

I wanted Brembo rotors but they do not list them for the 95-2000 LS although tire rack lists them.

I basically got a everything for $250 for 4 rotors and front and rear pads.

I also wanted to use project Mu pads but they only carry the supra ones ,hawk was another option but also had no listing. I had some Project Mu (supra TT) ones at the shop and compared them. They are the exact same pad size the only difference is it has 2 smaller nubs on the bottom of each pad as well as not having a space for the brake wear sensor. So i was stuck using the PBR Australian pads.

I also tried to find SS brake lines but no one lists them for the car but some said that the GS300/400 lines are the same. Later on i will try and see if i can use them. Also if i find a stock Supra TT rotor to compare i will try and get a factory replacement 2 piece rotor. it will be more expensive but is much lighter and stronger.

As this was the first time doing the car i took my time to make sure i knew where everything went . As well i wanted to inspect every part in there. It ended up taking me 4 hours on a hoist but only because i was being thorough and wire wheeled all nuts to remove any rust as well as applying anti seize to everything.

I ended up finding that the front rotor screws were damaged from previous techs not using the proper Phillips head to remove them .

I have to replace the right rear piston seal for the caliper as that is damaged from a previous tech not looking what they were doing and the piston seal pushed out when the piston was pushed back in to mount new pads.

My rear parking brake shoes are also worn quite a bit so they need replacing also. Which is also going to make me order a new shock to make sure the parking brake is fully off from now on as it seems to not fully release and cause the shoes to get eaten up.

The pad sensors are located on both right sides on the inner pads . From the way it is made it wears out the plastic coating which houses a small metal wire. So as the pads go down they allow the rotors to wear out the plastic exposing the metal. Once the wire is exposed and subsequently worn down it has to be replaced as it now has made an open circuit. I am surprised that it costs $50 for the damn wire as i can buy BMW sensors for $20 or less. Also i have not found any aftermarket sensors as this is not something i feel makes a difference in reliability as it is just made to burn up.

Pressing in 4 piston calipers are a pain to say the least and it makes it worse if you have anodized calipers which you do not want to damage the finish on. Trying to crack the bleed screw while pressing in the piston to remove older fluid which has the most air out from behind each piston is not easy. It has made a good difference in pedal feel from that as well as reapplying anti seize to all floating assemblies. and spraying lube into each pistons dust boots to ensure a good seal and corrosion resistance.

So far they are great for stopping power compared to stock but i have not bedded them down enough to know for sure . Once the pads and rotors are seated i will take them more out for a test.

So right now they stop great ,have no vibrations and no squeeling .

Not bad for $250

RFeldes · February 18, 2006

Did you take pics?

glenmore · February 20, 2006

Once the wire is exposed and subsequently worn down it has to be replaced as it now has made an open circuit. I am surprised that it costs $50 for the damn wire as i can buy BMW sensors for $20 or less. Also i have not found any aftermarket sensors as this is not something i feel makes a difference in reliability as it is just made to burn up.

Mercedes sensors are only $2 each. All it is, is a simple plastic coated wire. At $12.50 a pop, I might try and reuse them by rubber coating them somehow or just skip them and just monitor the mileage.

glenmore

1990 LS400

1991 MBZ 300CE

2000 MBZ C280

SKperformance · February 20, 2006

No pics ,sorry. Atleast not until i put my rims on as you can;t see tehm through the stock (winter)rims much.

I was thinking it would be easy to make a simple bypass or repair to the sensor but i would rather drop the $50 than half !Removed! it , hell i bought the Lexus flagship i should atleast keep it that way.

99lsguy · February 21, 2006

SK,

Thanks for the report! $250 is super sweet deal for all four.

I think my local Lexi dealer is $250 for the front pads only........ :whistles:

I've had my OEM toyota pads in the tool box for 2 year now waiting to put them on....getting close....

SKperformance · March 10, 2006

Well after 2 weeks they are stopping great still.

It does not have the bite that freshly scuffed rotors have but i brake very lightly so i have a tendency to smooth rotors surfaces from my driving style. By doing that i also never get warped rotors from excessive heat.

Well here are some pics that was taken last night.

You cannot see the rotors but you can atleast see my anodized orange calipers.

They are a very dark orange which are a subtle contrast to peek out from the shadows of the stock rims which never let on to passersby of the 4 pot calipers.As you can see in the first pic ,it does not even show up.

MadMax96 · March 10, 2006

I've done my fair share of brake jobs, but since my LS is new to me I haven't had the need to do these.

Couple of questions from an LS newbie if you don't mind:

-There are separate brake shoes on the back for the parking brake? Is it like a drum brake inside the hub of the rotor?

-Your front calipers are aftermarket right? I have the same wheels on my '99 and haven't really looked at my calipers. Are the OEM ones just a single piston or maybe a dual piston (both pushing from the back)?

Great job - now you need different wheels to show off those slick rotors/calipers!

SKperformance · March 10, 2006

No problem on the questions.

The rear parking brake is a shoe/drum sytem inside the rotors hat.

The front calipers are the stock ones available on all 95-00 models standard equipment. They are 4 piston calipers which require a bit of work to press all 4 of them in toghether.

I also have new wheels which are being refinished but show the calipers even less. PICT0011.sized.jpg

MadMax96 · March 10, 2006

No problem on the questions.

The rear parking brake is a shoe/drum sytem inside the rotors hat.

The front calipers are the stock ones available on all 95-00 models standard equipment. They are 4 piston calipers which require a bit of work to press all 4 of them in toghether.

I also have new wheels which are being refinished but show the calipers even less.

Thanks for getting back to me. So you're saying my '99 has 4 piston calipers from the factory? That's pretty sweet! I thought I was hot-$hit when I installed some PBR dual piston calipers from a Mustang GT on my '96 T-bird. :D Those with the Power Stop rotors worked pretty well....

Those rims look great - I see you did something to the exhaust as well. Nice! Do you have a slight tint on your windows also?

Thanks in advance.....

SKperformance · March 11, 2006

Yup you have 4 pot calipers.

Nope the windows are the stock green tint from the factory. It adds a colour but not any darker than normal glass.

I have a new set of mufflers which do almost absolutly nothign to making the car have an exhaust note. I have a few more peices i am waiting on which will free up the restrictions but also be very quiet except under WOT.