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i would consider going to upgraded rotors/pads on my 07 350; but i just recently had new pads and rotors put on the front last year so im good for awhile. I just had the fronts and rears inspected and theres no need to replace anything(and yes i know some of you will relate to another thread i posted possibly but im sticking with my guns on this) at this moment as both fronts and rears have plenty of material left on them plus i dont have the $ to put in upgraded parts.
I as well had new pads & rotors installed about a year ago, when I bought this rx. From the time I started looking for a rx & really test driving them around, I could tell they needed help in the braking dept as well as my brother. I'm use to the softy brake pedal now. IK it has nothing to do w/ the brakes themselfs, my thought is possibly since its a Lexus, the manufacturer didn't want a real firm pedal per the typical Lexus customers.
I as well had new pads & rotors installed about a year ago, when I bought this rx. From the time I started looking for a rx & really test driving them around, I could tell they needed help in the braking dept as well as my brother. I'm use to the softy brake pedal now. IK it has nothing to do w/ the brakes themselfs, my thought is possibly since its a Lexus, the manufacturer didn't want a real firm pedal per the typical Lexus customers.
very valid viewpoint here; and yes its possible that it has a lot to do with the way they designed the feel of the brake pedal and or the feel of the brake system itself per say.
Upgrading to the gen3 front brakes, does make a big difference.....And yeah the brand of rotors & pads do make a difference....I ended up w/ Bosch rotors & Wagner oex pads & warranting out the Oreilly C1324 pads as well as the rotors after 3 or so weeks.....
I installed the Supra twin-turbo rotors (directional) and GenIII RX350 dual-piston front calipers on my 2005 Japan built RX330 w/ OEM 17" wheels, recently.
In summary, the calipers were bolt-on replacements. The SuperTT rotors were usable but required some modifications (at least for me).
This and later posts will discuss the installation.
The parts I used were acquired from RockAuto, as follows:
RAYBESTOS EHT1324H Brake Pad $ 29.79 $ 0.00 $ 29.79
Prior to installation / on the bench / new parts vs. old parts:
The new SupraTT rotors, out of the box, were almost nuts-on 30mm thick (30.04mm / 1.184” specifically for the driver’s side). Each weighed about 21lbs in its cardboard box. The OEM rotors on the vehicle, with ~164,000 miles, measured 27.4mm thick (they were 28mm when new, presumably, so that’s -~0.020” wear) and one of the old rotors, when weighed, measured 19.4lbs. The SuperTT rotors are "directional" as they are cast with the vanes oriented to promote airflow through the rotor (see pictures).
The new calipers have dual 1.74” diameter (per spec) pistons (calculated area = 4.76sqin total). The OEM calipers have single 2.5” diameter (per spec) pistons (calculated area = 4.91sqin), 3.2% greater than the duals.
The new caliper brackets’ mounting bosses were threaded but not cleanly, so the OEM mounting bolts couldn’t be inserted by hand. So, on the bench prior to installation I “chased” the mounting bosses, using the mounting bolts, a couple of times to clear the threads. This cleaned the threads nicely.
Concerned that the new pads / calipers might not clear the 30mm SupraTT rotors, I checked clearance by installing the brake pads into the new calipers. Pad-to-pad clearance between was 30.5mm for both assemblies, i.e., more than enough for the 30mm thick SupraTT rotors.
Installation details will be in a following post.
New SupraTT rotor stacked atop old OEM RX330 rotors (~164k miles). New rotor measures 30.0mm thick, old rotors ~27.4mm thick.
The directional vanes in the SupraTT rotor are evident by the orientation of the screwdriver. This is the RH (passenger's) rotor.
I’m loving my 2008-2013 Highlander rear brakes so far on my 2002 Highlander. They’re a lighter aluminum construction, easier to service and are much larger than stock.
Rotor size is 310mm vs 288mm. Thickness is the same at 10mm, piston size is also the same but the caliper is physically larger and has more surface area.
You will need to cut/bend your dust shield back if you want the large rotor to fit, or you can just use the 2008-2013 Highlander or 2009-2015 Venza dust shields. I had the whole knuckle so that’s what I got.
After removing all old brake hardware, I cleaned both hubs, mounted the new SupraTT rotors to the hubs using three nuts and then measured the runout (OK) on both sides
I installed the abutment clips in the caliper brackets and mounted the brackets on the steering knuckles.
In general, the rotors were close (“tight”, “nearer”) to the outboard side of the caliper mounting bracket on both driver's and passenger's side. Upon rotating the driver’s side rotor, I noticed interference (“grinding” noise) with the outboard side of the rotor and the retaining tang on one of the abutment clips (see picture); the passenger’s side did not interfere in the same area, although the clearance was very tight (< .010 perhaps). As a mitigation, I removed the relevant abutment clips from both driver’s and passenger’s side and flattened their retaining tangs to improve rotor-to-tang clearance (by perhaps .010). Thereafter, the driver's side interference was eliminated… at least, for now. Read on...
I proceeded to complete the job and took the vehicle for a test drive. The brakes were quiet in straight-line driving but, when turning to the right, the driver’s side rotor emitted a grinding noise (reflect on the interference with the abutment clip as mentioned prior).
Upon return to the shop I found scrape marks on the rotor and the abutment clip tang, i.e., those which had exhibited clearance issues during installation (and which I had tried to mitigate by flattening the retaining tang). There might be a number of ways to solve this clearance problem, but I simply took the driver's side rotor to an auto shop and had them remove .020 from the outboard side of rotor; they also took .005 off the inboard side to ensure the rotor thickness would remain uniform (although now .025 thinner than new, resulting in a rotor thickness of ~29.4mm)
After re-installation, no interference has been noted in any driving scenario.
So, in summary:
- Clearance is tight between caliper mounting brackets’ abutment hardware and the outboard side of the SupraTT rotors. Clearance elsewhere was adequate.
- In my case the passenger’s side was usable as-assembled, but the driver’s side required clearancing
- The clearance issue evidently arises on a case-by-case basis and the tolerances provided by different steering knuckles / caliper mounting brackets / rotors may or may not be adequate. YMMV.
- Shimming the caliper mounting bracket in the outboard direction by .020 would have solved the problem in my case, but I elected to turn the rotor down as noted. I wasn't particularly keen about installing shims between the steering knuckle and the caliper mounting bracket; it could have been done using a pair of appropriate washers (M10 or M12 bolts are used to mount the brackets to the knuckle), but finding / creating washers of .020 thickness wasn't the easiest step at the time, and I felt safer turning the rotor because that's a common practice.
Rotor and caliper mounting bracket, driver's side. Interference noted on the outboard side between the mounting tang on the abutment clips.
Completed install. Checking runout of the rotor which had been machined for clearance. Vehicle is mounted on jack stands,allowing me to measure runout with the dial indicator mounted on the floor.
This is the original abutment clip, four of which are used on each caliper mounting bracket. The two clips which were mounted on the outboard side of each caliper mounting bracket were very close to the outboard side of the rotor, and the "curl" in the tang caused contact.
Flattening the tang (compare to other image) yielded a very modest increase in clearance, which in my case was enough to quiet the driver's side brake in straight-line driving but not enough when cornering (see the text). The passenger's side brake was quieted by this change and required no other modifications.
I would like to add that the 2008-2013 Highlander rear brake upgrade is 100% plug and play.
Stock brake lines work, stock knuckle, stock hub, stock caliper bolts etc. You just need to worry about that rear dust shield, if you even still have one - LOL!
OK, just to reiterate: To install the larger 310mm rear brakes from a 2008-2013 Highlander on a stock 2nd Gen RX knuckle one needs (as you said):
Rotor,
Calipers,
Pads, and
Abutment clips aka "hardware" (if it doesn't already come with the calipers or pads... which it often does), and optionally
Replacement dust shields (aka "backing plate") for a 2008-2013 Highlander (or, bend / modify the existing RX plates to provide clearance, as you note)
New, replacement dust shields from Toyota are (as of this writing) $343/ea MSRP, and it looks like some dealers might be willing to sell them for ~$245/ea. Alternatively, one might try buying the rear knuckle from a scrapper simply to get an intact dust shield... and hopefully the scrapper didn't bend / damage the shield during removal, etc.
One thing about those pesky dust shields... parts.toyota.com lists different parts numbers for different variants of the 2008-2013 Highlander and I can't say offhand which (or maybe both!) fit the 2nd Gen RX knuckle, i.e.,
I would like to add that this works for all 2004-2009 RX models, 2004-2007 Highlander, as well as a 1999-2003 RX300 or 2001-2003 Highlander if you want a project.
I pulled the knuckle assemblies myself carefully from a junkyard 2014 Venza AWD for 60 bucks each, a phenomenal price. The Venza dust shields don’t fit as nicely as the 2008-2013 Highlander ones, but they work just fine.
I would like to add that this works for all 2004-2009 RX models, 2004-2007 Highlander, as well as a 1999-2003 RX300 or 2001-2003 Highlander if you want a project.
I pulled the knuckle assemblies myself carefully from a junkyard 2014 Venza AWD for 60 bucks each, a phenomenal price. The Venza dust shields don’t fit as nicely as the 2008-2013 Highlander ones, but they work just fine.
Hey Matt - what parts are you suggesting would fit on the the RX300? I love a fun project.
I assumed the front dual piston RX350 calipers & rotors would fit on the RX300 under 18s
In your scenario, do you no longer have rear parking brakes? I think I missed that part in the write-up above. I would think that larger rotor hats wouldn't match up to the needed drum size for those parking shoes.
Depending on if you have a AWD or a FWD makes a big difference. This has only been confirmed to work on an AWD, but the FWD would be easier in theory as you have no rear CV axles to deal with, and the rear control arms appear to mount on, but this is just speculation as I have an AWD. I’m just going off someone who did this on a Camry.
The 1st gen RX has a different parking brake than an 01-03 Highlander, but for an 01-03 Highlander AWD the parking brake cables lined up and the whole 2008-2013 system works VERY well on my car. The driver’s side required minor dremeling to get the cable bolt hole to line up, but the passenger side was 100% bolt in, more info here: https://www.toyotanation.com/threads...#post-14539790
On your RX300, you can probably fit the 2008-2013 Highlander front and rear brakes. You lose the ability to run 16” rims with the bigger fronts, but you don’t with the rears.
For the rear, you ideally need 2008-2013 Highlander rear knuckles, or ones from a 2004-2007 Highlander, 2004-2009 RX, or a 2009-2015 Venza. If you’re AWD, you need AWD rear knuckles & vice versa. Obviously you need the brakes too.
[QUOTE=2008RX400h;11162840]I installed the Supra twin-turbo rotors (directional) and GenIII RX350 dual-piston front calipers on my 2005 Japan built RX330 w/ OEM 17" wheels, recently.
In summary, the calipers were bolt-on replacements. The SuperTT rotors were usable but required some modifications (at least for me).
This and later posts will discuss the installation.
The parts I used were acquired from RockAuto, as follows:
RAYBESTOS EHT1324H Brake Pad $ 29.79 $ 0.00 $ 29.79
Prior to installation / on the bench / new parts vs. old parts:
The new SupraTT rotors, out of the box, were almost nuts-on 30mm thick (30.04mm / 1.184” specifically for the driver’s side). Each weighed about 21lbs in its cardboard box. The OEM rotors on the vehicle, with ~164,000 miles, measured 27.4mm thick (they were 28mm when new, presumably, so that’s -~0.020” wear) and one of the old rotors, when weighed, measured 19.4lbs. The SuperTT rotors are "directional" as they are cast with the vanes oriented to promote airflow through the rotor (see pictures).
The new calipers have dual 1.74” diameter (per spec) pistons (calculated area = 4.76sqin total). The OEM calipers have single 2.5” diameter (per spec) pistons (calculated area = 4.91sqin), 3.2% greater than the duals.
The new caliper brackets’ mounting bosses were threaded but not cleanly, so the OEM mounting bolts couldn’t be inserted by hand. So, on the bench prior to installation I “chased” the mounting bosses, using the mounting bolts, a couple of times to clear the threads. This cleaned the threads nicely.
Concerned that the new pads / calipers might not clear the 30mm SupraTT rotors, I checked clearance by installing the brake pads into the new calipers. Pad-to-pad clearance between was 30.5mm for both assemblies, i.e., more than enough for the 30mm thick SupraTT rotors.
What was your thoughts/thinking on not going w/ the gen3 rotors vs the TT rotors? I take it the pads stick pass the rotor diameter some? A great add is going w/ SS brake hoses, which I got thru Tirerack, as well as flush the old brake fluid w/ new dot 3.....
What was your thoughts/thinking on not going w/ the gen3 rotors vs the TT rotors? I take it the pads stick pass the rotor diameter some? A great add is going w/ SS brake hoses, which I got thru Tirerack, as well as flush the old brake fluid w/ new dot 3.....
The SupraTT rotors were directional, i.e., the vanes are left and right specific, so as to impart greater airflow through the rotor than a non-directional rotor; they’re also 30mm thick, so presumably there’s more mass to sink the heat from braking. The Gen3 rotors seem to be similar to the Gen2’s, i.e., 28mm thickness (both) 12.9” outside diameter (Gen3) vs 12.6” outside diameter (Gen2) vs 12.7” (SupraTT).
The pads on my installation are practically flush with the edge of the rotor.
I have SS lines in the box, I just haven’t installed them yet. I do note that the pedal feel is quite good as-is. I couldn't find SS lines on TireRack's site. I bought mine from a place in Brownsburg, IN, named TechnaFit, see www.technafitstore.com
These brakes *work*, nicely. The other night, shortly after installing the new components, we crested a hill while driving and found two deer standing in the roadway. Not accustomed to the new brakes, I stood on the pedal pretty heavily, instinctively… and nearly put us both through the windshield. I was very pleased )
Just finished replacing all the parts for the wife's RX330. Rear struts and springs (ready Mount) sway bar links, caliper, rotors, and brake pads, rear-wheel bearings. About 2.0 hours per side or a total of 4 hours.
Tirerack does offer the Goodridge G-Stop SS brake hose kit #21503. btw the kit works on both the gen2 & 3 calipers. I see the price has gone up since I installed a set a couple yrs ago.
11-22-20 | 12:21 PM
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