Frankinaustin

Howdy from Texas. I have a 93 SC400 that I put some IS300 takes onto. I'd like to improve the breaking capability, but I need to keep my stock calipers in place, since they barely clear the wheels. Can anybody recommend a slotted or drilled rotor and pads and possibly even braided stainless brak lines that can improve breaking? What about synthetic break fluid? Is that effective?

The problem I'm trying to resolve is very spoungey braking, I think it's common on SCs.

kylesc400

lexuspros.com sells a set of 4 slotted/drilled rotors as direct stock replacements for about $300+s/h. looks like a good deal to me since its a staight bolt-on and doesnt require replacement of the stock calipers.

928owner

Frank,

I have been using a set of Bradi (Factory) drilled and slotted rotors for about two years in the front. These just won't warp, and they seem to be more effective in preventing fad than the stock rotors. The stock rotors warpped in less than three months (just like my old Caddy). I don't think ugrading the calipers is worth it unless you are doing some serious track work. Brembo upgrades are a lot of cash look cool, but what are you planning to do? I believe the stock is a dual piston caliper (if I rember correctly), which seems fine for most driving. I do put a lot of miles on my SC as well. The only deal is with the slotted drilled rotors, you get a little "feedback" from the pads in the peddle when they are crossing over the D&S area's. Not objectionable, but not "butter-soft" smooth. But absolutely no warpping (yet), and I have heated them up more than once.

I am sure a steel line would help reduce the spongey feeling, but I won't change the stock lines until they start to look shabby.



By the way, I am STILL waiting for those bolt-buster tolls for my crank. Carson says ther back-ordered, but I can't wait anymore. I am going to figure something else to crack the crank bolt loose, which looks as if it can be done. Yous aid reverse thread for that, right? Would hate to make it any tighter. The good news is the torque spec. for the crank bolt on the 400 is a lot less than the 300, so it should not be too hard to crack it if I use some good old fashioned head scratching.

Take care!

928

carnal_c30

even going with a pad and SS line upgrade for our cars makes a huge difference

I have a Supra upgrade sitting in my garage now haha TT Calipers, crossdrilled slotted rotors, SS lines for all four corners, pads, and all the clips... thinking about selling it if I'm offered the right plrice ehehe

but seriously... pads and lines make a good bit of difference in feel, a full brake upgrade is awesome

I have the AP Racing 13" kit on my other car and they are absolutely amazing!!

Frankinaustin

928 - the threads on the crank pulley bolt are regualr - lefty loosey - ccw to bust off.

how much did you pay for your slotted & drilled rotors? Which pads are you using? EBC Greenstuff? They show up a lot in the ricer mags.

F

928owner

Frank,
I got them on E-bay for $150.00. Very good quality. I am / have been using the stock pads, as they seem to work for me. Good service life, and minimual wear to the rotors. I have used the high performance pads on other cars I have had in the past, and found that they can score the rotors too much, so i avoid them unless I hear from someone who has had them for a year or two. Maybe someday I will try aftermarkets if I get some good feedback, but I think the factory pads on this model are pretty good

Thanks for the crank bolt tip. I alreadty have it half torn down. The crank bolt is next.

928

carnal_c30

I use Hawk HPS pads on my calipers, they dont cause any scoring or rotor wear, leave that for the Hawk HP+s

Nick T

Frank,
pads will do the most for your braking. rotors are more for show then anything else. the SS lines will improve brake feel. However, spongey brakes which is quite common as you say are often caused by the caliper pins being frozen. Hopefully your pins are not completely frozen yet. Pull your calipers off, remove the pins clean and grease them with high temp brake grease and put new o-rings on, try to clean out the pin bore as much as possible. I don't know the name of the tool, but it's a wire brush that you attach to a drill, works great for cleaning the bore out i use WD40 to lubricate while cleaning. If the pins are frozen, you will have to forcefully remove them with pliers/channel locks etc. This will probably cause the pins to twist so new pins would be needed.

928owner

Sorry, I disagree.

My rotor upgrade made a signifcant differenc!. If you use high quality rotors, you should obtain better performance than stock. Look, I warped the factory set in now time, I have yet to get the Bradi's I bought to warp, and I DO get on the brakes. So, from MY experience, good slotted & drilled rotors DO make a difference, but if you enjoy having your steering wheel vibrate under hard braking, then I guess it makes no sense to use better than stock rotors

Personal experience is my teacher.

928

Frank.
BTW, Timing belt & water pump replaced, alond with all active front componets. Didn't need that tool. My old trusty air impact wrench pulled the bolt right off. A cheapo puley puller tool yanked the harmonic damper rght off, and the main timing gear just fell off, although there is no reason to take the gear off.

AND I didn't blow any freon..... YEAH! (You were about right, 14 hours for a good job, but EVERYTHING was replaced)

Nick T

928owner,
I agree OEM rotors are junk, especially compared to Brandi ( made by Brembo ) BUT my statement was for the x-drilled slotted stuff. I am SURE you would have the same performance from non slotted/x-drilled Brandi rotors as you have now. Unless you take it on a track and really work the brakes hard, you're not going see any benefits for x-drilled/slotted rotors.
That being said, would I put x-drilled/slotted rotors on my car? Yes, because they LOOK nice. I have x-drilled rotors on my Legend and my brother's vette. But don't expect any performance benefit from it b/c it's not going to stop you any shorter and on the street you just can't heat them up enough to be of any real benefit against brake fade.

Regards

SCV8

Autozone has Performance Friction brake pads for our cars,same as the TRD pads.