4 piston calipers on stock rotors....

[sthmstr]

Just teasting the waters for interest, but I am in the proccess of making a kit to mount Toyota 4 piston calipers on the stock MKIII front rotors. I'm hoping to make it as bolt on as possible. Perhaps a little dust shield mods but not much more.

Any interest?

 

[Doward]

Absolutely no point in it, in my opinion.

The stock rotors don't have enough mass to absorb the heat required to handle the mass trying to be slowed.

Something like this, however, works pretty damn well -
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83234

Or if you want bad-ass -
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27659

 

[funky_monkey58]

Don't you want them to dissipate the heat?

Anyway I think some better calipers and a set of powerslot rotors or something similar would be a huge improvement over stock.

 

[Doward]

The stock rotor is 11.88" (302mm) - That is freaking ridiculous on a sports car.

Clamping the pads tighter will only introduce more heat - and more fade.

 

[sthmstr]

I have heard that they are too small before. I would like to rock bigger like your 13" kit. I've read the thread and would love to rock them or the 2000 cobra R setup with your kit. Although your kit is great and very reasonably priced, I was mainly lookin for something priced even lower for just a minor upgrade. Somethin temporary till I could afford to buy your's. Not tryin to snake your business at all. No sales here. Just wondered if people wanted to see the swap.

 

[supraguru05]

The stock rotor is 11.88" (302mm) - That is freaking ridiculous on a sports car.

Clamping the pads tighter will only introduce more heat - and more fade.

only if the pads and fluid cant take the temperatures

 

[Doward]

Even then, you can end up with cracked/warped rotors. How's that going to help a heavy Supra stop?

That's exactly why I went with such large rotors on my kit.

 

[sthmstr]

Even then, you can end up with cracked/warped rotors. How's that going to help a heavy Supra stop?

That's exactly why I went with such large rotors on my kit.

I agree that the 13" Cobra setup is superior and that the stock rotor setup sucks. Again just lookin for a very slight upgrade on what I currently have till I can afford the $800.00-$1500.00 for a full upgrade. I understand that the diameter and thickness of the stock rotor is sub-par for the weight of the car. really i was thinkin that the 4 piston would apply more even and consitant pressure on the rotor and help only slightly with braking.

 

[Doward]

How cheap do you think 4 piston calipers are?

 

[Poodles]

only cheap "upgrade" are the Previa 2 piston calipers...

 

[sthmstr]

How cheap do you think 4 piston calipers are?

These are $80.00 each for reman's before core charge. Again not in any way better or equal alternative for a BBK. Just a better option than stock or the Previa upgrade.

 

[Poodles]

Either way, the rotors are the weak part as they'll overheat...

 

[Doward]

Are you talking about the Nissan 300ZX calipers? The ones designed for a 10.8" rotor, used in the Nightpager kit?

 

[sthmstr]

Are you talking about the Nissan 300ZX calipers? The ones designed for a 10.8" rotor, used in the Nightpager kit?

Nope. I spent about 4 hours at my Dad's autoparts store with my knuckle and every caliper there. Using my Micrometer to double check I found out that the early to mid 90's tacomas and 4runners have almost the identical sized rotors. They also have pretty beefy 4 piston calipers. They use a 6 lug wheel, different size mounting holes and banjo bolt, but it's close enough that a bracket like the "Nightpager" will work perfectly.

 

[Doward]

Those calipers (4WD Pre-Tacoma pickups) are 4 piston, but they are designed for an 11.3" rotor - smaller than stock (which is 11.8")

 

[funky_monkey58]

I think you guys are focusing on the wrong reasons why bigger is better for stopping. Its not all about the heat. In fact the heat factor is one of the easier taken car of problems, with better venting.

The real advantage is the change in the torque applied via extending the fulcrum point. With added diameter there also becomes added stress to the mounting brackets, etc...Yada yada yada.

Otherwise like has been discussed numerous times more pistons=better distribution of the force applied to the brake pads. Nothing more nothing less.

The heat generated varies so greatly through driving styles that it is absurd. Take for instance me driving in MN for 200miles I brake 5 times for stop signs or lights deer in the road or what have you. Now take someone driving in a mountainous region. Well I am sure you see the point.

 

[sthmstr]

Those calipers (4WD Pre-Tacoma pickups) are 4 piston, but they are designed for an 11.3" rotor - smaller than stock (which is 11.8")

Hmm lookin closer at them I guess you're right. .5" difference maybe. I'd say with a measuring tape looks closer to .25" but not a big enough size difference to really matter much. The nightpager kit is much worse for rotor to pad ratio and seems to work fine.

Really The purpose of this thread is not to debate the technical reasons why bigger brakes are better. No question in my mind that this is not the ideal setup for ultimate braking. It's a temporary solution with a mild improvement in performance and majot improvement in cosmetics. I just wanted to see if anyone cared enough to see my progress with this conversion. If nobody cares then cool. I'll keep it to myself. If there's interest then I'll start the thread in the next week.

 

[sthmstr]

I think you guys are focusing on the wrong reasons why bigger is better for stopping. Its not all about the heat. In fact the heat factor is one of the easier taken car of problems, with better venting.

The real advantage is the change in the torque applied via extending the fulcrum point. With added diameter there also becomes added stress to the mounting brackets, etc...Yada yada yada.

Otherwise like has been discussed numerous times more pistons=better distribution of the force applied to the brake pads. Nothing more nothing less.

The heat generated varies so greatly through driving styles that it is absurd. Take for instance me driving in MN for 200miles I brake 5 times for stop signs or lights deer in the road or what have you. Now take someone driving in a mountainous region. Well I am sure you see the point.

Good post! Kudos!

 

[Mk3runner]

I wanna see it. Hell why not. Sounds cool

 

[Doward]

By all means, go for it! I'm just questioning why. If it's just to say "I have 4 piston calipers!" then great. If it's to significantly improve stock brakes, then it won't do that.

Brakes are just one area I'm really anal-retentive about. Someone screws up brakes, and they careen into someone else, 90% of the time. I don't want to be careened into