99 surf brakes pulsing - upgrades?

[floatingkiwi]

OK the front brakes on my 99 surf are finally pulsing badly when hot. I've already had the discs skimmed and even though they're still within spec I think it's just time for newies. Mine is the larger type, same as Prado 90 series, so my question is there anything out there that is better than say BDA792's? In NZ we can't get the better spec DBA's like the 4wd ones or anything, as far as I am aware.

Many of the USA guys upgrade their calipers, rotors and pads to that found on the Tundra utes, but of course we don't have those here either.

Has anyone done better brakes to their kzn185 surfs or any ideas with my rotor choice? (DBA792 100 bucks at supercheap).

[derk]

there's plenty of good information and reading about the causes of brake pulsing on google mate, brake rotors are pretty cheep these days so its hardly worthwhile getting rusty worn old rotors ground throw a new set of rotors and pads on the front and while your at it strip the callipers down and clean up the pistons and make sure they are all moving freely with no rust pitting and resin and shit build up in there, to upgrade your brakes takes a bit more than bigger callipers off other trucks you need to increase the clamping pressure and or look at higher friction pads unrelated but worthwhile checking the flexible hoses for deterioration and budging while your at it

[floatingkiwi]

Yeah about 1 yr ago I rebuilt the calipers, skimmed the rotors, new pads and just lately replaced flex lines. Used Ceramix pads which I think are quite shitty.

[derk]

sounds like your ready for another brake overhaul then mate if you want to upgrade to flash rotors try and get slotted and dimpled like the DBA ones as opposed to cross drilled, dimples are less prone to suffer overheating stress cracks than drilled rotors can, not all cheep brakepads are necessarily bad the cheep ones supercheep sell and market under their calibre brand are manufactured by bendix

[floatingkiwi]

I can't find anywhere in NZ that sells these rotors slotted. Or in any other fashion than OEM replacement actually. Would like some 792S but can't get em here. I think.

[derk]

a new set of standard rotors will work fine mate putting fancy cross drilled and slotted rotors on wont make your truck stop any faster or prevent the causes of brake pulsing, you can get all those DBA rotors in from Oz there's usually tons of them listed all over ebay it only takes 7-10 days for stuff to get sent over

[floatingkiwi]

Yes you can unfortunately pricing and shipping is ludicrous.

[derk]

Yep a lot of money for bling that will do the same job as a set of cheep priced standard off the shelf rotors

[Clint]

If you want more braking mojo do you have a tandem booster yet? All but bolt in & heaps more power. I've got one for a 2-bolt toyota master cyl here that's going cheap otherwise look up aussie ebay for bxbooster if you need a 4-bolt one.

Cheers
Clint

[floatingkiwi]

Tandem Booster??

[derk]

^^^
tandem booster is a dual diaphragm booster as opposed to a standard single diaphragm booster, it means less effort on the brake pedal and more clamping pressure on the callipers which means easier and more effective braking, good for larger tyres or to pass the brake test for a lvvta certification there will be plenty of info about it on those usa forums you've been reading the yanks are pretty keen on dual diaphragm booster upgrades on their Toyota mini trucks and cruisers the other alternative is an additional PBR remote booster but its more shagging around than a dual diaphragm swap and probably more expensive those VH40 and VH44 remote boosters must have gold and silver nuts and bolts inside for what they cost a remote booster is unlikely to sneak past the eagle eyes of Mr WoF inspecter without a lvvta plate where it would be very difficult to know it the standard booster was a single or upgraded dual diaphragm

[floatingkiwi]

PM me what you want for yours - I'll see what type mine is. Just a standard 185 surf with disc front and drum rear.

[derk]

if you upgrade your booster mate just be aware that with the extra clamping pressure and easy stopping ability your driving habbits and style adapts and changes resulting in your brakes running a lot hotter (still the same size rotors and cooling ability) and the pads wearing down a lot quicker, not really a problem other than more frequent pad changes but you have to be a bit more careful if your doing heavy towing over hills you can end up with overheated brakes and smoke escaping out of the front wheels so don't forget to use engine braking and take it easy on the brakes till you get down to the bottom

[floatingkiwi]

Got a set of rotors from supercheap. Chinese copies of DBA792's but seem to be great so far.