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Lets talk about... Brakes
http://www.gt4dc.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7436
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Author:  The Lorro [ Mon Aug 17, 2015 12:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Lets talk about... Brakes

Hello folks,

As with any car that's being gradually improved, there's always another issue or area where the car feels lacking in some respect...

For me now this is the braking system. Despite relatively new fluid, and pads and discs all round, I think that the braking could be better. Especially given that I like the odd track day, and I'm aiming to start doing some sprints/hillclimbs soon. No room for apathetic braking when you're trying to brake at the last possible moment!

I am considering sending my calipers off for a rebuild and new paint finish, but I'd like some opinions on other areas to look at. Are braided hoses worthwhile? Is there a chance the servo needs a looking over (and how is this done)? Do grooved/dimpled/drilled discs make a difference? That type of thing. Hoping to get the benefit of all the experience on here.

Cheers guys, and I hope everyone is getting the most out their cars this 'summer'!

Author:  two_OH_five [ Wed Aug 19, 2015 11:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

Generally the 205 brakes are quite reasonable

If you are getting calipers refurbished I'd strongly suggest making sure oem Toyota dust seals are used. You can/could buy refurbished calipers from Budweg but the dust seals are made of recycled kleenex :(

I have one car with aftermarket braided hoses and one with oem Toyota. I can't tell the difference given the generally spongey feel of the pedal

TRD disks and pads on the front have served me well although both TrackToy and myself have experienced odd vibration on the track when really throwing the anchor out at 3 digit speeds.
I'm currently running ebc "dust free" yellow (might be red, can't honestly remember) which work quite well. Sadly they are about as dust free as a Sahara yurt after the maid's been away for a month :mad:

Author:  The Lorro [ Thu Aug 20, 2015 12:23 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

Thanks for that. I was considering sending the calipers off to Bigg Red for a full refurb and paint up, and replacing the hoses at the same time. From what you say though, I might hold off replacing the hoses til they need done.

Are the TRD grooved discs regarded as one of the best? There's a lot of choice out there, some quite cheap, but I'm wary of the eBay specials.

Author:  turbo_imp [ Thu Aug 20, 2015 8:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

I will be going for plain discs and some really aggressive pads. Grooved discs to have a place when getting the pads REALLY hot, but otherwise you would be better to use plain discs and then screw the with some really abrasive pads.

Author:  Sirius [ Thu Aug 20, 2015 8:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

The Lorro wrote:
Hello folks,

As with any car that's being gradually improved, there's always another issue or area where the car feels lacking in some respect...

For me now this is the braking system. Despite relatively new fluid, and pads and discs all round, I think that the braking could be better. Especially given that I like the odd track day, and I'm aiming to start doing some sprints/hillclimbs soon. No room for apathetic braking when you're trying to brake at the last possible moment!

I am considering sending my calipers off for a rebuild and new paint finish, but I'd like some opinions on other areas to look at. Are braided hoses worthwhile? Is there a chance the servo needs a looking over (and how is this done)? Do grooved/dimpled/drilled discs make a difference? That type of thing. Hoping to get the benefit of all the experience on here.

Cheers guys, and I hope everyone is getting the most out their cars this 'summer'!


I would suggest that if your calipers have not been rebuilt and are the originals they will be well in need of a refurb by now, nearly all the calipers by now will have some corrosion of the pistons that will impact on performance.

No need to send them off IMO - just buy the rebuild kit and new pistons from TCB or your local main dealer and do it your self. quite satisfying I found.

Braided hoses I personally would steer clear from, many suffer from failure where the fitting connects to the hose, I experienced this myself although others have had no issues there are plenty of horror stories out there.

I would get some nice pads - TRD or Carbotech perhaps and team them up with refurbished calipers and new OEM discs and possibly new lines if they are perished. If you want to get fancy you can get OEM discs grooved (I did this) by a brake specialist or engineering firm.

Cheers :)

Author:  TrackToyFour [ Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

I would endorse the comments above but would also say that both Sirius and I found a big improvement in braking by doing a complete flush of the old brake fluid with new.

I have also experienced water contamination in the brake master cylinder of my UK ST205 which resulted in corrosion of the piston and severe malfunctioning of the piston and seal. The brake fluid had turned a bright orange colour with the rust! None of this was obvious from the outside, you could only see the damage when I dismantled the brake system for cleaning and refurbishing.

Author:  Spam [ Fri Aug 21, 2015 11:24 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

Can anyone tell me if there is a rebuild kit for the Celica 205 front/rear calipers?

Also any companies that refurb and paint.

There are a few companies on the net, has anyone had any done?

Author:  The Lorro [ Fri Aug 21, 2015 12:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

TCB parts, Fensport and Camskill all did kits last i checked.

Will get the calculator out later and decide whether its worth doing myself. Most work i do myself if i can, but i like the idea of the calipers being media blasted and also pressure tested. Also nice shiney red finish is appealing to my inner chav.

Author:  The Lorro [ Fri Aug 21, 2015 1:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

... and thanks for all your input. I will update as i go. Bet you can't wait. I'll be sure to... pad... it out when I'm piston bored. Heh.

Author:  South Coast Workshop [ Fri Aug 21, 2015 7:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

We can refurbish calipers to your specifications. Drop us a line if interested. :)

Author:  The Lorro [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 12:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

Can anyone tell me if there's a big difference between OEM equivalent pads such as Mintex or Pagid, and the >£100 per set variety such as Carbotech, TRD, EBC Redstuff?

I will probably put the (hardly worn) old pads back in once the calipers come back, so I can gauge any improvement from the refurb/fluid flush, but I am curious how much difference these performance pads make as I will probably upgrade soon. If you believe some of the threads elsewhere about Carbotech, they are in a different league!

Author:  Animal66 [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 4:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

+1 for Carbotech, driven my dads four with then on and have a set for mine when it comes back. Unbelievable stopping power, good when cold and fantastic when warmed up. However very very dusty and can and normally do sound awful at slow town speeds.

Think I went for the xp8 compound.

Have used trd road pads I think they were, very similar in breaking power, I'm sure I locked the wheels at 50mph lol. However don't think they had the same heat range as carbos but again were road pads so to be expected.

Author:  hally [ Tue Sep 08, 2015 6:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

along similar lines, I have a spongy feel to the pedal and would like it to improve the pedal feel, would a rebuild of the master cylinder etc help.
I have in the past 2 years done all hoses new discs and pads and rebuild.

anyone got any ideas?

Author:  jdm-gt4 [ Tue Sep 08, 2015 8:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

id agree with whats been said, get the servis stuff sorted first (caliper rebuild and replace OE lines plus good fluids)
also a mention, its generaly considered that the over priced TRD discs are actuall the OE disc with grooves machined out
if you wanted you could get a local machine shop to do this for you quite cheaply
or i know martin kingston does this as a compleate servis (front and rears)
i run with EBC dimpled and grooved front and rear with yellow pads and find this is a upgrade over the OE
yellow pads are a good all round choice over the more harsh red/carbotech (only my opinion after trying a few different pads)
(have read and was advised that the carbotechs can be quite hard on the discs, due to being harsh??)

Author:  TrackToyFour [ Tue Sep 08, 2015 11:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lets talk about... Brakes

I found a complete change of brake fluid made a big difference to the effectiveness of the brakes. It is best done with two people as it takes a bit of time and effort to completely flush the lines of old fluid.

I haven't yet fitted the brake servo brace but have heard good reports that this also improves the brake feel.

The so-called dust free yellow EBC pads give good pedal feel but they produce a lot more dust than the OEM, front TRD or rear Black Diamond Predator pads I have used in the past.

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