Supra Jap Spec Brakes.

Just thought it was worth a mention this just to gather other peoples experience with TT Jap Spec Brakes.

New to Supra ownership just came out of an AMG C43 the brakes in that car were absolutely superb!!!

The supra standard brakes are very poor, mine are all as new front pads becoming a little low, but still plenty of material left.

All my discs are fairly new changed last year in Japan prior to Import have Japanese work sheets detailing the work carried out.

They don't inspire any confidence at all!

Will be definately upgrading the brakes for sure, Brembos front and rear pehaps (Views/ opinions) they are bloody expensive, probaby paying for the name I would imagine more than anything.

Views?

JSpec brakes aren't the best I know. Braided lines to the calipers make a massive difference. Do that and bleed the system with 5.1 and you should be better. A set of CW road pads are good too.

With the smaller brakes pads are the key, they make an absolutely enormous difference. If it's a fresh import make sure you do all the usual stuff. New tyre's, new pads, new fluids, geometry setup. If you miss any of those it's not worth asking for further advice as something fundamental will be missing. If you still find it lacking in braking performance then you are driving it bloody hard and need to consider an uprated caliper setup.

Properly working ones are just fine even on big power cars, just do not expect them to work again (without a decent cool down) after a hard stop. I've done a hard stop from over 170mph on the smaller jspecs and they worked just fine, the ABS came on at around 80mph, if thats not enough brake force for road use then I don't know what is!

Instead of Brembos, why not go for the bigger UK Spec brakes?

OEM discs & calipers, braided lines, 5.1 fluid, oem pads would be fine, or Chris Wilson pads. (He's a member on here btw)

I changed over from my 14 year old J-spec brakes to brand new UK Spec all round, and I'm very pleased.

JSpec brakes aren't the best I know. Braided lines to the calipers make a massive difference. Do that and bleed the system with 5.1 and you should be better. A set of CW road pads are good too.

Thanks for the heads up on that one!

Guess I will be planning well ahead with any spirited driving! LOL

I bought a Supra Owners Manual CD from EBay, so hopefully that will detail how to bleed the brakes correctly.

Start furthest away and work towards the closest normally, will look for details first just in case its any different.

Thanks for your views though on it much appreciated.

With the smaller brakes pads are the key, they make an absolutely enormous difference. If it's a fresh import make sure you do all the usual stuff. New tyre's, new pads, new fluids, geometry setup. If you miss any of those it's not worth asking for further advice as something fundamental will be missing. If you still find it lacking in braking performance then you are driving it bloody hard and need to consider an uprated caliper setup.

 

Properly working ones are just fine even on big power cars, just do not expect them to work again (without a decent cool down) after a hard stop. I've done a hard stop from over 170mph on the smaller jspecs and they worked just fine, the ABS came on at around 80mph, if thats not enough brake force for road use then I don't know what is!

Im the first owner and the car is as new completely factory specification very rare I believe.

Through MOT no worries at all, all appears new on the brakes as they are no lips on discs or anything, and they are still silver clean in appearance too.

I don't drive my cars hard at all, just off a slip road this evening up hill too, from say 70 mph, found myself thinking is it going to stop ha.

By the way there was no one else on the lights I was trying it out on purpose to see what they were like.

Thanks for the view buddy.

Instead of Brembos, why not go for the bigger UK Spec brakes?

OEM discs & calipers, braided lines, 5.1 fluid, oem pads would be fine, or Chris Wilson pads. (He's a member on here btw)

 

I changed over from my 14 year old J-spec brakes to brand new UK Spec all round, and I'm very pleased.

That's a good shout!

I will definately scope for opinions before I invest in anything, in the past I have always done the works on cars, but always do the fundamentally important stuff to ensure there is an excellent grounding for future purchases.

Always best to build to a plan hey!!

You need the brakes looking at if it gave cause for concern. The smaller brakes are absolutely fine for any reasonable road driving (even hard road use with the right pads and a correctly serviced and setup car). If you found it poor then it needs a serious look at by a specialist.

My money is on it being on OOD jap tyre's, nasty pads, old fluid and it having no geo.

You need the brakes looking at if it gave cause for concern. The smaller brakes are absolutely fine for any reasonable road driving (even hard road use with the right pads and a correctly serviced and setup car). If you found it poor then it needs a serious look at by a specialist.

 

My money is on it being on OOD jap tyre's, nasty pads, old fluid and it having no geo.

Funny you should say that tyres on back needs replacing as they were making a a drown. Replaced for new on rear, but fronts are Yoko's bit low now, but I reckon they are making a drowning noise too!

Could be cheap pads, all services have been carried out including fluid, but was in 2007 Japan?

Its fine for normal driving, but what is that you mention GEO?

If you want to get the very best out of the J-spec brakes, I would go with the following

Pads

TRD Sports Pads - good fast road pad.

Endless MX72 Pads - carbon composite, very good 'bite' with no fade, not cheap though.

Fluid

TRD

Motul RBF600

Brake Lines

Goodridge stainless steel

Endless stainless steel

Brake Master Cylinder

You get quite a lot of flex in the j-spec master cylinder, which gives quite a spongy feel. A BMC brace really helps firm up the pedal feel and maximise the braking force.

Cusco Brake Master Cylinder Brace

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/7042/attachmentphpib1.jpg http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3512/attachment1phpud4.jpg http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/6375/attachment2phpsw6.jpg

Carbing Tower Bar with Built in BMC brace

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/4341/attachmentphpgr9.jpg http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/2775/attachment1phpdh1.jpg

Money permitting I would recommend fitting the larger 4 pot/2 pot Supra brakes. Compared to the aftermarket branded brakes they are very good value for money and are more than adequate for any road use.

http://mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=98436

If I can help with prices drop me a pm.

Cusco Brake Master Cylinder Brace....ah that sounds good and I must say it does seem to be more of a fade, and only very slightly spongy feel on hard prolonged braking.

Again quoting slip road bypass test from motorway speeds with slight late braking intent to test them out to the line.

Would never have known or thought of that, the J-Spec Master isn't very good then?

Didn't realize they were any different on the UK Spec Master wise!

Thats brilliant help, will definately bare you in mind thanks

With the engine running, get someone to press the brake pedal and you will see the flex.

The BMC is different on the Supras with the factory fitted smaller brakes and tends to flex quite a lot, the BMC on the Supras with the larger brakes is better, but still flexes a fair amount.

With the engine running, get someone to press the brake pedal and you will see the flex.

 

The BMC is different on the Supras with the factory fitted smaller brakes and tends to flex quite a lot, the BMC on the Supras with the larger brakes is better, but still flexes a fair amount.

Might sound excessive, but Im a sucker for good stopping power.

Can you change the unit for the UK BMC or is that mege wonga we are talking?

Would this be a common upgrade most owners would carry out?

The larger 4 pot/2 pot brakes are a straight swap and a very common upgrade as they make a huge improvement in braking. This would be the first modification I would make on any Supra with the smaller brakes fitted.

The only thing you need to check is that your wheels will clear the larger calipers. The 4 pot front calipers are quite a bit wider, so you need adequate clearance between the front of the caliper and the back of the spokes of the wheel.

Nic how much for thr Cusco Brake Master Cylinder Brace?

Sorry for the hijack

I got the uk calipers and discs fitted and that made a huge diference

I got the uk calipers and discs fitted and that made a huge diference

Do they still make the UK Spec Calipers then?

I see that I can get them, are they reconditioned units or?

I doubt I will change them soon, as I have just bought a set of new wheels, fingers crossed I will be able to put some decent stoppers behind them at some point!

Do they still make the UK Spec Calipers then?

 

I see that I can get them, are they reconditioned units or?

Yes, they are available new. Nic is normally the cheapest for these by quite some margin. Discs are best sourced locally due to shipping costs. It'll be around £1k for a full conversion, but might be more now due to the exchange rate.

make sure your wheels clear them before commiting.

Do they still make the UK Spec Calipers then?

The larger brakes were standard on many of the Japanese Supra models as well as the Euro and US Supras, so it's a bit confusing referring to them as UK spec.

Toyota sell a lot of the brakes as they also fit other Toyota car models.

I see that I can get them, are they reconditioned units or?

Brand new genuine OEM Toyota.

If going to UK's is a bit expensive you could do what i've just done an put LS400 4pots on the front, big chunky alloy monoblocks with 315mm discs all for less than £150, It has made a huge improvement and thats with crappy pads.

I've got the master cylinder brace Nic pictured and the brake pedal feel has improved considerably. More than I thought it would. This could be placebo effect as I can't be bothered taking it back off to see if it gets worse again

-Ian

The larger 4 pot/2 pot brakes are a straight swap and a very common upgrade as they make a huge improvement in braking. This would be the first modification I would make on any Supra with the smaller brakes fitted.

 

The only thing you need to check is that your wheels will clear the larger calipers. The 4 pot front calipers are quite a bit wider, so you need adequate clearance between the front of the caliper and the back of the spokes of the wheel.

More info please, and the brake brace. PM'd.

Would you need a large master cylinder if you were to go for a Brembo set up? I'd imagine even the larger UK spec one would struggle?

So if I were to upgrade from small OEM brakes to large OEM brakes (i.e. calipers and discs), would I also need to change the BMC? Is there anything else needed for the conversion?

Would a BMC brace be the same for small as large OEM brakes?

Cheers.

Cheers guys,

Been a little busy of late, so haven't been online apologies for that!

It does seem as though Brakes for supra is still a big talking point, and plenty of people are still after finer details.

Thanks for all you comments greatly appreciated...................