[The Drifter]

yesterday, i had my rav up on the jack at school, and i noticed that toyota used rubber hoses for the brake lines behind each wheel. as the car aged, ive noticed a slight spongy feel in the pedal (i thought it was just air, so i bled the brake system with every oil change) so i tested the lines, and it turns out that they are expanding when the pedal is pressed.

so ive decided to replace the O.E. rubber lines with new steel-braided ones, and i was wondering if anyone else has done this before? I was wondering if anyone could tell me the length of the hoses so i know what to order from my parts shop. while im at it, i think i might replace my brake pads and get my rotors/drums machined....

but yeah, any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Boo_Duh!]

I guess Mensajero had his brake lines changed to steel......try to PM him.....

 

[kidong]

Just replace the rubber hoses. I'm using the standard ones from Toyota for racing as well and they have no problem at all.

My brake rotor temperature goes as far as 600deg C and pad temperature as far as 650deg C and the brake oil boiled once. No problem or what so ever with the brake lines.

Replacing them with braided ones are good, but only if you have the money.

 

[Jeff]

I would stick with the rubber Toyota brake lines, because steel braided lines are a waste of money unless you are also going to upgrade to performance brake pads and high-temp brake fluid.

When you replace the lines, make sure you completely flush the brake system with new fluid, don't just bleed it. Castrol LMA is the best brake fluid for everyday driving, but you could move up to a higher performance fluid like Motul 600, ATE Super Blue, or Ford Heavy Duty.

 

[The Drifter]

yeah, im still considering the brake pads.... its more of a when im going to do it, not if im going to do it.... i just havent decided if i am goign to do it now or wait. but yeah, either way im going to do it, so i might as well up the brake lines. and plus, i need something to work on for the 5 hours im in that class :roll: i mean, the class rocks because i can do whatever i want.... but i dont have anything to do. :lol:

im going to spend all my time upping the handling and stopping of the RAV4 right now, because when i move ot orlando at the end of the year, all hell will break loose on the engine bay (in a good way) :twisted:

 

[peterpogi2005]

drifter, does your rav have abs? is it an automatic? if not, the limiting factor is your tyres! the stock brakes on my 9 year old car (changed oem pads once but original lines) are still able to lock the front wheels with moderate peddal pressure even with 235/60 dunlop sp sport 9000 tyres! in other words, it stops on a dime.

upgrading the brake components may be a way of getting the same "braking power" with less pedal pressure, but it's the tyres in contact with the road that actually stop your car!! too much brake on bad tyres is still equal to long stopping distances..... if, on the other hand, you can't lock the front wheels doing a "panic" stop, then it's time to look at the brakes!! i've even seen rubber lines fitted with cable-ties from end-to-end on racing bikes (could be used on cars too) to keep the hoses from expanding!!

problem with having good brakes and tyres is that sometimes the guy behind you doesn't (or is asleep)!!!!.... bang, oooops, i just got whiplash... i think you get the idea.

 

[kidong]

peterpogi2005, you're right about the tyre and all that. I couldn't have agree less.

The main problem with the RAV4 is the front thin brake rotor and the rear drums. Giving the front braking bias of around 80%. That is awefully lot for the RAV's front brakes.

If you want something cheap and doesn't put a hole in your wallet. Get some standard rotors and high metallic brake pads. Dot 5.1 brake oil should do the job as they have a dry boiling point of 250-280deg C.


Somehow if you want braking power like what I do. I use racing brake rotors and British Mintex M1166 brake pads. The rotors retail for around US$300.00/pair but I got them for half the price. The brake pads works from 100-700deg C. So starting brake power will be pretty poor. For the rear, I use just racing materials for the brake shoes rather than the standard stuff as they burn out around 400deg C. Since you have gone this far with your brakes, you might as well change the brake oil to dot 4 racing brake oil. They cost pretty cheap anyway. Dry boiling point is between 310-320deg C. I use Motul 600 dot4 racing brake oil. A litre would cost US$26-30.00. Dry boiling point is 316deg C. I race the RAV with this and I never had any problem. They are also safe with the stock brake lines as well.

As for stopping power, I have pictures to proof how fast I go with my 4dr RAV, at 180km/hr to a virtual stop. I use a mere 98metres. That is a constant for me no matter how many laps I run.

The metallic brake pads will give you more noise during normal use because they don't like low wears, so you think about your options.

 

[The Drifter]

well, that will come when i drop in the new beast, im not looking for anythign serious right now, just replacing the stuff that needed to be replaced anyway.

but anyway, this project has been pushed back... again... got a deal on a set of NGK Iridium IX and a set of NGK premium plug wires (50$ shipped for the set of wires and 4 plugs, not too bad) and a friend bought me a new intake, but i had to buy some stuff to modify it (its one of the shitty ebay intakes, i added a new K&N filter i had lying around, and then slid the filter into a 3inch piece of flex hose, which i ran down behind the bumper. it wasent long enough to do a true CAI, but its rigged good enough to last untill i take the time to bend my new intake...). and that pretty much took up all the money i had to use on the brake lines...

oh, and id like to thank mensajero for the link to the custom brake lines, that really helped alot.

 

[mensajero]

For the RAV4 stainless steel brake lines go no further then. They do Russell lines. So you are going to the source.

http://www.techna-fit.com/