Project Scion tC - 2005 Scion tC

All we can do about squishy brakes for now is put on Goodrich's stainless steel-braided brake hoses from The Tire Rack.

All we can do about squishy brakes for now is put on Goodrich's stainless steel-braided br

One common misconception is that braided lines help in decreasing braking distances. Braided brake lines are just rubber or plastic lines reinforced with a braided stainless-steel and teflon sleeve, which prevents the rubber line inside from expanding under pressure. They don't change the ultimate line pressure in the brake system, so peak braking torque does not change. What does change is the transient brake response, because pedal effort will instantaneously translate to line pressure instead of ballooning the brake lines. It is this quicker response that will take a couple of feet off of high-speed stops. Because these lines are less prone to ballooning, the line pressure, and thus, braking force, is more directly proportional to pedal effort. This is exactly what we felt; Project tC's brakes, although still a bit on the soft side, do respond a lot better.

Pedal FeelBrake pad selection has the biggest effect on pedal feel since pad friction characteristics are directly affected by how much pressure is being applied. Depending on pad material and operating temperatures, braking response and feel can change drastically. Most OE-type pads are a compromise between noise, dust, longevity, and operating temperatures, causing them to have less initial bite and less friction at elevated temperatures. In other words, stock pads are made for soccer moms and commuters, some of whom live in sub-freezing climates.

Other than pad friction, we don't really care about any of these constraints for aggressive street driving. The EBC Greenstuff pads we picked slightly increased pedal firmness under braking and added a lot more initial bite. Although how well a pad first bites isn't an indicator of overall stopping ability, the Powerslot/EBC hardware did offer marginally better stopping distances and much lower rotor temps, which further reduced the soft pedal feel. The only drawback we've noticed from the EBC pads is how abrasive they are to the rotors.

Performance aside, the addition of larger rotors really takes some of the wimpiness out of the tC. Next time we'll show you how to paint the calipers to match the EBC Greenstuff pads.

Performance aside, the addition of larger rotors really takes some of the wimpiness out of

TestingWe ran a comprehensive brake test on the Powerslot/EBC combination and measured repeated stopping distances and front rotor temperatures for 10 runs. (Look in SCC's March 2006 issue page 82 for our testing procedures.) Although stopping distances didn't improve significantly, the rotor temperatures seem much more tolerant to track-type abuse. If you just want better stops, the EBC pads and Goodridge lines will do the trick. But if you plan to head to the track, a set of Powerslot Plus rotors might save you from a bad case of brake fade and warped rotors. Lesson of the day? Figure out what your car is already equipped with before randomly ordering parts.

We've engineered our way into slightly better brakes that are capable of dissipating a lot more heat. Next time we'll get to the part everyone asks about, TRD's turnkey supercharger kit.

Previous InstallmentsNovember 2005Part I: Improving stick