My car has been vibrating for a while now, but I just got it checked today and my front left caliper, pad, and rotor are out. I was thinking of the ls400 swap which I think I could get a set for 300 (rotors, calipers, and pads). Might as well right?

However, I wonder wether it would be ok to just swap the fronts and keep the stock rears? I know people do them, but just want some input/ confirmation. I'm also worried about the brake bias; how bad is it? If any?

Another thing on my mind is the size. I have my aftermarket rims on (18x8 enkei raijin) and it would suck if I bought them and then they won't fit.

Thanks in advance,

 

The 95-99 LS400 front brake swap is a no-brainer must for safety on ALL 92-97 SC300's and generally any SC300/400 intended for high performance use. 17" wheels will be required to clear the calipers. For 92-97 SC300's, the front brake rotors are actually SMALLER in diameter than the rear brake rotors.

As for the rears, you can leave those alone. Until you start doing some serious road course driving you will notice the biggest difference by swapping out the tiny stock calipers. You could swap to SC400 rear calipers and rotors if you want a budget solution to even things out a bit more although the TT rear calipers are still probably the best match (but not necessary).

For comparison, 92-00 SC400's, 98-00 SC300's and 93-98 Supra NA's all used the same size front and rear brakes stock. Only the early 300's were given the short stick. All benefit from the LS swap.

 

Thanks for the reply. so my wheels are fine then. Forgot to put that my car is an SC400. 2000

 

ATP... not trying to hijack your thread.. but I've got similar questions (on a thread I started) I guess I could just merge my questions here... I'm not looking for anything crazy expensive. But I'd like to get the best bang for my buck. I spend about 500-700 miles on the road each week (80%) highway miles. So whats my best option fellas? I got pix of my car on my profile.. Thanks in advance for your input

 

Same as above, LS front breaks. If you have more money to spend then you could go TT front breaks (which would be a bit overkill for a daily driver IMO and you'd need to make sure they'd fit under your wheels).

 

The stock rear SC400 brakes work fine with the LS fronts, as does the master cylinder.. I just did the swap and the improvement in feel is worth the cost. Not difficult, just requires cutting away some of the dust shields with a grinder/cutting wheel. The thread is just below this one.

Don't be too sure about the wheels fitting though. It is not just the outside clearance you need, it is the clearance between the side of the LS calipers and the wheel spokes which is the problem. I have GS350 wheels and I measured 2.5" of clearance between the stock rotors and the inside of the wheel spoke at near the outside of the rotor. It just fits, with at most 1/4" to spare. It actually requires 2 3/4" of clearance to fit, but the LS rotor has a thicker hat so that the measured clearance on my setup is 2 7/8" with the LS rotors.

Note wheel offset has nothing to do with fitting, it is the spoke clearance (shape) which determines it. The GS350 spokes curve out between the hub and rim, why it fits.

Gerry

 

Bingo ^^^^^^^^^ we have a winner.

I have the MKIV TT up front and the stock SC400 in the rear, with stock SC400 brake booster and master cylinder. My pedal has a little play, but this is very common after the extensive research I have done. You will be fine with that combo. I seem to think that 70% plus is used in the front when you apply the brakes. You will be good to go.