Count Your Lug Nuts First

This is the fitment that decides nearly everything on this page, and it catches people out:

  • 5-lug — the lighter 2WD trucks, including the X-Runner.
  • 6-lug — 4WD and the heavier trucks.

Rear disc conversion kits are listed one way or the other, and so are the front slotted rotors. Count the studs on a rear hub before you order anything.

Where to Go From Here

Why Convert the Rear at All

These trucks left the factory with rear drums, and drums are the weak link once you add weight and tyre. As our Trail-Gear listing puts it plainly, the factory drums are not ideal for off-road use with large tyres and the added weight of overlanding gear. Discs are also simply easier to live with — pads instead of shoes, and you can see what you are inspecting.

Rear Disc Brake Conversions — Three Routes

Listed cheapest to most complete, because the price gap is about what is included, not about quality:

Two things to settle before choosing: do you need the parking brake, and does the kit include a master cylinder. Converting rear drums to discs changes the fluid volume the system needs, which is why the most complete kit addresses it.

Front Big Brake Kits

Check wheel clearance before ordering a big brake kit. A 6-piston caliper and a stock wheel do not always agree.

Rotors and Pads

Cross-drilled and slotted front rotors are listed by lug pattern — a 319mm 6-lug set for 2003-2020, and a 2WD 5-lug set for 2005-2020. Pads include StopTech Sport and Hawk Performance replacements for the ST60 6-piston caliper, so a worn big brake kit does not mean replacing the kit.

Plumbing and Bias

The small parts that make a converted system behave: a Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve for setting front-to-rear bias after a conversion, a mechanical line lock, a 2 lb residual valve and Swagelok fittings. If a rear disc conversion feels wrong rather than weak, bias is usually the reason.

Tell Us the Truck

Year, 2WD or 4WD, 5-lug or 6-lug, tyre size and whether you need the parking brake — that is enough for us to confirm the right kit before you order. Reach us through our contact page. The rest of the truck is in the 2005-2015 Tacoma catalogue.

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