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Performance Tested - 2016 Toyota Tacoma Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited February 2016 in Toyota
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Performance Tested - 2016 Toyota Tacoma Long-Term Road Test

We take our long-term 2016 Toyota Tacoma to the track for performance testing.

Read the full story here


Comments

  • aspadeaspade Member Posts: 42
    Despite similar paper torque, 42 more paper horses, and a 6 speed transmission with 7% shorter overall gearing in 1st and 2nd, it lost half a second to 30 against the last one Edmunds tested and doesn't start to catch up until upwards of 60 mph.

    The old one didn't have a great top end but it had a lot more pep where it matters.
  • longtimelurkerlongtimelurker Member Posts: 455
    I know Toyota is a conservative company, but...rear DRUM brakes?

    Substantially less powerful than the Colorado.

    Performance feels great from 4,500-6,000 - ? That's only 1,500 rpm, and it's 1,500 rpm that happens too high on the tach for a truck engine.

    Now combine that with a super-aggressive fuel cutoff that happens right AT the redline, which also happens to be the engine's power peak - ? Who signed off on that combo - especially with the slow shifting in manual mode.

    Good thing the soft, off-road suspension limits payload and tow rating, because I would not want to do a lot of hauling or towing with this powertrain or these brakes.

    I'm sure it'll run forever and have great resale, but this "new" vehicle just looks more phoned-in all the time.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    "{T}oday's disc/drum setups are completely adequate for the majority of new cars. Remember that both disc and drum brake design has been vastly improved in the last 20 years. In fact, the current rear drum brake systems on today's cars would provide better stopping performance then the front disc setups of the '70s. And today's front disc brakes are truly exceptional in terms of stopping power. Combined with the fact that between 60 and 90 percent of a vehicle's stopping power comes from the front wheels, it's clear that a well-designed, modern drum brake is all that's required for most rear wheel brake duty."

    Brakes: Drum vs. Disc

    The nice thing about rear drums in my experience is that they rarely need service.
  • maxtitanmaxtitan Member Posts: 10
    Toyota spent the money on a hydraulic brake booster instead of rear disc.
  • 5vzfe5vzfe Member Posts: 161
    edited February 2016
    Drum brakes don't need frequent replacement nor are they expensive to do so when the time comes, unlike calipers, pads and discs. They are also convenient for off-roading - trust me, cleaning rocks and other crud out of a brake caliper after driving through a bit of mud is only mildly frustrating if you're lucky, and could require the removal of the wheel to service them if you're unlucky. Another issue is that wet disc brakes don't perform at their peak - drums are watertight and don't suffer this problem.
    And finally, the Colorado's superior rear disc brakes? Single-piston sliding calipers. I would trust both trucks to stop effectively with or without a load, but just for kicks here's a quote
    from the Colorado's performance test: "the Colorado's brakes faded substantially in three 60-0 runs. The third run was 15-feet longer than the first and there was substantial pedal fade."
  • longtimelurkerlongtimelurker Member Posts: 455
    If drums are so superior, we should go back to them...all wheels, all cars. Any takers?

    We stopped using drums because they don't shed heat well, and because they don't shed water well...don't know where anyone got the idea that drums are "watertight." Discs shed water via centrifugal force, the same force that makes drums fade when wet, because rather than being thrown off the face of a rotor, water is thrown onto the friction face of the drum.

    I have changed many shoes/pads on many drums/discs, and would rather do discs any day of the week. The time spend crouching down, poking the screwdriver through the little slot to back off the parking brake star wheel...no, thanks. You have not lived until you are faced with a drum that has had the shoes wear into their surfaces, and the internal hardware is compromised or corroded by the water that gets into drums and can't get out, and the drum won't come off. Slide hammer-time...

    When I do a disc brake job, I can tell just by taking off the wheel what I'm going to need, because I can see the pad thickness and I can mike the rotor. I can tell if the caliper is frozen or leaking and whether the parking brake mechanism is working or not or if the anti-rattle clips or caliper mounting spring or clip is bad. I can get the parts beforehand. I can put the wheel back on and drive to the auto parts store or order online and have use of my car until the parts arrive.

    With drums, you don't know if the shoes are done, or if there is just a stone that has gotten inside and that's causing scraping. The little port where you inspect shoe friction material (if there is a port) only lets you see on small part of the shoe. You can't tell if the drum is bad until you take it off - period. You can't tell if you'll need pins, springs, hold-downs, parking brake lever or strut, until you remove the drum. You can't tell if the wheel cylinder is leaking, frozen (which is always on one side, so that opposite piston is right out of the bore and now you can't back off the star wheel enough to get the drum off...most of the time, you find that you'll need more parts...after you get it torn apart and the car is immobilized unless you want to try to put it back together with the old parts...if possible.

    If I don't want to take all day, I should have a set of drum brake tools...so now in addition to my disc brake tools, I need these also. I just priced out front rotors pads and clips, vs. drums, shoes and brake hardware kit for a 2005 Tacoma, using ACDelco Professional series parts, just at random, using best price on Amazon. Front discs - $137. Rear drums - $151.

    Like my dad used to say - they don't make them like they used to...thank God.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited February 2016
    The thing is, you rarely have to mess with rear drums. The rear disc brakes are rattling again on my Grand Caravan even though I replaced the anti-rattle clips last year. On my Quest, I had the rear drums done once in 200,000 miles/15 years.
  • allthingshondaallthingshonda Member Posts: 878
    Toyota says they use rear drum brakes because disc brakes are only better than drums for heavy towing because they cool quicker. The Tacoma has a fairly low towing capacity and Toyota research shows that Tacoma owners don't tow much but do go off roading a lot. Drums are better for sloppy off road situations than discs.
  • nagantnagant Member Posts: 176
    Only spec racers think 4 wheel discs are needed for every application. There are good reasons for still using rear drums.....
  • willin58willin58 Member Posts: 38
    Whoa whoa whoa, what model BMW is that on the left?
  • nate001nate001 Member Posts: 102
    edited February 2016
    willin58 said:

    Whoa whoa whoa, what model BMW is that on the left?

    It's the X1,


    Maybe not my first choices if I had to pick three cars, but I wouldn't complain if I found this group of cars in my garage. : )
  • longtimelurkerlongtimelurker Member Posts: 455
    nagant said:

    Only spec racers think 4 wheel discs are needed for every application. There are good reasons for still using rear drums.....

    There must be, because about 5% (and dropping...) of cars still have them. I am not a spec racer...I actually work on cars and I think they're junk.
  • maxtitanmaxtitan Member Posts: 10

    nagant said:

    Only spec racers think 4 wheel discs are needed for every application. There are good reasons for still using rear drums.....

    There must be, because about 5% (and dropping...) of cars still have them. I am not a spec racer...I actually work on cars and I think they're junk.
    That "junk" stopped shorter than the Colorado's all disc setup and didn't fade like the Colorado's too. I think Toyota made the right choice to spend their money on a hydraulic brake booster instead of on rear disc brakes. I'll take that combo over a vacuum booster and rear discs any day.
  • nagantnagant Member Posts: 176

    nagant said:

    Only spec racers think 4 wheel discs are needed for every application. There are good reasons for still using rear drums.....

    There must be, because about 5% (and dropping...) of cars still have them. I am not a spec racer...I actually work on cars and I think they're junk.
    I have worked on them since I was a kid in the 70s and yes, discs are easier to work on but drums they are hardly junk. They are cheap and reliable and work just fine for many applications. While not 'water proof" like said above they are more resistant fade when wet and they are lighter. They also need a less complicated parking brake system. They are still the VAST majority on heavy duty trucks although disc usage is increasing.
  • metalmaniametalmania Member Posts: 167
    So, making a broad general observation: discs are better for towing and drums are better for off road? Sounds like that's in line with the general personalities of the Colorado vs Tacoma. I'm sure 99% of the time both configurations are fine. Regarding the fade after repeated 60-0 stops in the Colorado vs the Tacoma's better performance, how often do you really have to make repeated hard 60-0 stops in real world driving? Not saying it's insignificant, just wondering in real life if that's really something to be overly concerned about. If it was a performance car that might get track duty it could be a deal breaker, but just driving around normally I probably have an actual stand on the brakes max performance stop about once or twice a year.
  • longtimelurkerlongtimelurker Member Posts: 455
    nagant said:

    nagant said:

    Only spec racers think 4 wheel discs are needed for every application. There are good reasons for still using rear drums.....

    There must be, because about 5% (and dropping...) of cars still have them. I am not a spec racer...I actually work on cars and I think they're junk.
    While not 'water proof" like said above they are more resistant fade when wet and they are lighter. They also need a less complicated parking brake system. They are still the VAST majority on heavy duty trucks although disc usage is increasing.
    More resistant to fade when wet. Just about done here, but anyone can find any number of legit sources that will state unequivocally that drums fade worse when wet and recover more slowly from getting wet. This is not news and is one of the reasons everyone went to discs.

    Drum setup of equal diameter weighs less than disc, but drums of equal braking performance to a given disc probably weigh 20% more.

    Any application can be done poorly, and the fade in the Colorado is not due to running disc/disc. The Silverado ran disc/disc and faded only 7 feet first stop to last. The F150 ran disc/disc and faded only 2 feet. The Taco with disc/drum faded 9 feet. The Colorado with disc/disc faded 15 feet. No correlation.
  • nagantnagant Member Posts: 176

    nagant said:

    nagant said:

    Only spec racers think 4 wheel discs are needed for every application. There are good reasons for still using rear drums.....

    There must be, because about 5% (and dropping...) of cars still have them. I am not a spec racer...I actually work on cars and I think they're junk.
    While not 'water proof" like said above they are more resistant fade when wet and they are lighter. They also need a less complicated parking brake system. They are still the VAST majority on heavy duty trucks although disc usage is increasing.
    More resistant to fade when wet. Just about done here, but anyone can find any number of legit sources that will state unequivocally that drums fade worse when wet and recover more slowly from getting wet. This is not news and is one of the reasons everyone went to discs.

    Drum setup of equal diameter weighs less than disc, but drums of equal braking performance to a given disc probably weigh 20% more.

    Any application can be done poorly, and the fade in the Colorado is not due to running disc/disc. The Silverado ran disc/disc and faded only 7 feet first stop to last. The F150 ran disc/disc and faded only 2 feet. The Taco with disc/drum faded 9 feet. The Colorado with disc/disc faded 15 feet. No correlation.


    What I meant was that the shoes (pads) dont get wet as easily since they are enclosed by the drum, its a fact. The simple fact is that discs simply are not needed for all applications, that is why they are still used. I am not sure what part of that you dont understand.
  • ben91z28ben91z28 Member Posts: 2
    Vibrations in steering wheel @ 1800 to 2500 rpms under load. Does your long term tester have this issue. Seems like a lot of people are reporting this... Please let us know in your next update...
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