Tested: Terrain Tamer brakes review

Over the years that I’ve been driving four-wheel drives, testing vehicles and playing around trying to get better brakes for the vehicles I regularly use, I’ve found the search and the work to be frustrating for what has been limited success and an improvement of just a metre or three in braking distance.

Of course, when you add more weight as you do when heading off on a trip, the braking distance of your vehicle will increase significantly. Add a camper trailer and that distance could leap again!

So, when we decided to improve the brakes on the 79, we first checked what we had and found the pads, discs, brake lines and brake booster were all in good nick – all pretty standard fare, but in more than reasonable condition.

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We then took the vehicle out for a test on both a smooth bitumen road and a good gravel road that featured some loose gravel. Before doing so, we filled the fuel tank and ensured that the rest of the load the vehicle was carrying could be replicated later. Tyre pressures were also checked to ensure they were the same for all tests.

We also got a sunny, dry day and that was the plan for the second lot of testing as well, which was done over the exact same sections of road. Maybe it wasn’t scientific, but it was practical and we did five or six runs to get a reasonable average.

The vehicle speed was a steady 80km/h as we hit the anchors. What was interesting in all cases was that the braking distance was always the longest for the first brake test; something to do with pads and discs being too cool, so we discounted that figure in all our averages.

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On the blacktop the Cruiser with its standard set-up pulled up at an average distance of 30.2m, while on the dirt road that distance stretched to 40.3m. That’s pretty similar to all the previous testing I’ve done on my Patrol, other Cruisers and a range of other 4WDs – the braking distance being much the same, give or take a metre or two.

Then we fitted Terrain Tamer’s fortified brake pads, braided brake lines and a heavy-duty brake booster. We resisted the opportunity to change the discs to grooved or pitted discs which, we’ve found, are an improvement over standard smooth discs. We also stayed away from changing calipers and the like, as that becomes an expensive exercise … and it’s not practical in many cases.

Brake pads and how good they are and how much they wear over a given distance is all a bit of a ‘black art’, I reckon, and you’ll hear all sorts of claims from every manufacturer.

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Terrain Tamer, for its part, says that its Fortified Brake Pad is designed to partner with the vehicle that is either carrying a significant load or placing the vehicle’s braking under significant pressure, such as on long downhill braking episodes.

It goes on to state that its brake pads will hold braking capacity through extreme usage, they are E1 Euro Certified, and feature better stopping power, reduced dust and improved wear resistance, while a red coating assists the bedding-in process. Pretty standard claims for an aftermarket pad, I’ve come to realise.

So, would you notice any difference in braking distance if you just changed your pads? Possibly … but it would be minimal. Wear rates and brake fade would probably be much better though over your standard OE pad.

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For the braided brake lines, there is no argument. They are way better than what you’ll find on your OE-equipped 4WD with the standard non-braided brake line. These standard rubber lines or hoses are made from some form of reinforced rubber, and with pressure and stretch, means that there is less effective pressure reaching the brake calliper and the pads.

Braided lines feature a close-knit steel mesh surrounding the normal reinforced rubber brake hose, which greatly resists any swelling of the line, which means all the pressure generated by the brake booster is transmitted to the brake calipers and the pads.

That also translates to a much greater, quicker and more effective braking response. Terrain Tamer’s braided brake lines come with a stainless-steel outer and would provide a longer life to the brake line itself.

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Would you notice the difference? Brake feel would be sharper and you’d definitely notice it, while braking distances would improve, maybe by even more than a metre or more, which can mean the difference between a big smash or a tinkle!

Then there is the vacuum brake booster, which is the standard fare in most 4WD vehicles here in Australia; although, the bigger American-sourced pick-ups, such as the Ford F-250 and the like, run an hydraulic brake booster. You can get kits that change a vehicle’s brake booster from a vacuum version to a hydraulic set-up, but it’s much more expensive and fiddly – I know, I went down that path with the mighty Patrol.

Sticking with the 79 Tojo, it has, as an OE fitment, a single diaphragm vacuum booster. As a general rule, a vacuum brake booster is more effective the bigger in diameter it is, while a twin-diaphragm booster offers the most braking and, for an equivalent amount of braking, can even be smaller in diameter.

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The Terrain Tamer brake booster is much the same in diameter as the OE booster, but has twin diaphragms and is physically deeper or longer. The company states its booster offers a 30 per cent increase in braking capacity – we’ll take its word for it, as it seems more than reasonable.

So with new brake pads, braided brake lines and a new brake booster fitted to the 79 Cruiser, we went out and replicated our tests.

I was thinking as we drove out to our test strips, going on past experience, that an improvement of two metres in braking distance would have been acceptable, while three metres would have been outstanding … but I doubted if we’d get that!

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Immediately it was noticed that the brakes felt sharper and more responsive even to the lightest touch. Then the first surprise was as soon as we hit the anchors from the set 80km/h, the brakes locked up, which was something that wasn’t happening with the standard OE set-up.

That resultant skidding meant the braking distance was longer than when we regulated our foot braking … and reinforced our desire to get the ABS working properly again after it had been ripped out on a Gulf bush trip.

So, after our desired number of runs, what did we find?

The average braking distance on the bitumen was just 24m. I couldn’t believe that and we checked the figures and ran a couple of more tests to see if we were doing everything right. That was nearly six metres better than our average braking distance beforehand, which works out to be an improvement of around 20 per cent!

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Shaking our heads in wonder, we went to our gravel road and the results were equally outstanding. Beforehand our average distance was 40.3m and now we were down to under 34m – again an improvement of close to 20 per cent.

Two weeks after the tests, I’m still shaking my head in wonder, but there is no doubt the Cruiser is pulling up better and faster, and the brakes are more responsive while exhibiting less heat stress and correspondingly less fade in the mountains. To watch the video of these tests, search for Moon Tours on YouTube.

As we write this, I have a new Troopy on order and this – pads, braided lines and bigger booster – will now be one of the first improvements I do to the vehicle. You will probably get a similar result.

Making these changes is the best bang for your bucks you can do for your brakes … and for your safety!

AVAILABLE FROM: terraintamer.com

RRP: Brake pads $95 (pair); braided brake lines $410 (kit of 4); Heavy Duty Brake Booster $750.