stevechumo
Active Member
Sattara,
You may be right under some conditions. However, in this case, the LS brakes win 100%. I recently upgraded the SC brake to the LS and it's totally different. I tried to stop really hard with this LS brake and it stops a lot....better than the SC. Of course I couldn't tell much difference if I only lightly tap on the brakes as a 80 years old man driving. Before, I used to have new SC pads, new Brembo rotors, bled the entire brake fluid, but it's not as good as the LS. On the LS, I used the same brands on everything to compare between the 2 systems, Monroe pads, Brembo rotors (I used cross drilled/slotted this time).
As regard to weight, the LS caliper is made of aluminum and I don't think it's much heavier than the SC caliper. I still have 1 LS caliper laying around and I'll try to weigh it against the SC. The LS rotors are cross drilled/slotted so they shave down some weight against the solid SC rotors. It's not the feeling because of the new brakes but it's the actual braking power. I've been around many brake systems (stock of course), driving a lot cars so my experience tells me there's a big difference for a fact. It's really worth the money. Well, it's only about $300 for a complete system. A Lexus dealer brake job includes resurfacing the old rotors, using the new pads can exceed $400 easily.
As for economic reason, I don't know why the SC400 or SC430 use this 2 pistons while the LS400 and LS430 use the 4 pistons. I believe it's just to cut down the cost when it's not really needed. The LS is a sedan car with wider dimensions that causes the greater momentum force to keep it from stopping, while the SC is in much smaller dimensions. Smaller dimension car doesn't have the momentum force as great as the bigger dimension car.
You may be right under some conditions. However, in this case, the LS brakes win 100%. I recently upgraded the SC brake to the LS and it's totally different. I tried to stop really hard with this LS brake and it stops a lot....better than the SC. Of course I couldn't tell much difference if I only lightly tap on the brakes as a 80 years old man driving. Before, I used to have new SC pads, new Brembo rotors, bled the entire brake fluid, but it's not as good as the LS. On the LS, I used the same brands on everything to compare between the 2 systems, Monroe pads, Brembo rotors (I used cross drilled/slotted this time).
As regard to weight, the LS caliper is made of aluminum and I don't think it's much heavier than the SC caliper. I still have 1 LS caliper laying around and I'll try to weigh it against the SC. The LS rotors are cross drilled/slotted so they shave down some weight against the solid SC rotors. It's not the feeling because of the new brakes but it's the actual braking power. I've been around many brake systems (stock of course), driving a lot cars so my experience tells me there's a big difference for a fact. It's really worth the money. Well, it's only about $300 for a complete system. A Lexus dealer brake job includes resurfacing the old rotors, using the new pads can exceed $400 easily.
As for economic reason, I don't know why the SC400 or SC430 use this 2 pistons while the LS400 and LS430 use the 4 pistons. I believe it's just to cut down the cost when it's not really needed. The LS is a sedan car with wider dimensions that causes the greater momentum force to keep it from stopping, while the SC is in much smaller dimensions. Smaller dimension car doesn't have the momentum force as great as the bigger dimension car.