The Total Chaos Tacoma and Wilwood Brakes

When Total Chaos set out to build their custom long travel Toyota Tacoma desert racing truck, they wanted to make sure that they went with the toughest and highest performing aftermarket components possible. While they of course stayed in-house when sourcing the suspension system for the truck (a Total Chaos Long Travel System that includes Fox coilovers and bypass shocks and Fox hydraulic / air bumpstops), the shop decided to look elsewhere for a braking solution that could withstand the rigors of hardcore, high speed desert runs.

Total Chaos has a long history of building Tacoma trucks for desert racing.

The solution that Total Chaos eventually ended up selecting for its 2005 Toyota Tacoma project truck hailed from Wilwood. Anyone who has hung around the racing scene long enough has undoubtedly encountered Wilwood products at least once, as the braking hardware brand enjoys a longstanding relationship with motorsports at almost every level. Not only does Wilwood build for the track, but the company also offers an extensive industrial, military and off-road catalog of products that are specifically designed to tackle the unique demands of these niche markets.

Why Wilwood?

One of the major advantages of choosing to go with Wilwood brakes is that you have the opportunity to purchase either complete kits or instead do what Total Chaos did with its Tacoma: go piece-by-piece. Wilwood brake kits offer not just the rotors, calipers and pads required to stop your truck, but also the hardware that is needed to mount them on your OEM application. Given that Total Chaos had strayed far from the stock path in putting together the long travel desert racing Tacoma, the team decided to fabricate its own brackets and attachment hardware in order to install the high performance braking components that they needed for the truck.

Complete Custom Brake Solution

Wilwood does not currently offer any complete brake kits which are specific to the Tacoma – however, it is possible to search through the kits that the company does offer in order to find those which offer calipers and rotors which are sized to fit the Toyota’s stock hubs. From there, for those with average fabricating skills it is a relatively simple process to either adapt the stock brackets or build new ones. Most custom truck shops should be able to build you a mounting kit that will allow you to take advantage of Wilwood’s offerings.

The Advantages of Going Custom

Why go through the trouble of a custom solution just to be able to use Wilwood brakes? The answer is performance. With a large number of four and six-piston brake options sold by Wilwood, the brand provides Toyota owners who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty with a number of very appealing options for dramatically improving their stopping power. Whether you are cutting desert trails or jamming on the brakes at the end of the quarter mile, increased deceleration is never an unwelcome attribute in a vehicle – especially one as heavy as a pickup.