With the engine mock-up at a stand still while I gather more parts, I can move on to other parts. We did a ton of searching and crossing of parts for a big brake system that will work pretty much as a bolt-on to the Mighty Max, and this is what I’m going to work on next.
I plan to narrow a Ford 8.8 4:10 axle with rear disc. This gives me a lot more workability, strength, and options for future performance. There really is nothing wrong with the Mighty Max or Mitsu diff’s in general, but Ford diffs are hard to beat, extremely easy to source, and simple to modify if needed. The Explorer 8.8 gives me rear disc and with narrowing and 5 lug which offers up a much better wheel selection for fitment. It’s really hard to beat, and I can do it in one day.
Obviously being a 5 lug is going to make it look a little funky seeing 6 up front and 5 in the rear, so I will do a full 5 lug swap. Thanks to the good folks at Mini Truckin for showing everyone the ease of a 5 lug swap as that made my research much less of a hassle. I made a call to my buddy at the yards and picked up a set of Tacoma front hubs.
The Mighty Max brakes are tiny at 258mm. The Tacoma discs are even smaller at 254mm. The first thing that comes to mind is the Montero (obviously) because it is pretty much the same platform - just bigger. The problem you run into is the offset. Mighty Max offset is a measly 33mm while the Montero Sports sit at 45mm. If you tried to bolt those on to the hub, you won’t be able to tighten the hub to the spindle. They just don’t work.
Montero Sports have 2 disc sizes:
Small rotor = 276mm
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Big rotor = 314mm
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Whether small rotor or big, you get dual piston calipers. The brackets are sized accordingly. The brackets have the same bolt spacing and fit as the Mighty Max brackets so they will bolt right up all day long. The only challenge is finding a rotor to match.
Small rotor caliper on the left, big rotor caliper on the right
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The Tacoma rotor has a hub offset of 41mm. According to the Mini Truckin article, they had to machine a spacer 0.465” (11.8mm) to correctly space the Mitsu caliper to the Tacoma hub/rotor offset. That means we have some wiggle room to find a large rotor with the correct offset.
In the fast world of Mitsubishi, there were only a few cars that used a rotor offset that is close to the Tacoma offset. There were even a bunch that used a 276mm rotor (same as small Montero Sport). The common vehicle using the 276mm rotor are the Diamante. There was only one rotor I could find that provided the correct offset AND is 314mm diameter. That rotor belongs on the 2G 3000GT VR4.
The rotor offsets for the Diamante and 3KGT VR4 are both 45mm. The Tacoma offset is 41mm. Since a spacer needs to be utilized to adapt the Mitsu caliper to the Tacoma rotor, simple math tells us that we have about 11mm of space to play with. Since the offset difference between the Tacoma and Diamante/3KGT VR4 is only 4mm, they will fit. While at the yard picking up the Tacoma hubs I snapped a quick pic of the Tacoma rotor next to the 276mm Diamante rotor.
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The first thing you notice right off the get go is the hub bore. The Diamante and 3KGT VR4 both have a bore of 69mm while the Tacoma bore is 86mm. This will require machine work. A few bucks and a smile at a Mom and Pop machine shop will get the job done in a couple hours.
It’s not really a huge issue, but one thing I should mention is the Tacoma rotor is built to be bolted to the hub. There are 5 threaded holes in the rotor hat. The Diamante and 3KGT VR4 do NOT have these holes. The solution is simple - use a nut and thread locker or safety wire (or all 3). There is plenty of room in the hat to fit it. What you ABSOLUTELY should pay attention to is the hub bore when taking it to the machine shop. When you drop off the rotors, drop off the hubs with them. Why is this necessary? Measuring the exact hub diameter needed will allow the machinist to better fit the rotor. You need a completely centric rotor to keep the balance of the system proper. A tight fit of each rotor to hub will keep it centered and balanced, so drop off a clean set of hubs with the rotors and explain it to the machinist. They will understand.
Now on to the Brake Master Cylinder. This is very important. The Mighty Max BMC is tiny just like the brakes. You really don’t need a very large bore master cylinder to fill up 2 single pot calipers and 2 wheel cylinders. The Mighty Max uses a BMC bore sized at 15/16”. Thats bigger than most of the cars, but not big enough for dual piston calipers. The Montero Sport uses a 1” bore BMC which is good enough for stock brakes. There is one bigger and that belongs to the 3KGT VR4 at 1-1/16” bore. The larger bore will accommodate the dual piston calipers up front, my rear disc, and still give a very strong brake response.
If you flip the Brake Master Cylinder over, you will see the bore size cast into it. If you are at a salvage yard, and don’t have the tools, don’t want to remove the BMC, too lazy, quick search… whatever - take your smart phone with a front facing camera and stick it under the BMC to reveal the size.
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Just about all BMC’s in the Mitsu world are the same bolt spacing and hose location. They literally used the same design for over 10 years. The only difference between the chassis models, other than the bore, is the reservoir. If you feel so inclined, you can swap your stock reservoir over to the big bore BMC. In some instances, you may have to in order to clear brake lines and other obstructions in your vehicle.
In the event that you are a scroll reader and missed all those specs, or are just searching for a fast combo, here is a quick parts list. If I start getting a ton of messages asking for which combo goes where, along with all the info, I will refer you back here.
Parts needed for 5 Lug Big Brakes on a Mighty Max:
- Small Rotor (276mm)-- 1995-2004 Toyota Tacoma 2WD front hubs, wheel bearings, wheel seal.
-- Mighty Max spindle (standard or drop)
-- Mighty Max castle nut
-- Tacoma bearing dust cap
-- 1996-2008 (depending on region of the world) Mitsubishi Montero Sport small rotor Caliper assembly including bracket (you can buy a “loaded” set with everything)
-- 1995-2002 Mitsubishi Diamante front brake rotor (276mm)*. You can used drilled and slotted as an upgrade.
-- 1996-2008 (depending on region of the world) Mitsubishi Montero Sport front brake pads
-- Brake master cylinder either 1” or 1-1/16” bore (may need to swap reservoirs).
* A custom measured spacer will need to be cut to correctly space the Mitsubishi caliper to the offset for the hub and rotor.
** Hub bore needs to be machined to approximately 86mm to fit Tacoma hub. Bring the hubs and rotors to the machine shop with you at the same time.
- Big Rotor (314mm)-- 1995-2004 Toyota Tacoma 2WD front hubs, wheel bearings, wheel seal.
-- Mighty Max spindle (standard or drop)
-- Mighty Max castle nut
-- Tacoma Bearing dust cap
-- 1996-2008 (depending on region of the world) Mitsubishi Montero Sport big rotor Caliper assembly including bracket (you can buy a “loaded” set with everything)
-- 1994-1999 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 AWD front brake rotor (314mm)*. You can used drilled and slotted as an upgrade.
-- 1996-2008 (depending on region of the world) Mitsubishi Montero Sport front brake pads
-- Brake master cylinder of 1-1/16” bore (may need to swap reservoirs).
* A custom measured spacer will need to be cut to correctly space the Mitsubishi caliper to the offset for the hub and rotor.
** Hub bore needs to be machined to approximately 86mm to fit the Tacoma hub. Bring the hubs and rotors to the machine shop with you at the same time.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT 314mm VR4 ROTOR AND MONTERO CALIPERS
You will need to shave the rotor about 3mm (1/8th inch) and the caliper brackets can be done the same. Just remember to take off equal amounts from each side.
See post #27 HERE for a reference pic (bottom of the post)
Example: 1/8" needs to come off the rotor. Remove 1/16" (1.5mm) from the front and the back. Total removed = 1/8" or 3mm and the balance remains the same.
You can also try to find a different 314mm rotor with the correct offset.
You will also need larger wheels of at least 16” diameter to clear Big Rotor swaps. Make sure you measure your offset correctly. Every wheel is different so if you do not know how to measure offset, there are eleventy billion articles and videos on Google showing you how. They range in tech level from purple dinosaur style (very easy), to full tech with expensive machines. All you have to do is search the articles until you understand.
So far swapping to 5 lug is the only solution I have found for getting big brakes that fit well. I did try searching for 6 lug combos but there is nothing I can find that will set up like this. First I tried using the setups from a 2WD Montero Sport but the 2WD hub is actually matched in style to a 4WD hub which does not bolt to the Mighty Max spindle. You can not swap the spindles from one to the other easily because the tie rods are located up front while the Mighty Max locates them to the rear. The Tacoma Pre-Runner 2WD is pretty much the same deal. It uses a pressed beading and a different style hub that will not match the Mighty Max. I’m set on the 5 lug swap for my build, so I am done researching. All it really takes is a few hours comparing spec sheets and you can probably find a 6 lug version that will bolt up with little mods needed.
Another possible upgrade is using the 2G 3KGT VR4 4 pot Calipers with your swap. This is for extreme stopping, but you gotta stop how you gotta stop. The only hurdle someone has to conquer is building a bracket since they are not floating, they are fixed. To someone with the ability to fabricate a bracket, its a piece of cake. Right now, I will run the 2 pots since I already have them. Later I might upgrade to 4 pots.
I have my drop spindles and rotors ordered. Sometime this week they will show up. Once I put it all together and dig up all the little details, I will put together a How-to for the board.
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~Merrill
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Originally Posted by DroppedMitsu
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