First off I just want to say no I'm not racing or autoXing or anything.

I tow a 14' fishing skiff and I want to get the brakes as good as possible for towing without increasing the stock 16" wheel size.

There are lots of upgrade kits out there and I would like to know which ones are the best in terms of stopping power and less fade.

Open to Tc/Rav4 brake swap if it will fit in the wheels, or even the TRD kit if it would fit but I have a feeling it won't.

I have read that stainless lines don't make much of a difference on road cars either, but I'd like some opinions from people that have actually done any upgrades on their street driven xB's and how much of a difference it makes if any. Thanks.

 

I have done a little bit of towing and can confirm that the extra load wears the discs down pretty quick. Replaced front discs and pads at 35K miles, then need to tow reduced, so brakes are going further.
No plans to upgrade.
This is the heaviest load I've towed - there were 2 similar sized rolls to start with and the trailer itself is very heavy. One Uhaul store wouldn't rent me this trailer, but another did (obviously) and it's nice when the trailer brakes work. They didn't on a previous rental.

 

I'm less worried about wear and more worried about emergency stopping with a load, the trailer the skiff is on does not have brakes on it.

I'd say the entire rig is around 500 pounds, not a lot but enough to make a big difference in stopping distance.

 

The tC upgrade sounds very worth it from what I've seen. Pair the calipers with some Powerstop Z23 pads and you'll be set. They're fantastic on the street on my 14 tC. Immensely stronger than the stock pads while dusting better and staying quiet. FWIW I also have them on my Tacoma and again, they kick the sh*t out of the stock pads.

 

The trailer in the pic weighs 1730 lbs https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/6x12-...ler-Rental/RO/
The fake grass in it was probably 400-600 lbs.
Without the trailer brakes it was hard to stop, the wheels spun easily on accel from a stop light too. I just took it easy and allowed for long braking distances.
Perhaps the trailer and boat companies list the weights, to give you an idea about the total weight.

I rented these trailers a lot https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/5x8-C...ler-Rental/AV/ , schlepping stuff to and from college for my daughter. Lighter, but they wore out the brakes early.
Just bought replacement discs and pads from rock auto when the brakes got crunchy. Bendix parts.

The discs all come with a ground finish. Grinding gives a thin hardened layer on the surface of the discs. Once the pads get thru that, the discs start to wear quickly - which you can see in the wear ridges on the inside and outside of the disc. Turning the discs do not put a hardened layer back on, which is why I just replace them.

I see a front bendix brake kit (discs+pads) sells on rock auto for $90
One OEM disc from a dealer costs $62, 4 pads are $83. The dealer site says the disc fits a Prius V and Rav4, so...

 

I used the 2011-2013 TC front brake upgrade. I was rolling on 18 inch wheels and did notice a better stopping response with the slightly bigger rotors. I used R1 concepts stuff and had no issues with them, I had cross drilled and slotted rotors up front and eventually replaced the rear with slotted cross drilled in the rear, stock dimensions.

 

The biggest factor in braking-power is rotor size. So you'll want to increase rotor size, can fit quite large ones under 16" wheel.

Next is 4-piston calipers for strong clamping power

Then semi-metallic sintered pads. Forget about organic or ceramic pads, they don't have as good grip.

Yeah, stainless lines improve feel, but doesn't really improve braking-power. Unless your stock lines are old and crappy.

So, find kit witb above features and you'll definitely have brakes to handle trailering.