Scary Brakes :s

[riko666]

yeh, i posted the thread bout the shocks too, but my brakes are scary as well, mainly coz theyre crap at doing their job! i mean ok, i drove a seat leon cupra r on thursday which had massive Brembo brakes (standard) which kinda heightened the awareness of my brakes, but mine are seriously jus really weak!

i mean first of all theyre mushy as hell, with at least an inch or so of dead travel, second of all, when they eventually start slowing the car, it neither does it quickly nor feels powerful, it simply takes too long!! it does get quite scary when i have to brake harshly coz it doesnt slow me down that quick! for example i was following a friend in my car and he suddenly stopped, and i stomped on the brakes and they locked up for a bit and then the abs kicked in (seems a bit too early tho, as it wasnt THAT much pressure on the brakes) and even then i barely stopped before my friend.

also, whenever i do brake firmly there is a grinding feeling thru the brake pedal, as if there was sumfin between the disc and pads that was grinding against the metal everytime i brake firm. it also makes a grinding sound (duh) i mean in the future im gonna replace them all round with big brake conversions, but i just wanted to know whats wrong with them and whats a quickfire way of fixing it?

i mean i could get new pads, discs and hoses as a stop gap before the big brake kit, but which should i get first for my problem? thnx y'all :D

[DazH]

I'd say your pads have come to the end of their life <_< Sounds like they're down to the metal so the discs a gonna be shot :(

Wouldn't bother with big brake conversions, as standard are more than enough with the right pads and stainless hoses etc. The car isn't that heavy so to be honest I reckon the money you'd spend on a conversion would be better spent elsewhere such as handling

[riko666]

yeh i kno, but wen i meant " in the future " for big brake conversions, i meant like years away yet! lol. so u recommend me to basically do everything, so discs pads and hoses?

thats cool then, ill probably get the hoses first, then pads then discs and hope it fixes it! (especially coz its VERY scary wen stopping from a fast speed....it likes to sway!)

lol yeh i kno, its a really light car and the handling would be great if i tune it, which is why ill probably go for a set of shocks and shock mounts in decemberish time!

lol, thnx for the advice on the brakes man

[97paseo]

Daz is right, sounds like discs, mine were exactly the same a couple of weeks back.

I've just had new discs and pads fitted but went with the standard items as I'm not planning to keep the car much longer.

[riko666]

daz, i think u may be bang on, i just went to check out the brakes, and when i touched the disc there were grooves on it, not too deep but still noticeable, and the caliper seems really close to the disc, like 5mm at least, so yeah, i think the pad's badly worn! :S

[nrgizerbunny]

if yr discs are scoured (grooved) excessively, you car will not pass an MOT.

I would go for some decent pads and discs and also a brake fluid change, if you have excessive travel in your brake pedal that is not due to the pad wearing down. The pipe arrangement in the master cylinder combined with the servo should take up most of the "slack".

It sounds like your brake fluid has absorbed a lot of water and has gone spongey. But either way, change discs/pads and brake fluids - this would be my advice

[riko666]

well theyre not excessively scoured, but u can feel it wen u run ur finger along the surface of the disc.

yeh, i was thinking of getting pads first as they do look completely worn to the metal, and then goin for the hoses, disc and fluid change. yeh i kno the pads aint got much to do wiv the slack, its more to do with the hoses expanding under the pressure...but ill let those wait (theyre £161 !!)

thnx for the advice man

[riko666]

also, drums and drum shoes, change or not?

[datsik]

also, drums and drum shoes, change or not?

remember..its actually the tyres that bring you to a halt....if your car has crapolla tyres...and the other car you drove has awesome tyres...that may also contribute to the feeling that you have bad brakes.

[riko666]

you replied to a 2 year old thread mate - i know tyres make a huge difference, but even on the Cynos with brand new Eagle F1's, the braking isn't grand - there is a lot of dead travel, and the actual actuation travel is mushy...but it'll be fixed, I have a general idea of what it is, nothing a little bit of maintenance won't sort out

[datsik]

you replied to a 2 year old thread mate - i know tyres make a huge difference, but even on the Cynos with brand new Eagle F1's, the braking isn't grand - there is a lot of dead travel, and the actual actuation travel is mushy...but it'll be fixed, I have a general idea of what it is, nothing a little bit of maintenance won't sort out

It'll be fixed........so 2 years on and the problem still isn't sorted??? :!Removed!:

[riko666]

had a different car in the meantime, and it isn't a problem !Removed!', the brakes in our cars are naturally mushy

[Boro Sera]

a fluid change and stainless flexi pipes works wonders, especially on older cars where the rubber flexi pipes tend to have a bit of Give in them !

............only slightly off topic here - if anyone finds a 2 year old thread of mine then feel free to answer it as the car is still off the road anyway ! :P