cruiser

What affects the way brakes feel when you brake ?

I mean... I really dont like the way my FD brakes feel. Bad initial bite, no feel through the pedal and they overheat way too easily on the track.

For example - on my Integra TypeR brakes are splendid. I always know where exactly I'm going to stop and I'm confident that I will stop, whereas on FD it always keep me guessing and wondering.

I have stock rotors, ATE Super Blue Racing brake fluid and semi-race brake pads. Could it be that pads cause these symptoms if they arent warmed up ?

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Yes, if you are running lapping pads, they won't grab until they are warm. Are you running these pads on the street?

cruiser

Yes yes :P:

But they're somewhat a mixture. Maybe I should just wait until they properly bed in and judge them then.

But FDs brake feel always puzzled me. I love the way BMWs or Honda's brakes feel. Hell, even my moms ex-Carisma brakes felt extremely well. Just these brakes have a lot to be desired.

I need to try our friends FD, maybe his is different in some way (we have similar setup though)

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

If you are running track pads on the street, you'll never get them warm enough to grab. You'll also be tearing up your rotors as well.

I run two different sets of front pads: one for the track, one for the street.

There is no compromise for the FD unless you go with a big brake kit.

alberto_mg

I actually hated the way the brakes on my e36 BMW felt compared to the FD.

When I first got my FD, it already had some EBC green pads on them. The initial bite didn't feel that great on the street (never tracked it with the brakes like that). The rotors didn't look as shiny as I would expect a good set of rotors to look like so I had them machined and got a new set of EBC green pads. Voila, initial bite felt 100 times better and braking from high speed also felt more urgent.

Maybe the same trick will do it for you? I have a feeling the reason why I wasn't getting good initial bite was b/c the rotors were "greasy" or had some old deposists on them. They do say you should always do pads and rotors at the same time.

FWIW a few months later, I upgraded to stainless lines and bled the system, but it didn't feel any different.

aznpoopy

that is good advice...

just about everyone i know serious about tracking runs a set of high heat tolerant aggressive pads for track, and some regular street pads for daily driving. it takes a few minutes to swap 'em out anyway.

cruiser

Pads that I'm running arent track-only pads, but they are "suitable" for the track also.
Maybe I just need to bed them in, as they are new and rotors were also machined.

This weekend we're having a trackday and I'll have to see how it goes. Hopefully without any problems (like in past where they were hindering my performance against those M3's )

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

I don't think it's going to be a "bedding" problem. Just about any "track worthy" compound isn't going to grab worth a darn when cold. If you want to test them, get on an empty long road or non-so busy highway. Get up to about 70 mph and brake firmly down to 30. Do this again 4-5 times back to back. If the brakes grab better as they get warmer, then you know the issue. If they don't, then there may be a problem a component in your brake system.

M3's are tough.

macdaddy

Just to be aware, if you use track pads on the track and street pads on the street, but use the same rotors, once you've been on the track and transferred the higher temp friction material to the rotor, and switch pads and go drive on the street, it will take a while to scrub off the track compound and replace it with the street compound. Until that happens, your brakes won't grab very well.

rynberg

I talked with David Zeckhausen (Zeckhausen Racing) about this and he said that driving to and from the track with racing pads would usually be enough to scour the rotors clean before and after the track event....

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Yep. I've never this problem and the closest track to me is about a 40 minute drive. While it's mostly highway, the braking that is done is usually enough.

cruiser

See... I'm interested what other component that could be. I have brand new brake fluid, properly bled (speedbleders), new pads, machined rotors.

They are extremely easy to drive fast and when they hit it sideways its a childs play to correct. In my FD its drama and way more violent

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

I don't think it's anything but the pads. It sounds like you have pads similar to mine. While I'm able to drive to events with them (without destroying my rotors), they don't grab worth a damn on the street. I'll bet that at your next event, once they warm up on the track they'll be grabbing good. Then you'll see you'll have to be like everyone else and run separate street and track pads.

Check your PM's.