OK, this is hard to explain but I'll try...

I have an 06 GT. 3k miles on the car. I have question about the feel of these brakes... I think I don't like how they modulate. Initial bite and normal stopping is OK, but if I press the brake pedal harder, I don't feel like I get the right amount of braking force in return for how hard I am pushing.

My old car is a 97 M3 and pedal travel between light braking and hard braking is about 1-inch and is very easy to modulate clamping force/stopping power with foot pressure and the pedal feels very firm (even at 220k miles!)

With the brembos on the z, the difference in pedal travel between light braking and heavy braking is like 2-3 inches which makes them difficult to modulate (for me) and the pedal feels a bit soft. If the M3 brakes felt like this, I'd take them in to have the brake fluid flushed.

Is this just how the brembos feel? I took it to the shop at 1500 miles and the foreman dove it and he thought they felt fine. I thought i'd give them time to break in to make sure I was not experiencing green fade. fast forward to 3k miles and they don't feel any better.

Then I thought maybe they need to be warm before they really grab so I took them to a familiar road and got them warmed up... but still no difference.

Is there a chance there could be air in the lines from the factory? Doesn't seem likely. So, is this maybe just how the brembo pads feel? What are other's impressions of the OEM brembo pads on the street?

I just don't feel like I have the sheer/brute stopping power of the M3. Although the z's recorded stopping distances are on-par with the M3.

Thanks!

 

swap the pads with Hawk HP+ and put in stainless steel brake lines... about $100 for the swap in total and you'll have less dusting and a dramatic increase in stopping feel / ability

 

This quote describes a brake system with a bunch of air in it. 2-3" would put my pedal to the floor though...

Flush it completely (and propery), and see if that works. If that doesn't work, replace the pads, and do a proper pad bed-in. I would check the lines too to make sure you don't have a weird soft spot; one that bulges.

 

+1 Pedal travel shouldn't be that long.

 

All the cars with the factory brembos have much more travel. I am a convert from stock regular to stock brembo, and I have not been able to get that same feel. I have bled and rebled my brakes several times, there is just more pedal travel. Oh I also have SS lines. I want less pedal movement too (instant on, if you will), so if you figure out something let me know. On Dougs car with the Stoptechs, you just have to look at the pedal with your eyes and that is enough to send you through the front glass.

 

Are you guys really really sure you have no air trapped behind some if the pisons?

My pedal isn't going anywhere when I'm braking...

 

Another item to note is that after the first time I activated the ABS, the brake pedal engagement point moved down about a half- inch and has stayed there!!!

Oh, and if I pump the brakes once or twice first before using them, they feel more firm.

My wife has an 06 enthusiast (regular oem non-brembos) and her pedal feel is dramatically different. They feel like they really clamp down and modulate more like the M3.

Bulge in my line possibility - I have had this in other cars and it manifests itself by only getting to a certain level of stopping power and then no more I am not sure if that is it, but I can check.

If I brake hard with a very light grip on the wheel, the wheel does not pull one way or the other so I am not sure if there is air in the lines (at least front calipers)


I am able to get the stopping power, but it just takes too much travel (IMO).

I am thinking it may be pad compound.

I may have the dealer bleed the system once to see if that helps and then swap out the pads for something else.

 

but I would not rule it out. Will the dealer know how to get out trapped air? How do you get trapped air out? Simple bleed while on the car or do you have to remove them and orient them differently on the disc?

You on OEM brembo pads?

 

Yes, OEM Brembo pads.

Maybe you had air/bad fluid in the ABS lines and it got circulated in the system when it activated.

Make sure you push the pistons all the way back when you bleed the calipers. Tapping them with a rubber mallet will also help free the air bubbles.

By now, your pads should be settled in so uneven pad thickness shouldn’t be an issue. I don’t see what else it could be. I’d do a full flush with some quality brake fluid to make sure I got rid of all contaminants.

Don’t get the cheap Valvoline brake fluid. Many people use it, claiming it’s dirt cheap so they can bleed more often. I’ve never had anything but spongy feel with that fluid. I use RGS610 fluid, which might be somewhat of an overkill (~20$ a bottle…). I track my car though.

 

If it is not air in the lines, it might be knock back due to bad rotors.

This would account for the second push giving you a firm pedal.

Chris

 

I second knock back... I get lots and am so used to it that I end up pumping the brakes in every car I get into.

 

I just installed the OEM brembos on the front of my car tuesday and am doing the rears on friday. There are SS lines and HPS pads all the way around and while the braking force is strong, I too feel that the pedal movement is just a bit further. Not as drastic as other people are saying, but still a bit further.

I tapped the caliper with a rubber mallet and everything to work all the air out until I got nomore air bubbles to come out, but I really didn't know which bleed screw on the calipers to do first. So I did the inside screw, then the outside screw, then the inside screw again just to make sure no air developed. Is there a truly correct way to do this, I couldn't find the answer in the FSM.

 

knockback could be a cause too, as my pedal will almost go to the floor if I don't pump it after a high g-load turn.

I don't get pad knockback on public roads though; only on the track.

 

SS lines was one of the best "feel" mods I ever did for my Z - that couple w/ HPS pads (for the street) has been quite nice. I used a pressure bleeder and reverse-bled it (first vac. bleed didn't get out all of the air and resulted in a crap-feeling pedal) and replaced the fluid with ATE SuperBlue (gonna swap it for Typ200 this spring since it's been a year).

 

Took the car to the shop and two techs drove it and thought the brakes felt fine. But this time the shop foreman was actually cool and said if it will make me feel better, thay'll bleed the brakes. THANK YOU!!! Afterwards, they said there was no air in the system, but they sure feel/modulate much better now.

Now if I can just get them to replace the tranny... the 1-2 shift crunching is driving me nuts. The wife's tranny does not do it. Nissan says it's normal... One thing at a time...