Brake Fade

Post by **dstocks** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 7:37 pm

Had some pretty serious brake fade going down the Clide yesterday. Spoilt all my fun

Was wondering how much difference good pads make. Or is it better to save up the dough for better discs etc???

BuCkEt · Post by **BuCkEt** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 10:38 pm

If you're going to upgrade your pads you might as well do the discs while you're at it.

If budget is an issue, upgrading the front discs to slotted/drilled discs with some decent pads should do the trick.

If budget is not (or as much of) an issue, than you should look at slotted discs with uprated pads for front and rear as well as braided hoses to help deal with the fade.

Now if only we could get our hands on some nice carbon fibre discs like the Enzo!

Post by **dstocks** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 11:17 pm

Thanks Bucket, thats what I thought the answer would be. Start saving I guess!

BuCkEt · Post by **BuCkEt** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 11:36 pm

Pads and discs will probably hit you up for around the $600 mark for all four corners.

Perfect Run sell APP Braided lines for 23100 yen....which is about 250ish Aussie dollars.

Boris · Post by **Boris** » Sun Dec 11, 2005 10:51 am

Umm... brake fade is normally associated with your brake fluid, and your brake lines... that's what i always though...

Pads, and rotors will just make you stop better, and depending on the combination might heat up less...

What i would do is do a complete flush of the brake fluid, to say something like Motul Brake fluid, racing fluid, DOT4.1. (Jerry Racing, Fyshwick, only need 1 bottle )

See how that goes, and also check your brake lines, cos the rubber lines may be getting old!

My brakes, I have no problem with, even after a whole days worth of track work, my brakes fade to about 60% and stay around that margin..

Another option is to get braided brake lines..

Anyway, all that above is what i know, and i don't know how accurate it is

RichardH · Post by **RichardH** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 11:37 pm

Boris wrote:Umm... brake fade is normally associated with your brake fluid, and your brake lines... that's what i always though...

Off the top of my head...

Problem: Onset of a hard pedal, with decreased braking effectiveness.

Reason: That's your pads and discs getting overheated. The more you press, the hotter they get, the worse they work... so you press harder!

Solution: Better quality pads. Possibly slotted rotors too. Or... Change of habit - more cool-down time between the bouts of psychotic driving.

Problem: The dreaded squishy pedal - more pedal travel (possibly to the floor), loss of pedal "feel".

Reason: You've probably boiled your fluid. Oops.

Solution: Fluid flush. If it was brand new, good DOT4 fluid you just boiled, possibly change to DOT5.1 fluid. If it was old fluid, change it more often! Change of habit - more cool-down time... especially avoid parking it up with glowing brakes!

Problem: Partially squishy pedal, loss of "feel", but it all seems to go back to normal a couple of hours later.

Reason: That's probably old rubber brake lines getting hot and sloppy. You put your foot on the pedal, and they expand a bit.

Solution: Braided brake hoses (can do front only - rears don't get that hot), or even just new rubber hoses to replace the decade-old ones! Change of habit - more cool-down time will help a lot.

So for all of these, if you can manage your brake temps, you can avoid spending big money. What you can't (or won't) manage your way around will require a solution involving dollars. Just choose your budget to suit your car use.

Hope this helps!

- Rich

Post by **Bennoz** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 8:43 am

As always Rich, well said

Post by **dstocks** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 8:57 am

Thanks for the advice all