Brakes query

Matt82

Matt82

Matt82

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Joined
13 Mar 2004
Posts
16,649
Had to jump on the brakes big time yesterday (yes, the thing that is only meant to happen if youre a racing driver, boy racer, loonatic)

The car had been driven normally before hand so brakes were neither stone cold or baked. I got on the brakes hard (not two feet utter panic, but much harder than normal) and not as much happened as i hoped.

Whilst I decelerated slowly I wondered if tyres were locked up (no, car still steered etc they were not locked) but after a second or two i started to decelerate, started to feel the tyres lock and then ABS finished it all off for me.

Ive never been happy with the brakes on the car (Pagid items from ECP, ive moaned about them a lot)

Can a poor reaction like that be down to anything other than the pads?

Replacement pads are a mere £35

ATE Brake Pads (Front) Part No.: 101440705
£35.94
(Priced Per Axle)
 
Yes, sharp for normal day to day use but day to day you never really use more than 10%-20% effort on them

Pads went on absolutely ages ago, 3-4 years ago, about 50k miles ago if my memory is right and the pads have a lot of material left (otherwise id have changed them much sooner) when i last looked they only looked about 50% worn.

Lip on the disc is minimal (must be really light on the brakes)

Fluid is 2 years 5 months, ATE blue
 
Definitely didn't boil

Even if there was air in there it doesn't make sense because I didn't add any pressure when it started to lock

I've got new brake fluid that's been waiting to go in for months

Wonder if ate pads will rid the car of the brake Judder I've blamed on the pagid Pads for years
 
Fuzz said:
A measure of a good brake pad isn't how quick you can lock the wheels up.
That is actually the last thing you want designed into a brake pad. So the fact they didn't lock up "until the last minute" was a good start..
Click to expand...

But they were miles from locking up. My foot was hard on the brake pedal and the car felt like it was braking gently

Gonna do the brake fluid flush today. Is there anything to be gained from putting the pistons right back into the calipers when the flush is done to give the pistons a chance to move?
 
So.

Brake fluid is flushed with some plain jane DOT4 ATE stuff. Started at the rear and wound in the piston all the way with the nipple open, logic being id give the piston a chance to move (ie rears havent moved since i fitted them 2 years ago)

Here comes ANOTHER rant about Pagid crap you buy from ECP. The rear callipers were new Pagid items two years ago, fitted and never touched since. Im winding the pistons in and the dust boot is catching big time on the piston (ie probably going to tear it) so i spray some lube in and ease the piston back in but now the dust boot wouldnt sit right. had to spend AGES folding it back into its proper shape.

Sliders all cleaned, everything refitted, moved to the front, cleaned the sliders, carriers (everything moved freely anyway) and bled the lot.

Usually i find it takes about 700-750ml of fluid and this time was no different, including the clutch.

Out on the road it feels much of the same. Pads just drag on the disc when you brake. Poor initial response

Going to get pics up of the pads in a bit. They were fitted when i did the clutch on this car, years ago. Nearer 50k miles ago and they look almost brand new. More pagid crap i expect?
 
Pics or it didnt happen

DSC_4238.jpg

DSC_4237.jpg

DSC_4239.jpg

DSC_4240.jpg


I was wrong. They have more than 5mm left. Those pads have 50k miles of use.

Pagid from ECP is completely off the cards forever, whats the odds on their ATE pads being garbage too?
 
rossk26 said:
Nothing wrong with Pagid pads, they are decent and more than adequate for the average vehicle. I probably wouldn't fit them to high performance vehicles unless it was their racing range, but then other brands would come before them.

As above check the brake hoses next. What is the condition of the pads? Not the amount of meat they have left, are they shiny/cracked?

You say you've done 50k miles, but the pads have done nowhere near that mileage. It's the age of them that will be affecting them the most.
Click to expand...

Ive done 80k in the car, i fitted the pads 50k ago

The other night i genuinely thought there was a chance id be filling in an insurance claim form, i had to think up an escape route (ie change lane to the left, possibly cut someone up but avoid the stationary cars ahead)

The brakes were simply not stopping me. Its not a "high performance" car, it get driven sedately practically all the time and theyre not small brakes, i fitted the larger 312mm discs from the TT
 
oh, and with regard to deposits, i didnt get any pics, but the near side front pads did appear to have deposits on the leading edge of the pad itself
 
Muffin` said:
What do the backs look like is all the pressure going to the back or something?
Click to expand...

the backs (pagid again) went on maybe 5-6 months after the front. They genuinely are down to 50% but the shiny coating on the disc is starting to show signs of cracking, theyre more lipped than the fronts
 
And the car did its MOT last week, not a single issue with brake bias side to side, do they test front to rear?

I just think the front pads are useless and have really poor response
 
acemastr said:
Tried simply smashing the brakes on from 60 a few times?
Click to expand...

Yes, on wednesday (although it wasnt planned) but i nearly ended up crapping myself

I have deliberately driven quickly since then but now that i know all ill get is that initial poor response, i didnt want to carry on

So, replacement pads.

My initial bet is ATE from euro car parts

http://www.vwspares.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=225

TRW cant be bad
 
So what do we recon then? Just go to the dealer?

Even if i sand down the current Pagids, they juddered from new anyway, so theyre going no matter what way we look at it
 
Most of the time I drive sedate but my homes chav does come out every couple weeks. They were upgraded because it was driven much harder then (bmw takes all that brunt now)

100% genuine, I collected them myself over the counter at Euros

Gonna fit ate pads asap and report back

That level of wear doesn't even seem possible for 50k. The brakes are only tt sized so there will be lots of those driven just as sedate
 
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