You have never had the brakes flushed? Do that first!! It is a job that
should be done about every 2 years.
You are correct about "perceived" stopping distance. Of those three
vehicles, the SHO will have the best stopping distance, but the lousiest
pedal feel.
The KEY thing that decreases actual stopping distance is better tires. Now,
in a track situation, aftermarket brakes don't stop the car in a shorter
distance on the 1st stop, but they insure that the 10th stop will still be
good.
I would do the rear brakes, change the four rubber brake hoses at each wheel
and flush the system. That will bring back the original "feel".
FWIW, my buddy has a relatively low-mile '89 Coupe de Ville. He did the
front brakes and bled them, but still have a soft pedal. We power-bled the
fronts only, as he said he paid a shop t flush the system a year or two ago
when he had a rear drum repaired. The front only flush helped, but not much.
We then flushed the repaired rear drum, which looked good with no bubbles
and clear fluid.
We then did the other rear drum. It was obviously never flushed and had
original '89 fluid in that line. The fluid was black & thick and full of
bubbles!! After we were done, he said the brakes felt 2x as good as they
ever did.
Ron Porter
-----Original Message-----
From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of TBailSHO@aol.com
Sent: Friday, June 30, 2006 11:18 PM
To: shotimes@autox.team.net
Subject: [Shotimes] Brakes
I have some concerns with braking systems I'd like to share with the group
and perhaps get some opinions. With the vehicles we have at home, an 04"
Accord, 00' Jeep GC and my 91' SHO which I purchased new 15 years ago, and
the
trucks I drive at work on a daily basis which include six pickups that vary
in age
from ten years to brand new, I notice some real extremes in braking quality.
The sensitivity to pedal pressure, perceived stopping distance, and pedal
feel are what I would call good in the newer vehicles and pretty awful as
they
become older. Of course, my concern, and my reason for writing this has
mostly
to do with my SHO. I replaced the front pads with PF's and the rotors with
a
set of the "better" brand carried by the local AZ last summer at about 85k
miles. I noticed no appreciable difference after that and will probably
replace
the rears this summer just because they're old. I'd like to revive the feel
of my old SHO if possible, and don't know if I'm dealing with a whole bunch
of
old parts that are contributing to that feeling like stepping on a wet
towel,
or would it be a good idea to replace all or some of the hoses, or flush and
bleed the system (I've never done it)? Your thoughts and comments will be
appreciated.
Tom Bailey
_______________________________________________
Shotimes mailing list
Shotimes@autox.team.net
http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo/shotimes
_______________________________________________
Shotimes mailing list
Shotimes@autox.team.net
http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo/shotimes
|