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How to get back that 'new car' brake pedal feel Forums > > How to get back that 'new car' brake pedal feel How to get back that 'new car' brake pedal feel
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Old 12-22-2010, 10:10 AM
robo_geek
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Question How to get back that 'new car' brake pedal feel

I love my Maxima, but my brakes don't have the pedal feel I would like.

I have been working on cars for more than 30 years, and have worked on brakes on everything from a Datsun 510 race car to a 1966 Lincoln Continental to a 1967 Saab.

But I'm stumped.

I've swapped pads/rotors/fluid and have bled the system VERY well.

When the stock pads/rotors started feeling soft, bleeding the brakes and resurfacing the rotors brought the pedal feel _mostly_ back to 'like new'.

I drive in FAST rush hour traffic, so my brakes are used like a typical race car....80 mph panic stops are not all that uncommon. I overheated the stock brakes twice, and had to swap fluid constantly to maintain pedal feel.

About 1,000 miles ago I upgraded to a EBC kevlar 'GreenStuff' pads, Motul Racing Fluid (5.1), and EBC Ultimax black-dash slotted rotors.

This combination will, under any conditions, stop the car well, without any brake heating issues, period. Yes, do a 80mph downhill panic stop on a hot day, and it just stops.

I also use Ceram-Lub 2800 synthetic grease (2800 degrees F) for the brake rotor sliders and guides, and SilGlide for the rubber parts.

But still the pedal feel is only so-so. The pedal feels a bit soft, and the pedal return is a tiny bit slow. Not 'scary slow', but not 'new car pedal feel' either. Just sorta 'not good'.

There are three things I have not done, one is to rebuild the front calipers, the other is to swap the master cylinder, and the third is to goto stainless brake lines.

From those of you who are brake gurus, have I missed anything? I am confident that I have bled the hydraulic system VERY well, that the caliper hardware is perfect, and that the brakes were bedded-in very carefully.

The GreenStuff pads are a little harder than the stock pads, but i would expect that would mean a little more pedal effort, not soft pedal and/or slow return?? The new pads seem to work better once warmed up, as the first stop of the morning requires a bit more effort.

Could there be trapped air in the ABS modulator? Or perhaps did I cook my front caliper piston seals by overheating the brakes? Or maybe the stock rubber brake lines have had it??
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