What should my brakes feel like?

[kingman]

It seems that when l apply my brakes it doesn't feel as smooth as my other vehicles, But my other vehicles are Volvo's. When l press down on my brakes the vette of course stops but it doesn't feel right. It's like it's semi power braking.

What can l do? My dealer can only tell me if my brakes work or not and if l have to replace them.

Thanks

Alan

p.s. Or is this just the way they are. I just drove a C6 today and of course the brakes were awesome.

 

[Moonunit 451]

They should be as smooth as the Volvo, but better . You probably need some new rotors and pads, most likely in the front and a flush of the braking system. You may have warped the rotors.

It's an easy job to change these parts. You could have the rotors turned, but these days it's very inexpensive to buy aftermarket rotors and pads which will be quite sufficient if your driving isn't high performance in nature. Go ahead and do it. It'll make you very happy

 

[kingman]

Dealer or Independent ?

Hi

Is this a dealer thing or am l better of with an independent mechanic? And what should l replace them with?

And what are we looking at as far as cost?

keep in mind that my brakes feel like semi power brakes and the pads are brand new delco's from my dealer.

Alan

 

[Aurora40]

What do you mean by "smooth"? You mean like smooth application of pressure doesn't result in smooth increase in braking force? Or you mean like applying the brakes causes the car to shake up a bit?

 

[kingman]

Smooth

Hi Aurora


What do you mean by "smooth"? You mean like smooth application of pressure doesn't result in smooth increase in braking force?
____________________________________________________________

Exactly, you hit it on the nose!

Alan

 

[Aurora40]

Hmm, well new pads and rotors might not help that. It's possible they could if the pads or rotors are glazed, but if that's the case, trying a few high-speed stops might help. My ZR-1 was pretty glazed when I bought it. You could see the bands of blue vs silver color going around the rotor. I'd tried a few 60+mph stops, but that didn't help. Ultimately, some 115mph stops at the dragstrip helped a lot.

If that's not the problem, though, then it won't help. It could be something with the brakes, it could be stainless lines might help a little, or it could just be that the Corvette brakes have a bit more of a squishy pedal than you are used to. To some degree a brake pedal that is "right" is more one you are used to. If you've driven one car for a while, that amount of force will feel "right" while others won't.

In my opinion, though, the two C4's I've had have had great brakes, but the feel was always a little on the mushy side. But push the pedal and that thing'll sure come to a stop!

Edit: I should add that of course air in the line could also cause that type of feeling.

 

[andrewc4]

I find that my brakes also feel 'semi-powered', i.e. on my wife's Ford Windstar, a slight pressure all the way down will result in a hard braking force. The Vette requires a harder pressure for the same stopping power. As the Vette is my first high performance car, I considered the additional force needed for hard braking was a safety measure and gave the driver more control than would be required in, say, a Windstar. On the other, I've only driven my '94 since April, and haven't yet replaced the brake fluid as part of my ongoing maintenance overhaul. The rotors look fine, and there's plenty of brake pad left, the power booster is working but consistent with the comparison to the Windstar, the pedal does not drop as much when the engine is started on the Vette, nor does the pedal on the Vette climb as much when pumped with the engine off.
I thought it was the Vette's better engineering I wasn't used to, am I wrong?

 

[kingman]

I will be in Atlanta this weekend so when l get back l will have it checked out and report back.

Alan

 

[G Winter]

My 90 just takes a little toe pressure to come to a quick stop. nice and solid .

 

[Moonunit 451]

I agree, nothing excessive, flush and bleed, use DOT4. C'Mon, you can do it