Are my brakes OK?

 

All the calipers are less than 2 years old, and so are the discs.

If I lightly apply the brakes, and then suddenly press very hard, the car stops very well and the brakes really bind.

 

If I am driving and then I slam on the brakes as hard as I can straight away, the brakes dont work as well and its seems to take a moment for the brakes to react.

 

Is anything wrong? I am going to fush out and put fresh stuff in. Could bad fluid cause this?

 

Stuart

could be master cylinder they can stick or it could be your flexible brake lines they can brake up inside and block not letting the fluid back or throw

All the best Sid

i AM NO EXPERT, BUT FROM WHAT YOU SAY IT SEEMS THAT BY APPLYING THE BRAKES GENTLY FIRST BEFORE A BIG PUSH YOU MAY BE (sorry for the caps) "cleaning" the pads/discs, of what I dont know, but can you see my direction?

If your brakes work well after a gentle push it is very probably not pipes etc. As they would cause probs every time. IMHO.

I think I am just gonna give the brakes a but of an over hall. They should be good brakes for what they are 4 pot and I think they are brembos.

 

Is is possible to use stock calipers on a larger disc. Like people when they get 17s or 18s put skyline setup on. Cant I just put larger discs on and use the stock calipers?

 

Stuart

I have pretty large discs on mine with the standard calipers, you just need the bracket that re-mounts the caliper at the larger radius. But have not been impressed with this "half measure". I was lucky to get these huge discs at a good price, would NOT have been happy if I had spent the full price on them, cos the braking has hardly improved, 6 pot calipers next then!

I am not saying I understand brakes, but in the days when I played with superbikes, you could compare 2 bikes, in my case FZR1000 to GSXR1200, similar brakes setup, but the Yamaha would out stop the GSX every time. So it was not a case of bigger, but better. we used to swap master cylinders to iprove the GSX brakes.

With the ZX I feel it is the componets as opposed to the size of the brakes. A good brake man would be able to get them, the standard ZX, working properly, I think.

I half remember reading about a problem similar to yours, it was a builkd up of gas inbetween the pad and the disc, I know it sounds odd, which was causing the problem. Cant remember how he fixed it, maybe a different pad material.

Saying that I do remember when the Police ran Cortinas, yes I am old enough, they used to cut a groove down the middle of the pad with a hack saw to clear the build of gasses. and when I changed my ZX pads they too had a groove in them. Have yours? and if not maybe put one in and/ make it bigger?

Your pads could be knackered ......

 

Racing pads work better when pushed but do not work when cold .... this is why they are not recommened for street use as they would cool down before corners .... when u press lighly u r warming them up hence good brakes ....... could simply be that u r pads have seen better days :)

 

scottieeee

The pads may be at blame, but it is the general brake setup of the ZX that is not so good. Putting Skyline calipers and discs on and the braking is a lot different.

 

Stuart