onyx00

I was out on the track this weekend (www.gingermanraceay) and after about (3) 30 minute runs my brakes were very soft and mushy. This morning on the way to work it feels the same. I push down and eventually I get more braking but I can tell the brakes are much less responsive than before I was at the track.

Any ideas on what is wrong? Do I need new pads? (How do you tell if your pads need replacing?) Do I need to flush out the fluid in my brakes and put higher temperature fluid in?

Thanks!

sackdz

Same happened to me, after new fluid, pads, and bleedage, it was never back to normal. My guess is that the brake lines expanded and are "more stretchier" The goodrich SS lines should help that. speaking of which, is bimmersteve diong this group buy or what?

DutchITR1689

If you have stock pads then they are overheated. 30 minutes is a bit too long for stock brakes.

KJ

I doubt it's the pads and I'm almost positive you boiled the brake fluid.

BSQ

You boiled your brake fluid. Bleed the brake fluid and I'm sure that you will find that you have air bubbles in your fluid. You should upgrade to higher boiling point brake fluid if you are going to be doing any more track events. Also consider some track pads.

Wai

Chris, this is normal. Nothing is wrong with your car. You are supposed to change brake fluid after every event. As someone else has mentioned before, once your stock rubber lines have been through the expansion and contraction due to extreme heat, they loose flexibility so your pedal would feel softer even with the fresh fluids.
SS lines, DOT 4 fluids are musts for track events. The factory pads are ok until you go really aggressive on the track.

Yell00ITR

I don't necessarily agree with the need for SS lines, but you do need better fluid. We can probably bleed them at the ITR meet. Im gonna do mine tomorrow probably.

BTW, I get a mushy pedal every time I go to the track (at the end of the day) and chaning the fluid restores pedal feel. I don't believe that SS lines make a huge difference on a "newer" car. I put them on my '92 GSR and the difference was minimal.

DutchITR1689

I put new DOT 4 fluid just before a track event. I got the same mushy feel after the event.

Big Phat R

Change your fluid at least. I use Motul 600

Stock pads are ok but generally get baked within 1/2 an hour or so. Cool-down laps and driving your car around after each session to let the brakes cool off is highly recommended. If you want to prolong brake use with any pads/fluid - air ducting is a good idea but a little over the top for most people's uses.

Lastly SS lines should get some of the firmness back into the pedals that you desire (but most of it is the old brake fluid).

Track driving is really hard on your cars brakes. You should be willing to invest in their upkeep and upgrading as necessary. They are a paramount safety device in your car.

nsxtasy

Flush the fluid (replace it with a high-performance fluid like Motul 600). Don't just bleed (let air bubbles escape).

You can tell whether you need new pads by looking at how thick the pad material is. For the most thorough check, you need to remove the wheels, but as long as your pads wear evenly, you can check the thickness by just looking between the spokes of the wheels. You can see the edge of the brake pad. The pad consists of a metal backing plate, maybe 6 (?) mm thick, and pad material which is maybe 10 mm thick when new. If you're just driving on the street, you can let the pad wear down to about 2 mm thick, which is where the stock pads have a metal tab that starts making a a squealing noise. For track use, you should probably replace them when the pad material is around 3-4 mm thick.

Chris, I'll show you how to check this on Saturday.

I don't think the R needs SS brake lines; just my O.

typer100

-get some new pads (Hawks)
-change fluid for some DOT4 or 5.1

You will never have the same brand new feel with your brakes! Since I've done these changes, the braking is a lot more consistent during track events! The braking will fade a bit but never like the stock setup!