Ok, I'm wondering if any brake gurus can help me out.

Before I went to the 2001 ITR expo my brakes were tight. The pedal was stiff. But after the expo I couldn't tell the difference between the accelerator and the brake. You can just imagine the problems.

I tried changing the fluid to Motul RBF 600 DOT 4 brake fluid which made pedal feel about 10% stiffer (according to my Nike Shoes dyno). I know Yoshi had problems with Motul fluid on his car, said it gave soggy pedal feel, while others around here love the stuff. So I might try this smurf blue stuff I think it was? Da%$ product names I can't remember them... but anyway

So what I am thinking now, since I flushed the fluid, is that my pads are glazed. I had read in another post that glazed pads gives a "you feel you aren't going to stop but actually do" pedal feel. Which is the feel my pedals have.

I'm also thinking that the rotors may be my culprit too, for when I get them red hot (yes) on late late night canyon runs, they shudder terribly, and the brake power goes down so much that I just give up and pull to the side of the road.

So how can I tell if my pads are glazed? And if they are glazed, is there anyway to modify the stock pad to "unglaze" them? Can I sandpaper the glazed part away?

 

Several things could be going on here.

1. Pads might be glazed - take them off and look at them - a glazed pad with look.... well,,,, glazed over, like a super shiney smooth pad surface. A very light application of some 00 or better sand paper will take that stuff right off of there.

2. If you always overheat your brakes - you rubber lines may be toast. Over time and abuse, the rubber will begin to expand dramatically when you hit the pedal. Think of having to inflate little balloons before their is enough hydrolic pressure to apply the brake - mushy.

3. Air in the system. Brake bleeding is a simple task that is done incorrectly about 75% of the time. Make sure you are following the right order and use a power or vacuum bleeder if available.

I would try fixing in the following order 3,1,2.

Chris - who has found may a mushy pedal in his Type R.

 

Thank you very much Chris.

Jonas - who now really hates staring at his uninstalled Motul fluid and SS lines when he needs to read Shakespeare for class