Hi, have a little issue when it comes to high speed braking (this is the only time I felt it) with my acura integra.
When driving the car at speed limit the brakes work great but every now and then, when I`m alone on the highway and I race a motorcycle we end up going at high speeds (250-270km/h), Soon as I step on the brakes, I feel as if the pedal gets pushed down abit (as if it gets hard towards the middle) and the car barely slows down.
Then the brakes start to smell. When I pull over I sometimes have hot spots on the disc.
This also sometimes happens to me at the drag strip when finishing the 1/4mile at 128mph, similar situation (but only sometimes)
What could be the issue and what can I do to solve this?

The pads are PBR semi-metallic, discs are brembo blanks stock integra ls size front 10.3” and rear stock size brembo cross drilled (waiting for them to wear out before going blank).
Brake fluid is the OEM Honda recommended fluid.
Brake lines are stock.

So what are your experiences and what options do I have to slow this car down at those speeds.

 

you are exceeding the limits of your braking system, what you're experiencing is known as brake fade. the pad odor & heat spots on your rotors are evidence of this. brake fade is a dangerous situation when braking hard, you lose brake effectiveness. this usually occurs gradually so you can compensate in your brake point by braking sooner, but sometimes happens so suddenly you can end up going on a off-road excursion with fatal results. when braking, "tapping" the brakes, as opposed to constant application, give the brakes an opportunity to cool between applications, therefore reducing brake fade

there are several reasons for fade:

pad fade occurs for several reasons; all friction material (brake pad stuff) has temperature limits. friction materials have an optimal working temperature where the coefficient of friction is the highest. sometimes you can use the brakes so hard that you get the temperature over the point of maximum friction to where the coefficient of friction curve starts to decline

pad fade can also occur from improperly bedding-in brand new brake pads. brake pads are usually made of different types of heat resistant materials bound together w/ resin. these are thermosetting plastic resins with a high heat resistance. on a new brake pad, these resins will out-gas or cure when used hard on their first few heat cycles. the new pad can hydroplane on this layer of excreted gas. this type of fade is dangerous because many people assume that new brakes are perfect and can be used hard right off the bat.

drive careful on the first few laps. fade can occur if you change the pads and drive on the street for a few hundred or even thousand miles, never braking hard, then suddenly start using the brakes hard. fade can be prevented by properly bedding-in the pads. this is a simple procedure that heats up the new pads so a glaze is left on the rotors; break in the pads under controlled conditions

heat is produced every time your pad touches your rotor. brake fluid fade is caused by boiling the brake fluid in the calipers; this produces bubbles in the brake system. since bubbles are compressible, this makes for a soft spongy pedal; the pedal can plunge to the floor with very little or no grabbing power. brake fluid fade can caused by exceeding the fluid's boiling points, which carries the heat away from the caliper/pad/rotor via brake fluid.

since you're experiencing fade at high speeds, i would inpsect the condition of your brake fluid, pads & rotors before you consider braking from such high speeds

 

Check your brake fluid. Could be old and contaminated so the boil point decreased, causing brake fade. Fluid should have the color similar to apple juice. Might have to flush the system out.

 

im having same issues hoping new brake pads will take care of it

 

Get better pads and fluid.

I use Hawk HP Plus pads and ATE superblue fluid. Work great at the track and on the street.

 

thanks i bought hawks hps pads will get fluid and give it a try

 

Any fluid with a higher boiling point will do. Stay with DOT3/DOT4 stuff.

 

thanks i picked up brembo blanks aswell today..