I know this should be in the "brakes" forum, but it already is and nobody posts there. So hopefully someone here can help.

Alright, so I have a 93 Hatch CX, and it doesn't stop for ****. I mean it stops ok, but when I really jam on them, I cant even lock them up (not that I want to but..I still cant) EVEN WHEN ROADS ARE WET!

The car came with the current brake setup so, i'm not sure as to what it has exactly but. I do know the front rotors are cross drilled and slotted, and it has rear discs, prolly gsr. The front pads are duralast (crap) and I do have good tires Bridgestone RE-11's, and that is about all i know..

What can i do to drastically improve my braking without breaking the bank!

If you have any questions about my current set up, PLEASE feel free to ask and i will do my best to answer.

The car does also have a gsr swap so i know its a tat bit heavier than stock but..

Thanks in advance,
-Adam

 

Look over your entire system. Check these:

Fluid Level
Leaks (lines, master cylinder, and calipers)
Pads & Rotors

 

have the brakes checked.....something could be seized up and potentially unsafe...

 

There is definitely a problem, with slotted and cross drilled rotors you should have no problem locking up the wheels.

Because none of the wheels lock up I would be looking at the master brake cylinder.

I am trying to think of what could cause the problem, but without knowing what you have already tried/checked, it would just be a guess.

As has already been suggested, check it all, start at the pads and work back.

If you have not already, replace the brake fluid, all of it, it may not be the problem, but it can't hurt, brake fluid will absorb moisture, lowering it's boiling point, boiling brake fluid will also lower it's boiling point, brake fluid boiling in the caliper will result in poor braking.

I autocross a DD 94 LS, with slotted and cross drilled rotors and Hawk brake pads, I replace the brake fluid once a year and I can tell the diff. the fresh fluid makes. 94

 

I have been meaning to look into it but work ownz me and not having a garage licks ***** too. How could i potentially diagnose a master cyl? I don't even know if this thing has a 40 40 prop, i didn't do any of the brakes, like i said, they were installed by the previous owner.

Thanks

 

See if there is air in the lines


Bleed your brakes if so

 

Well, when i got home today my omni power 70mm tb was waiting for me so I installed that and didn't even think about the brakes haha. On the way home I was playing around with them, if I really stand on the pedal, it will stop pretty fast and somewhat squeel the tires, i wonder if the front brakes are just so puny they can barely handle the weight...

also, the brakes feel as if i have manual brakes.. idk, the pedal doesnt feel spongy at all, and it doesnt creep down at a stoplight, so i don't think its the master or air. could the pads just suck that bad? they are duralast.. and the rotors look tiny

here is a pic i found that i took a while ago.. Ity bity tiny brakes

 

What Size are your wheels? but like said before, try flushing the brake system with new fresh brake fluid, When i Bought my wifes car it had duralast pads on it and it did not have a problem locking up the wheels and we took it up to the mountain and the brake perform really well of some cheap duralast pads.

 

What size, [diameter] are the front and rear rotors? 94

 

The wheels are 15's! I have yet to measure the rotors, but the car sure does pull with that new TB! haha

If i don't get to look at it tomorrow, wednesday for sure cause i have off thur, fri sat and sun this week!
!

 

Four days off in a row to work on your car, got to like that, I am lucky if I get 1/2 a day on sat. and sun., the rest of the time all I can do is look at mine while working on other peoples cars, worse is there is nothing wrong with my car, runs like a dream, I just need a few days to reinstall everything I removed when I started the rebuild, [body and paint] almost 2 years ago.94

 

Check the brake booster, if its bad the pedal will be hard and you will have to press extremely hard to stop, sounds like what yours is doing. I would bet thats whats wrong. Sometimes when they go out you can here a vacuum leak from it. If you do replace it, get a GsR setup, or a ITR master cylinder and boster set, the ITR has a larger piston in the master cylinder which will increase stopping power.

 

Thank you, is the install pretty straight foward, or any modifications need to be done for the ITR master and booster.

Thanks in advance.