Brake Feel

#1

Interested to know how your pedal feel is. I’m gonna be looking into my brakes and just wanted some feedback. Mine is not very stiff at all. Brakes are working fine, in the hardest of cornering, I sometimes go into the ABS.

My pedal feels a little spongy/soft tho, I have SS lines, the rest is factory stuff. I will be doing all the pads at minimum before the next track event. I run Valvoline SynPower fluid which will be getting changed as well.

Not sure if the soft pedal is normal or if I should be looking deeper into it. I’ll probably go with PBR brake pads, leave the rotors alone this time.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

#2

We were just having this discussion at Thunderhill last weekend. I am running Carbotechs on slotted rotors with ATE blue, and even though I brake hard I rarely get into the ABS. I bled mine at the track last weekend and replaced the rear pads as well, but they stayed about the same. I had a prof BMW tech jump in and he said it was about normal. They stop the car fine, my preference is that I would get a little stiffer feel earlier in the pedal travel - would love to be able to brake a little harder and later.

#3

Not sure what compound pads by PBR you are using but I would suggest Hawk HT10 or DTC60 pads or PFC 01 compound. What tires are you running? The tires have a lot to do with how well the car stops. Low grip tires will cause ABS to kick in early.

Spongy pedal feel can be bad caliper seals, bad master cylindar, old fluid, pad fade, etc.

#4

Rich, I’ve got three cars.

On one ('86is with an i engine) the brake pedal feel is hard and very likeable.

The other two cars are 325e and i four door cars.The pedal feel is soft.

All three cars share the ATE brake master cylinder.

I cannot explain the difference as the components are the same.

Perhaps others can help.

Regards,Robert Patton

#5

The difference could be the brake booster, assuming the master,calipers, and ABS unit are in good condition.

I suspect that ABS on an E30 is probably not good for more that 85% of what the tires can handle. A non-functional ABS can be a good thing if the driver can manage true threshold braking.

#6

I run the RA1s.

Just like Age stated that the pedal feel is soft at the beginning. I’m used to it but every time I get in and apply brakes it feels much different than any other car/truck I have driven. The pedal never gets to the floor and I don’t think there is a problem. Braking is straight and very consistant.

Just wondering if it is typical of the E30s.

Does the fluid make much difference? I’d say no but I have never run any dot5 or race fluids.

#7

What other car(s) are you comparing to when you say the pedal is soft? The whole soft pedal is probably just because of what you are used to. I know my Subaru has a much stiffer pedal, especially with track pads and this had me going through the same thought process about the E30 that you’re doing. Fresh fluid, new master cylinder, pads and not much of a change. I think it’s just the way they are. Now, if you want a really soft pedal, go jump in an 80s Honda. Worst feeling brakes I have ever experienced.

#8

Patton wrote:

[quote]Rich, I’ve got three cars.

On one ('86is with an i engine) the brake pedal feel is hard and very likeable.

The other two cars are 325e and i four door cars.The pedal feel is soft.

All three cars share the ATE brake master cylinder.

I cannot explain the difference as the components are the same.

Perhaps others can help.

Regards,Robert Patton[/quote]

Are you sure sharing the ATE brake master cylinder isn’t the problem? :slight_smile:

Sorry… I could not help myself…

-Steve

#9

Currently I have 2 mid 80s Fox Mustangs, SVO and Saleen. 05 Honda Odyssey and 01 Dodge 1500. None are track cars, just DDs and cruise cars.

I’ll just chalk it up normal for the Bimmer. Seems like most of you guys’ brakes are the same.

MAYBE WHEN SOMEONE IN THE RM REGION ACTUALY BUILDS A CAR, I CAN COMPARE!! :whistle:

#10

I was driving the car on track (CMP) today (for the first time!) and I thought the same thing, spongy brakes - that was until I went hard into T1 and the passenger rear caliper popped off! I guess I pressed hard enough that the caliper went full out and the outside tabs snapped off :ohmy:

I have a few spare used calipers to put back on for tomorrow but I am going to replace all of them and the M/C on tuesday.

Has anyone disconnected the ABS to see if the pedal feels better? Do we have to have the ABS system intact?

FWIW: I have always driven mustangs and the pedal feels good. But when you take the secondary brake proportioning valve out the pedal pressure improves immensely.

#11

wildhorsesracing wrote:

there is nothing in the rules about modifying the ABS, so the default requirement is that it is present and working.
cheers,
bruce

#12

I found my problem today, a stuck front caliper! a few whacks with a hammer and it was freed and worked well for two twenty minute sessions on track (CMP!) -

I have four(4) new calipers coming tuesday - so I’ll be at the Nats with a fresh brake system B)

#13

I’ve been cursing my E30’s low brake pedal since i got the car.

The car has a fairly new mastery cylinder, rebuild calipers, ss lines, new HT10 pads, and about 10 liters of fluid through the system. the brake pedal was always too low under hard braking and i was never comfortable heel-toe’ing in the car.

This past weekend at VIR, Dave Harrington was my instructor and we got to talking about it. He has the same issue and ended up putting a block on top of the pedal to space it upward. After some tinkering we did the same to my car and it helped a good bit.

I think went for the bling solution and got an OMP pedal cover set. I stacked washers under the mounting bolts on the brake pedal and used no cover on the gas pedal. This provided a nice relative rise on the brake pedal, a good 1/2". The afermarket pedal also was wider closed the gap to the gas pedal by about 3/8".

I’m now MUCH happier w/ the breaks and heel-toeing is a breeze.

This made my whole car twice as fun to drive.

Thanks to Dave! He was also a darn good instructor and even showed me how its done in my own car. :woohoo:

#14

Having the brake pedal too low to heel-toe in an E30 is odd…
Last summit weekend I got in the pace car for a session and the pedal was way low…investigation had crap fluid in the rear calipers. Good all around bleed fixed MY problem. Might not fix yours but the pedal on all 5 E30’s I have had was level with throttle on braking…