Exactly how bad should the brakes be?

[samcoombes]

I know the E30 brakes have to be one of the worst out there, but just how bad?

I've put new pads and discs all round on mine and it ffels no different when braking.

The pedal is still extremely spongy, but the car is supposed to have ABS?

I'm confused by all this!

[Jimbob]

It said on the box of my new discs that it takes 200 miles to bed them in without harsh braking etc. I know this is only a guideline and is not totally necessary.


Last week we fitted both pads and discs all round and were actually worse than what we were replacing (mainly metal on metal stuff..) but after about 150 miles mine are now fully working and stop damn good for an E30!

[Gwynleym10]

ABS has nothing to do with the sponginess or power of the brakes, it simply stops you from locking up hence ABS=Anit-Locking-Brakes

Did you change you brake lines and fluid? if the fluid is over 2 years old it will have soaked up loads of moisture from the air. Try ATE Racing super blue from Eurocarparts around a Ԛ£10 and very good its DOT4. I just did mine.

I don't think E30 brakes are that bad, i find my dads new golfs brakes way to harsh, alot more difficult to control.

Might be worth upgrading to Goodridge braided hoses. Some people have found they turn the brakes a little wooden though.

[Andy_magic]

I have to say I was really impressed by my latest E30's brakes. They give excellent feedback, really shave the speed off and I've yet to get them to fade at all.

I recently had to slow down from over 100mph (autobahn officer!) VERY quickly and it did it without fuss or fade, the pedal retained it's feel.

I'm comparing these brakes to those found on cars I have driven recently as a service engineer such as focus, vectra, pug 307 & 407.

The prevous E30's brakes were hard but worked well.

[astondg]

On my 323i the stopping ability of the brakes seems to be ok, even on the race track, I and have never had any problems with fade either. It is just the pedal that is very spongy. I have slotted rotors, upgraded pads, braided front brake lines, and have had the fluid changed a few times (by myself and a mechanic) and it is still the same. Actually I think the braided front brake lines made it a little bit firmer but it is still very spongy, maybe it would be better if I did the back too. I also had the master cylinder checked and apparently it is ok.

On the race track I really have to put my foot completely on the brake pedal and forget about trying to rev match otherwise I catch the edge of the accelerator pedal (even with smaller driving shoes) because the brake pedal is very close to the floor when I brake hard. It also takes a bit of pedal travel before the brakes start to work at all.

I am thinking about getting a pedal box and trying to fix this up, if I do I'll post about how it goes.

Aston

[samcoombes]

hmmm, maybe i'll try changing the fluid then, and i think i'll get the hoses checked for leaks.

Mine just feel incredibly bad compared to my E36....