Lackluster brakes

[Rousey66]

Hello,

Just a quick question regarding brakes. I have a1990 316i LUX 2 door coupe, no ABS. My brakes tend to do little until I'm almost stood on them. As a result they're not the most reassuring things to use especially in the wet. There's still plenty of disc & pads on the front. The drums are squealing a little but not constantly, just on and off occasionally.

Is this just a case of fitting new discs/pads on the front and bleeding them then putting new shoes in the back? Or are the brakes on the baby E30s just that bad?

This may be a dumb question. I'm not the most mechanically minded person in the world, servicing and nut & bolt jobs are about as far as I can do, so here goes. Is it possible to put a set of bigger, vented front discs & calipers off the 6 pots onto mine and how easy is it? I wasn't sure whether the lack of ABS etc. would cause issues or not. The same for doing a disc conversion on the back. How simple is it?

I'm aware it's only a little 1.6 so speed isn't really a factor. I'd just like a little more confidence. I'm bracing myself for all the "grow a pair" style comments by the way.

If not, are there any better quality discs & pads or shoes for the back you'd recommend in place of doing a complete replacement?

Thanks

[Speedtouch]

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Brakes

[Grrrmachine]

A good test might be to find a gentle slope and roll the car down it (only at 5mph) with the engine OFF. See how hard the brakes are to stop, and then try again with the engine running. If there's not much difference then your servo's knackered, or there's a vacuum leak to it somewhere.

Other than that, you might have cooked/glazed your existing pads (normally by holding the brake pedal at traffic lights) meaning they've gone solid and aren't wearing down like they should. New pads will help.


If you want to go for bigger discs then 325i or any Touring/Cabriolet brakes are direct bolt-on replacements.

[Brianmoooore]

Have they always been like this since you've had the car?
Have you put the car through an MOT test yet? If so, what were the brake test results?

[Rousey66]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! The car came with 12 month MOT but the garage I bought it from put it through with a badly creeping clutch, no power steering and a big hole in the bottom of one wing without any mention on the certificate so...

I think I'll give the hill test a try as suggested then pending the results from that, either put some new pads & shoes on or add a new servo to my list of things to fix.

Bigger discs is definitely an option for the future then. I'll have to see what happens.

[Brianmoooore]

Just realised that you're the same guy that I just replied to on another thread.
Vented discs don't give any more stopping power than plain ones - they just do it more often without fading. E30 brakes are designed to require quite a bit more pedal pressure than modern cars, but not excessively so, and the standard brakes should be more than adequate, if working correctly.
If the servo or its vacuum pipe is leaking, or in need of adjustment then that is an MOT failure, as is inadequate performance from the brakes as indicated by whatever brake test method they used.
I think this garage needs a visit from VOSA!

[Speedtouch]

Sounds like maybe the brakes work sufficently to pass the MOT test, but only with high pedal pressure (which many MOT testers wearing steel toe-capped boots would easily be able to administer).

Sounds to me like the servo isn't working.

Oh, and it's spelt 'lacklustre'.

[Rousey66]

Just realised that you're the same guy that I just replied to on another thread.
Vented discs don't give any more stopping power than plain ones - they just do it more often without fading. E30 brakes are designed to require quite a bit more pedal pressure than modern cars, but not excessively so, and the standard brakes should be more than adequate, if working correctly.
If the servo or its vacuum pipe is leaking, or in need of adjustment then that is an MOT failure, as is inadequate performance from the brakes as indicated by whatever brake test method they used.
I think this garage needs a visit from VOSA!

Yeah I've been getting myself about and trying to dig up info as I'm relatively new to E30s.

In all fairness it could be because I've gone from a small, relatively new car to a larger, older car. I mean they do work, just not as well as I'd like.

And yes, I think I'm inclined to agree with you. Having said that, I bought it cheap so I can't really complain. The money I saved buying it cheap from him I'm having to pay out repairing things that should have worked....

[Rousey66]

Sounds like maybe the brakes work sufficently to pass the MOT test, but only with high pedal pressure (which many MOT testers wearing steel toe-capped boots would easily be able to administer).

Sounds to me like the servo isn't working.

Oh, and it's spelt 'lacklustre'.

I'll get it looked into!

My apologies, it's not a word I use often

[Billwill]

My 1990 318i saloon stops pretty well with standard disks up front and drums at the rear.

You need a good quality set of disk pads up front and check that the rear drums are adjusted properly and that the linings are not glazed...the drums do not do too much of the braking anyhow.

Test that the Servo is working by pressing down on the brake pedal with the engine OFF...it should feel firm. Now as you start the engine the pedal should move down about an inch under your foot....that means the Servo is working fine!