Ltrain925

01 z06, New pads prior to this race, dot 4 brake fluid( i know there is better fluids) i dought i boiled them as im just starting to race so i wasn't smashing on them hard. not sure but they feel soft not crisp, the pads are new as i said they worked great on the track but feel pretty crappy now as compaired before. the pads are raybestos pads so there nothing cheap, im going to bleed the brakes but anything i should know. a corvette tech said i might have to program the abs or something, but i have never heard of that.

Short-Throw

You should not have to program anything.

Bleeding the brakes should solve your soft pedal issue. How much pad do you have left?

zigspeed10

Check to see if your pads are tappered. Once my pads are tappered my pedal goes to ****, the car still stops the same but the pedal feel is terrible. I usually flip my pads around from side to side between track days so the leading edge becomes the trailing edge. When I started tracking my vette I would bleed my brakes almost every session thinking it was the fluid, but it never solved anything.

bobmoore2

The Corvette tech may know the computers/software in a Corvette, but he doesn't know anything about brake systems. Or he was trying to trick you into paying for service you don't need.

You've boiled the fluid. Bleeding the brakes will get the air out and firm up the pedal.

You may also have glazed the pads and rotors. Driving around for a couple trips to/from work should scrape the glazing off.

Many of us have experienced this. If you don't want to do anything, just use the car for a few days, and it will fix itself.

P.S. Ltrain925, PLEASE work on your spelling and especially your grammar. There were so many mistakes in your post, it was almost unreadable. Try proofreading it before you submit it.

UstaB-GS549

3 Things:

Boiled fluid: Just bleed. Any order. No need for Tech whatever. Valvoline Syntech, Castrol LMA or Prestone Dot4. Cheap, available & 500 F dry B.P.
Tapered pads: Not much to do here except flip them to even out.
Thin Pads: Not sure why, but pads that have less than 1/8" feel spongy even if they are flat. I run them down to baking plates. Not confidence inspiring, but they work.

gkmccready

Which Raybestos pads? They make a lot of different kinds and don't be fooled be "Severe Duty" at your local auto parts place... you may have overheated (and destroyed) the pads if bleeding the system doesn't firm up the pedal. So check the pads carefully when you look for taper...

mgarfias

re: ABS bleed. If you've boiled the fluid, and have had ABS activation either during or after that you have boiled fluid in the ABS system. Either have someone with a tech2 bleed it (after flushing to fresh fluid), or flush the fluid and go out on the street and stand on the brakes to get into the ABS a few times, then reflush the system.

Last C5

Been there, done that, and own the T shirt.

sperkins

You racing or just lapping?

longdaddy

my money is on the pads that overheated and either glazed or started breaking down at this point and lost too much material.

raybestos does not make any pads suitable for road course duty.

Sidney004

They actually make some excellent race pads, I have used the ST43's and the only thing wrong with them is their price. The St41's were raced by Tony Stewart.

http://www.lpiracing.com/viewCategor...idCategory=761

longdaddy

i take that back, never heard of these

Ltrain925

good information guys thanks, i will let everyone know what was wrong tomorrow. AS for my grammar i typed that from my I phone, its hard for me to get it all pretty and exact with my fingers pushing other buttons and what not, you guys get the point of my message.

Bills Z06

My money says you boiled the fluid. Do a complete brake system flush and then use a race quality DOT 4 or better fluid. Good luck!

davidfarmer

I'd say the pads were overheated and glazed........ certainly either the pads or the fluid.

Even a "nothing cheap" STREET pad can't hold up to couple of track sessions. Pads designed for 200º street use just can't handle 1000º track use.

Zenak

Did you try reading the sticky in this section before posting:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/auto...e-learned.html

99% of newbie to advanced HPDE use of the C5 & sometimes even C6 can be found here

Bill Dearborn

What exactly are you experiencing? A Long pedal stroke where there is a lot of pedal movement before getting a firm reaction from the pedal means you have pad taper (common to C5s that use the brakes hard). A soft pedal stroke where the pedal just feels mushy and never seems to firm up indicates air/vapor in the lines due to boiling or some other issue or very thin pads.

Bill