Since I got my '94 vert a few weeks ago I have felt that the brakes were not up to what I would expect from a 300hp car. Compared to the brake pressure required of my Camry or even Tundra pickup I could see why so many referred to the Fred Flintstone nature of the vette's brakes. In fact, they were so wooden that I began to wonder what would happen in a panic situation. I did a search on this forum to see if anyone else had the same opinion and found a veritable Greek chorus of complaints, many of them contained in a massive 17-page thread which described any number of deficiencies which pretty much echoed my observation.

Along with howls of indignation that Chevy would produce such a flawed system many respondents listed modifications they had tried to solve the problem, from J55 brakes (whatever they are) to different pads, to a new booster, to removing the ABS system to....well, just about everything but voodoo rituals and ancient Tibetan curses. There wasn't a hell of a lot of successes reported, but almost lost in all that clamor was somebody's quiet observation that just exercising the ABS system could help solve the problem. Well, that sounded like a cheap and easy fix and therefore something right up my alley. And anyway I wanted to know what WOULD happen if I ever needed to make a panic stop.

Accordingly I took the car out this morning, found a deserted stretch of road and MASHED the brakes. Started up and did it again a little faster. And again. And....well, you get the picture. Each panic stop was accompanied by a slight chirp from the tires before the ABS kicked in, then instantly came the comforting buzz and vibration of the ABS along with the "ABS activated" message on the info screen. The ABS worked perfectly, and the car tracked straight even with my hands off the wheel. My mind is at ease because now I know I CAN stop in a hurry if I have to, and that panic braking is limited only by tire adhesion and not any weakness in the brakes themselves.

But the real bonus was what the fellow in that thread predicted -- the brakes WERE noticeably stronger in regular, non-panic application after this workout, now needing only slightly more pressure than the Camry. I don't know WHAT happened to bring about this improvement, only HOW it was done. And my highly accurate and carefully calibrated accelerometer -- that would be my keister -- is pretty convinced the improvement is real and substantive. I'll be changing the fluid soon to flush out any crud that may have been dislodged from inside the ABS.

Your results may vary, but the price of this experiment is right ($0.00) and you, too, may benefit. I'd like to know what others experience if you try it.

 

Interesting. I've never had any problems with my brakes, but I wonder what the issue is. Maybe, like you said, just gunk built up on the moving surfaces from non-use.