Not on my Vette thank goodness, but on my friend's Z-28. His brakes have been in a bad kind of way for some time now, no pad left on the left rear, rotor is destroyed. In any case he finally got 4 new rotors, and new pads all the way around.

He wanted Performance Friction Z rated pads but Autozone is couldn't get him those for the front. His next option was the Performance Friction Ceramic pads, but they couldn't get those for the rear! :smash: He ended up with the Ceramic's for the front and the Z-rated ones for the rear. When he picked up his parts the Ceramic's don't say Performance Friction on them anywhere, rather they say Morse on them. Oh well, anyhthing is better than the pads that he had so he took them.

Today I replaced his brakes. I put all new rotors on and put the Z-rated pads on the rear and the Ceramic pads on the front. I didn't open any of the bleeders so there shouldn't be any air in the system. Now to me the pedal just feels really soft. It stops alright, however I haven't been too hard on them yet as they are new. It just seems like the pedal goes half way down before there is any useful resistance. The car stops perfectly straight, doesn't squeal or anything. Everything feels great except for the pedal.

Is this typical of the Ceramic pads? I've got the Z-rated's all the way around and my pedal feels good. I guess we'll try to bleed them and see if it gets any better but I've got my doubts.

 

Hmmm. I've got Napa Ceramic's on all four corners - never noticed any pedal difference from changing the pads, just a much more positive stopping action. My brakes were pretty well worn when I replaced them and it raised my brake/braking to the top of the brake pedal - a real good thing.

Any chance that his flexible brake lines are worn and expanding with the brake pressure? Did he have the same issue with the old brakes? I just can't imagine why you'd experience such a dramatic difference from just changing the pads. :confused:

Let us know what you discover.

:seeya

 

Yes it's possible that his lines are expanding but I really don't think it was that bad before I changed the pads. I drove the car over to my house to change the pads and I didn't really notice them being extremely soft. I knew they sucked but I think the pedal actually felt a little better.

 

Personally, I'd go with the easy/cheapest fix first - as you said - try bleeding them and see if you get any improvement. I really don't think the type of pads contributes to the feel of the brakes......generally, in my experience, soft or spongy brake pedal spells air in the system - somewhere. If you're sure the rubber lines are good, I'd look for the bleeding to cure the problem.

:seeya

 

The lines might not be so hot, they've got more miles than mine but they are newer. Oh well, we'll just try bleeding some day. At least now he's not grinding his rotor into dust. It's pretty bad, all the other wheels are black with brake dust, the driver's side rear is red with rusted rotor dust.

 

At least now he's not grinding his rotor into dust. It's pretty bad, all the other wheels are black with brake dust, the driver's side rear is red with rusted rotor dust.
:eek:

Nothing like waiting until the last minute - I had a caliper lock up on my previous car at 60 mph and it super heated the rotor and caused the brake fluid to boil. The boiling fluid produced air bubbles in the wheel cylinder that I didn't notice until after rebuilding the brake. I replaced the pads and rotor not thinking that anything had happened to the caliper. Long story short - I had to rebuild the caliper and didn't find the reason for my spongy brakes until bleeding the system.....maybe he has been producing enough heat with his metal on metal brake arrangement (red with rusted rotor dust)???

:confused:

Good luck Nathan.

 

I agree. I had a hell of a time after changing/rebuilding my master clutch cylinder (long story). Bleeding the system the first time, my fluid looked like ****...Dirty ****, at that...

I bled it 12 - 14 times; various ways, various devices. I even got 18carfan involved; who advised just keep bleeding, it'll come around...

I finally ordered a set of Speed Bleeders for brakes & clutch, but kept bleeding...The system finally came to the top of the pedal travel, and has been fine since (still haven't installed Speed Bleeders; Spring project)...

I could see tiny bubbles in the exiting fluid; holding cylinder at the recommended 45* angle helped as well...

For the brakes, just bleed them. Don't be afraid to do it a dozen times or so; drive it in between bleeds. Replace rusty bleeder valves, use new fluid from a new can when you run out (don't buy quarts; 12 oz bottles is best).

I use the hose & bottle method (one person), but two people works best...

 

I replaced my front pads with Ceramix about 5000 miles before I replaced the stock rear pads....and no soft pedal....when I finally got the rear pads on
I flushed the system...pedal feel is right and tight...... :seeya

 

I did the pad swap to NAPA ceramics and the pedal didn't fell like it should. I tried to flush out as much old fluid as possible while bleeding the system. The pedal feels much better now.