I can't stop...

Knuckles281 · Apr 2, 2008

...literally. My brakes blow the big one. I replaced the pads, but I got oem ones at advance. I'm thinking about getting new drilled or slotted rotors for the braking, and for the looks, too. On the other side of that, I'm not looking to break my wallet right now...are there any decent rotors that you guys know about. I mean I could go with Baer or something, but I figured some of the guys on here would know a much cheaper alternative that will give me the touch of increased performance and look that I'm going for.

justinschmidt1 · Apr 2, 2008

cobra/mach one brake upgrade

AaRoN · Apr 2, 2008

You can get a Mach 1 kit from www.buyfordracing.com for $349

Knuckles281 · Apr 2, 2008

sweet, yea that mach 1 kit is probably the cheapest way i've seen so far

Knuckles281 · Apr 2, 2008

are those 13 inch rotors for that kit? it doesn't say

AaRoN · Apr 2, 2008

Knuckles281 said:
are those 13 inch rotors for that kit? it doesn't say

It's the same as the 03/04 brake setup. But with less flashy calipers.

9psi 98 · Apr 2, 2008

if you literally can't stop as you say, I'd look at more obvious options before you go out and swap in a bigger brake setup. The OEM brakes are not all that bad unless you are racing SCCA every weekend. If you can't stop, you may have air in your brake lines or a simple vaccum leak to your brake booster. I'd start there first.

AaRoN · Apr 2, 2008

9psi 98 said:
if you literally can't stop as you say, I'd look at more obvious options before you go out and swap in a bigger brake setup. The OEM brakes are not all that bad unless you are racing SCCA every weekend. If you can't stop, you may have air in your brake lines or a simple vaccum leak to your brake booster. I'd start there first.

Well put. And a very good point.

Also, if you want an upgrade, the 99-04 GT brakes are alittle better than the 94-98's.

mike97gt · Apr 2, 2008

yea definately look into the problem a little better before buying bigger brakes.

what exactly is it doing? is it just little braking force or is it massive brake fade or what?
if your not getting enough pressure then no matter what brake kit you buy, the brakes are gonna be crappy.

Knuckles281 · Apr 2, 2008

there's no braking force...i tried bleeding the brakes and then refilling my fluids,ect, like general maintenance, but it didn't do much...the brakes on my car have never really been all that great though. maybe my stock calipers are just messed up or something.

i find it kinda hard to believe that they would both be broken though...cause i feel like the chances of that are small, and if only one was messed up then wouldn't it pull to one side when i started stopping?

Fets · Apr 2, 2008

Ima swap my braks for the new zr1 vette brakes :afro:

Knuckles281 · Apr 2, 2008

your car will be a mut...

Jrgunn5150 · Apr 2, 2008

I never had mush luck bleeding brakes the traditional way with these hydroboost car's. I just got a pump thingy from Summit for like 50 bucks and my pedal went crazy firm after that.

You may need calipers or something too, but I guess a Cobra swap would fix that, lol.

9psi 98 · Apr 2, 2008

It could be anything from dirty calipers to worn out rotors that are too thin and there isn't enough to grab onto even with new pads. Your brake lines may also need flushed out cause brake fluid does go bad, even if you're not beating the hell out of your brakes on a daily basis. What happens when you hit your brake pedal, it it a firm pressure, or does it feel spongy? If you wanted to, could you slam on your brakes and lock your front tires up? You don't have drum brakes, so they can't be out of adjustment that would cause the problems like you're having. Try taking your calipers off and cleaning all of the parts including lubricating the pins that they slide on. If your pads are binding on those pins, then you're only getting the inside pad to contact the rotor and the outside one may barely be touching.

Red96GT · Apr 2, 2008

Does anyone have experience between a setup like the Mach1/03 Cobra setup and something like Baer or Brembos? I know the mach 1 setup on american muscle comes with Brembo rotors, so I guess it's just the 4 piston calipers that set the Brembo kit apart. Obviously 4 pistons are better than two but is less brake fade the only benefit when going with the Brembos?

Willis_98GT · Apr 2, 2008

9psi 98 said:
if you literally can't stop as you say, I'd look at more obvious options before you go out and swap in a bigger brake setup. The OEM brakes are not all that bad unless you are racing SCCA every weekend. If you can't stop, you may have air in your brake lines or a simple vaccum leak to your brake booster. I'd start there first.

took the words right out of my mouth bro.

reivaxtorres · Apr 2, 2008

for a relatively cheap brake upgrade, if you dont want to upgrade to the mach1/bullitt/cobra kit just yet, look into getting power slot slotted rotors and hawk pads. when i did that swap to my car, it made a noticeable difference on stopping performance.

right now i have hawk pads and a 13" kit, but on my truck i still have the OEM brakes. when those go out, im swapping to hawk pads because they grip so much better. in the truck, it feels as if the truck were too heavy for the brakes, same as my car used to be.

Knuckles281 · Apr 3, 2008

9psi 98 said:
It could be anything from dirty calipers to worn out rotors that are too thin and there isn't enough to grab onto even with new pads. Your brake lines may also need flushed out cause brake fluid does go bad, even if you're not beating the hell out of your brakes on a daily basis. What happens when you hit your brake pedal, it it a firm pressure, or does it feel spongy? If you wanted to, could you slam on your brakes and lock your front tires up? You don't have drum brakes, so they can't be out of adjustment that would cause the problems like you're having. Try taking your calipers off and cleaning all of the parts including lubricating the pins that they slide on. If your pads are binding on those pins, then you're only getting the inside pad to contact the rotor and the outside one may barely be touching.

i have a feeling that somewhere in there you're right, lol. Im gonna try to take everything apart tomorrow or whenever I have time, but if I can't figure it out, I think i'm just going to take my uncle sam return money and get a new front brake kit...

The car only has 75K miles, so I kinda feel like the rotors aren't too thin.....I thought it took a loooong time for them to wear out, unless of course they're warped.
IDK man, I might just do like you said and take everything back apart again and clean it all really well, then see where I am.

9psi 98 · Apr 3, 2008

It would be obvious if the rotors were warped. With that kind of mileage, I wouldn't expect them to be too thin either. Take them apart, you're bound to find something.

voidfinger · Apr 3, 2008

J.R. said:
I never had mush luck bleeding brakes the traditional way with these hydroboost car's. I just got a pump thingy from Summit for like 50 bucks and my pedal went crazy firm after that.

You may need calipers or something too, but I guess a Cobra swap would fix that, lol.

Could you link that b/c i'm having the problem with the pedal

damn hydroboost