Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Brakes "Soft" pedal feel

Alrighty I'm digging this back up, but I just had my car in the shop yesterday, and they said that my brakes were gone, so they wanted to fix them. Well, they put new pads on all 4 brakes, and resurfaced the fronts.

Now my brake pedal feels real spongy..doesn't feel as responsive as it did before I took the car in! I don't like it. It just doesn't feel right. If the general consensus here is that they will tighten up once they are 'settled' then I'm fine with it for now, but if not, I want it back the way they were before the swap for new pads. So, if they don't stiffen back up, should I bleed them?

If you've never flushed the braking, system you should!

-Andy

The shop said they used a softer pad. And that it would take some time.. 500-1000miles to bake them and to get them stiffer. They said that since they are softer, they should reduce brake dust and hopefully eliminate squeeking. You know though, I didn't have any squeeking to begin with! I could slam the brake pedal and lock the wheels up.. Now I can slam it to the floor nearly and no lockup.. it just doesn't feel like it can stop nearly as well. I hope the brakes stiffen up, shoot, I'd rather be able to stop than have the chance for squeeks or normal amounts of brake dust!

They said if i'm not pleased after about 500-1000 miles, just bring it back.

I need stopping power. Especially with these 18s!

Bet you got an econo pad. If you don't have Bandix Titanium then you've got carp.

I've got about 1k miles on Stazi's brakes and ATE blue fluid and they're pretty good. Initial "grap" isn't as good as my friends new Intrepid with 4-wheel disc (for example), however I think this has more to do with pad material than mechanical default. I've noticed, especially on exit ramps, that moments after initial application the braking ability becomes much more effective. Indicating, IMHO, these pads like some heat. I think this is great as they're less likely to fade in spirited driving; a type of driving illegal in an Intrepid I'm very interested in the difference SS lines will provide and will put them on at some point.

Oh, the initial break in period on the Bendix was quite lengthy. I did the procedure where you increase speed and pedal pressure gradually to season the rotors immediately after installation but it was a good 300 miles before the pads hit their stride. HTH.

Amen on the Bendix Pads and Auto-specialty Rotors the best brake job I've ever done/ended up with! Had those performance Friction pads and Amico (China)& factory rotors before, nothing but a pain.
Paul