I just got back this weekend from the CCS motorcycle races in Jennings, FL. I met a couple of riders who were talking about break bleeding and "mushy brakes" both agreed that after changing from Motul brake fluid to Brembo fluid fixes the problems, with no other changes made. Considering the environment and that the difference in fluid was literally the difference between running off into the gravel trap and winning; this should probably help some of the group that have been having problems with our brakes after putting in Motul. I am not punking on Motul, it may be a great product, but in some systems it just doesn't work.

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Always yield to temptation it may not pass your way again. -RAH

 

What's wrong with the brakes that came on the car? I think they work excellently. Only problem is the brakedust--solution--clean wheels more.

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PS/B Cooper...all packages, racingstripes, aero fin, shorty ant., and R90s. More to come. Motoring now.

 

For some reason, I pictured this thread talking about putting zip ties on the rubber brake lines to simulate stainless brake lines.

 

>>What's wrong with the brakes that came on the car? I think they work excellently. Only problem is the brakedust--solution--clean wheels more.
>>

I guess you do not do much spirited driving. They DO NOT work.
Not only do they "dust" they fade when you need them the most.

 

Actually I drive in a "spirited" manner most of the time. I know what you ^^^ say, but my brakes feel top notch w/o fade. I wouldn't say they "DON'T WORK," or you wouldn't be here posting. Try some other cars out and you'll see the MINIs brakes aren't so mini when stopping the car. I know they aren't porsche 6 piston brakes, but come on.

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PS/B Cooper...all packages, racingstripes, aero fin, shorty ant., and R90s. More to come. Motoring now.

 

>>I guess you do not do much spirited driving. They DO NOT work.
>>Not only do they "dust" they fade when you need them the most.

Spirited driving means not putting on the brakes.

I think the brakes are better than most cars for general street driving. People I've let drive my MINI just about put us through the windshield when braking the first time.

 

^^^Very correct. This happens to me too when I let another drive.

 

>>>>What's wrong with the brakes that came on the car? I think they work excellently. Only problem is the brakedust--solution--clean wheels more.
>>>>
>>
>>I guess you do not do much spirited driving. They DO NOT work.
>>Not only do they "dust" they fade when you need them the most.

Jeeze, this car has the best breaks of any car I've ever owned. To say that they DO NOT work is just not right.

However, if you're using your breaks a lot (building up a lot of speed on the straights, and doing a lot of hard breaking into the corners), you're breaks will get hot, and you will notice fade with the stock pads. There are after market pads, designed for competition, that grab better when hot. The trade-off is that they don't grab as well when cold, If you do a search, I think you'll find the details in other discussions that have taken place here.

 

Brake on curves?

 

The brakes on the mini are not too bad. About the same as my 90 RX-7... maybe slightly better. They will fade quite a bit on track days/autoX and it becomes apparent that this is a weeker point on the car.

As far as changing to Brembo fluid, I am kind of skeptical... You may get a pressure change, but fade is caused by the rotors/pads/calipers, not so much pressure. There may be some difference but I can assure you that it will not totally fix mushy brakes.

 

Actually, the fluid will help because as the brakes heat up, the fluid in the lines boil and become less effective and "fade." A better brake fluid will have a higer boiling point and will not fade. ATE Superblue, Castrol SRF or Motul RBF 600 are all other good brake fluids for the MINI.

SS Lines, pads and rotors will also help but many people have noted that just changing the fluid helps a lot.

 

No offense guys 'n gals, but anyone that thinks the MINI's brakes are fine has NO idea what "sprited driving" is or means.
The brakes are the weakest link in the stock MCS---period.
They go squishy very quickly.
You don't have to go to the track to experience this either.
Just find a long country road and make a few panic stops from 100+.
By about the fourth one you'll be wondering where your brakes moved to.
And that wouldn't even be a few laps worth of real braking on the track.

Trust me, after three laps you won't be "out deeping" anyone on the corkscrew at Laguna Seca... It's just that screwin' around on the street most owners don't get to this point. A couple of quick stops here and there and they think the brakes are fine. I hope nobody gets fooled.

BTW, one should not consider what I am talking about here by comparing stopping distance stats from Car and Driver or any other rag.
Do a half dozen panic stops and watch the stopping distance grow faster than Pinochio's nose.

Brake dust is NOT our worst problem.

Yfoiler

 

more specifically this post was meant for racers that have modified the brake system and may have found that brake performance is fine put brake feel is "mushy" I can't remember which racer had the problem, but I am pretty sure they were running motul.

Bc

 

>>No offense guys 'n gals, but anyone that thinks the MINI's brakes are fine has NO idea what "sprited driving" is or means.
>>The brakes are the weakest link in the stock MCS---period.
>>They go squishy very quickly.
I would concur. The brakes are weak. I just spent the weekend at Roebling Road and found that the brakes go soft quickly and stay soft. I was running ATE Super Blue with Ferodo 2500s on the front. No air in the lines. Just way too much heat for those little calipers to stop that 2600lb MINI. Next change will be to slotted rotors, to find a way to duct some more air to the brakes (probably through the optional front fog lights that I don't have) and to put Bertha on a diet. That car needs to lose 200lbs. If all of this fails, it will have to be different calipers.