Basically, the brake pedal on my 02 is pretty hard. It certainly moves normally, but the car seems to take a bit too much force to really stop hard. It feels like the brakes don't bite well. I recently drove an 02 with comparable mileage that my friend bought, and his brakes were much more "bitey" and almost felt much more boosted. I figured that I didn't bleed my brakes right the last time I changed them, which was a couple of years ago. But recently, I switched my fronts to Hawk HPS (from Mintex before), put on steel hoses and caliper bushings, and flushed and bled the entire system front and back. Still feels the same. This week, I will be doing the rear pads and rebleeding again. If it still feels stiff after this, what could I try doing? My brakes just feel puny!

 

If your pedal is firm, it does not sound like a bleeding issue. It sounds more like a friction issue between the pads and rotor. Have you changed the rotors? Are the rotors glazed over? Maybe a little sanding on the rotors will help. Since you switched pads, with no change that might not be the issue. However, I find that the Hawk HPS are less "bitey" than the stock pads were on my GP (but I believe the GP had different stock pads than other models). I found the stock pads to be a little too bitey and I like the modulation available with the Hawk HPS pads.

 

The rotors are from my last brake change. I decided to keep them on since they weren't near the wear indicators. I did sand them lightly with some 200 grit, and spray with brake cleaner to remove any grease or films.

 

do your rotors rust? if so the debri could be the problem as it glazes the pads.

 

I would blame the Hawk pads. I see this all the time the pads just don't have the initial bite that other brands do. Plus the Hawks if not bedded correctly will suck big time, and glaze.

 

So it had this problem before you swapped to the hawk pads? If that is the case it sound like a bad power brake booster, or perhaps less expensively the vacuum line that goes to it has gotten messed up.

 

I have a set of cheap front Outmotoring stage II rotors, HPS pads, and Goodridge lines available. Cheap!

 

You bedding them properly Max? I recently bought some cheapo front replacements, pretty uninspiring performance (rotors are looking sorta shiny too... ).

Might be pad choice, what's the friend's pads?

Get some Carbotech XPs. You don't mind squeeking, do ya?

 

Well at least you don't have air in your ABS manifold!! I do and my brakes suck!! The pedal goes about 3.5 inches in travel before I feel any resistance and if I stand on them it doesn't help! The dealership wants $1,500 to remove the air so It's still in there and will be until the car is totaled in an accident. I have bled the brakes 10 times with no success of getting the air out. The dealership told me the only way is to replace the ABS manifold hence why they want $1,500 for the job. Is replacing the ABS manifold something someone other than the dealer can do?

 

You do not need to replace the ABS manifold to get the air out. All the dealer has to do is hook their computer up to the car an put the ABS into service mode and bleed the brakes. I suggest taking your car to a different dealer, they are trying to scam you from the sound of it. Otherwise a reputable BMW shop might also be able to do it.

 

i read here that you can try taking it to a dirt road and get the abs to apply several times and bleed . guess the idea is to move the bubbles out of the abs unit to a pace where bleeding will then remove them . i 'm in same boat but have yet to do this but will .