I recently replaced my worn stock pads with some Hawk HPS pads and now have lost some feeling in the brakes. I have to press harder on the pedal to slow well. I dont know if it would be because of air in the lines maybe? I tested this by breaking hard! like from speeds illegal in all states cept montana hard and had the pedal down allllll the way to the carpet. ABS didnt even kick in during that. What would cause the brakes to be ineffective?

if it is air in the lines, is there a how-to or reference on bleeding them? thanks guys

 

You can search for "brake Bleed" and see


http://store.webbmotorsports.com/for...topic.php?t=11

 

(BTW, Montana changed their speed limits years ago to 75, 65@night)
If you suspect your brakes are suspect, I respectfully suggest that you test them at a lower speed. ABS function can easily be tested at 25mph. They won't not work well any less at 25 than at 85. And at less risk to you and others if there is indeed a problem with them.

If the pedal went all the way to the carpet, you've got a serious problem.
Changing brake pads should not induce air into the system. What it will do is push brake fluid back into the master cylinder, so if it was full before the pad swap, it will be overfull afterwards. But that still wouldn't result in the symptoms you're seeing.

 

....ummmm, ...you changed your pads yourself and you don't know how to bleed brakes ..
Good brake fluid is a must do and you should flush all the old stuff out. If you needed a brake change by now, then a fluid change is just as important. Go for the best you can get. .

 

Could this be a result of not bedding them in properly?

Ray

 

That would be my guess. Last month's issue of Grass Roots Motorsports has a great article on bedding in brakes.

 

I used a method of braking them in as suggested in a thread by octane guy here on NAM. it was stop heavily from 25 a few times then from 50 a few more and then from 70 to 0 a few times too. i do know how to change the pads and bleed brakes enough and have done it many, many times but only on old cars (1950-80 MG's) but nothing with ABS so i wanted to know if there was mini specific steps to take thats why i asked that.

im goin to try a bleed tomorrow and inspection (while installing my new pulley)

just want to clarify too that i wasnt being unsafe when testing out the brakes before. it was done with good precautions in a clear area.

 

I'm not familiar with that brand, and I was wondering if the new pads are more racing than street pads and have to be hot before they grab?

 

they are a bit more performance oriented but they are still intended for the street and daily driving.

 

Hawk includes detailed bedding-in instructions with their brake pads.

 

Did you open any brake lines, or fittings? if not, air could not have gotten into your system.
did you replace all 4 pads? Did you properly retract the rear pistons? I can give advice after you answer these 2 Q's. (maybe, depending on the answer)

 

when changing the pads we never opened the valves or lines so i thought it strange that air could be a problem. i have now blead the system just because it seemed the easiest thing to start with.

all 4 pads were replaced and as far as i know we properly retracted the rear pistons. they spun around quite a few times as we rotated them in to fit the new pads.

hope that helps, thanks

 

OK, not what I was originally thinking. Are you having this problem continually? Have you tried doing a few, slow stops when cold, to see if the problem diminishes? Try driving slowly with your foot lightly on the brake, see if warming the pads helps. Air would give a spongy feel to the pedal, your description in the first post sounds like something 'sticking', which is why I asked about the rear pistons first. If warming the pads doesn't help, you may need to pull the caliper assemblies back apart, to see how well the pads slide around in the carrier. Hope some of these suggestions help. GL!

 

i appreciate the advice. i tried the warming trick and i think that helped some. i am still goin to take the calipers back apart and just double check all of it. its not been that big of a deal as i thought it could develop into at first. i still would just have thought the braking would be firmer and stronger than it is at this point

 

did this ever get resolved?


I just replaced all 4 rotors, and put new Hawk pads up front, and have the exact same issue. Brakes feel very soft, and dont seem to work till you press quite a bit down. And nearly impossible to trigger the ABS.

Lines were all bled even though didnt think it would help. We were right.

Any other ideas? is this a hawk issue?

 

I had simila problem before. I guess our brake pad need bedding in period. I read that shld be around 1000km before the full performance could set in. Just becareful and brake softly. It will set in eventually.

Did you have the problem of dragging effect? Like brake's too tight.