Hi All,
My MCS now has around 2,000 miles on it. I am not sure if this is in my head, or is it an actual issue. Ib the first week of getting my car, I thought the brakes were awesome. After that week or so, they didn't seem as great as before. The only thing I can say is that they are a little softer. The car doesn't seem to break like it did at the begining. They still stop great, but it's not the same. I read some review about brake pads "glazing"... I also seem to notice less brake dust on the rims than at first.

First question: Is this in my head, or is this normal behavior.
2)Can I replace the brake pad and get that performance back? If so, what pads are recommended so that this doesn't happen again. What am I looking to spend?
3) Would replacing the brake pads void or in some manner affect my warranty?
4) What kind of place would do the work fo me? A Midas shop...?

Thanks,
Nando

 

MIDAS Never go to midas. They guarantee their pads for the life of the vehicle, they don't tell you that they do this because of the overly aggressive friction material that eats up rotors, which you WILL replace much more often than necessary with midas pads.
Replacing the pads doesn't affect your warranty.
Do the job yourself, if you are somewhat mechanically inclined--lots of great write-ups on the procedure to follow.
to answer the 1st Q: this probably isn't in your head. If you suspect glazed pads, you can perform some high-G stops (in a safe environment, run the car about 40-60mph, hit the brakes almost hard enough to actuate the ABS; til you slow to about 5-10 mph, repeat 3-4 times) this should remove any glazing.

 

I swapped out my stock pads with Ferodo DS-2500's after about 20k (in preparation for track use). Pedal feel was much firmer with the Ferodos. I recently swapped back to the stock pads (the Ferodo's are awfully squealy for street use) and pedal feel instantly got much softer. The stock pads must be "spongier" than the Ferodos. Unless you change the pads for something with less compliance, I don't see any way to make the pedal feel significantly firmer.