yet more brake problems... not TOO bad, brakes need to warm up??

[Guest bastaad525]

Something else I've been noticing, that MAY be getting worse but I think that is just my imagination. This is ever since I installed the rebuilt calipers and new nissan pads.

 

I notice that when I first start driving the car, cold, that the brake pedal is sorta soft, but then as I drive it a bit and everything warms up, the pedal stiffens up nicely and feels much better.

 

Is this normal? I hadn't noticed this before with my old calipers and the (I think they were) metallic pads. So is this a side effect of the nissan organic pads? Or a sign that something is wrong with the calipers? As I have mentioned in past threads, I have bled the system several times, so 100% sure there's no air left in the system, and definatley have no leaks as the fluid level has not changed.

 

So do anyone elses brakes need to 'warm up' before they work to their full capacity?

[fastzcars]

Badaad525. I have wilwoods and kvr green pads. I have the same issue, but not a soft pedel, I just have to push a little harder to get the car to stop. after 2 to 3 stop signs it's all warmed up and stop's normally. I just have to be careful taking the car out of the garage and down the street. I think it's normal. Is the soft pedal feel taking longer to go away since the replacment the caliper's? and or pads?

[Guest bastaad525]

mine takes a little longer to warm up... I hit a few stops from my house to the freeway, by the time I get on the freeway they're still a little soft, by the time I'm off they're much better.

 

Hmmm well I swapped out the calipers and pads at the same time, and the pedal ALWAYS felt soft at first, that was with cheap autozone pads though. Then I swapped to the nissan pads and that's when I noticed they were still soft until they warmed up then they felt fine.

[fastzcars]

Did you change out your rubber brake hose's? A soft pedel could mean several things. Something in the line is either expanding and or compressing. Normally OEM manufacturers make pads to work when cold. It's when you change out pads to "Racing Compounds" that you get higher effort required to stop until the pads are warmed up. When you say "soft" do you mean that the pedel feels "Spongy" or do you mean that higher effort is required to stop? To help you out a little better, could you list your cars barking system? What's bean upgarded and what's stock? Try this, if you still have the stock resr drum brakes, pull the e-brake lever up 1 click and see if you feel a difference. Sometimes the rear brake shoes wear, but the e-brake internal racket system doesn't automaticlly adjust the shoes out.It's designed to but doesn't.

[Guest bastaad525]

no I just have the stock rubber lines, I want to upgrade to the stainless lines soon.

 

I would have just figured it was the lines to begin with except that I can't see why anything would change as they warm up, if it was just the rubber lines expanding, wouldn't it do it all the time?

 

And when cold, it's a little bit of both, pedal is a little softer.. I dont want to say 'spongy' really... it's not spongy like when there's air in the lines, just that as I press the pedal down, and I feel the point where the brakes first start to engage, then I have to press them farther for them to really 'bite', and that distance feels sorta soft.

 

After they warm up, the distance between when they first engage and when the really bite in is reduced noticeably, and the pedal feels a bit more stiff.

 

So, sounds to me like this is NOT normal for factory stock pads. Which leaves me scratching my head... as you were saying, there are a lot of things that can cause the soft/spongy pedal, like air in the lines or weak rubber lines, but what could cause the soft pedal that would go away after the brakes warm up??

[fastzcars]

Just keep in mind that what the brakes are doing is converting kinetic energy into thermo energy. The metal disc's and pads have to heat up in order to stop the car. Metal disc's expands when in use, it could be the tolerances are just out enough for you to feel it. Check the disc thickness with a micrometer as well as the rear drums inside diameter to factory specs. Did you try the e-brake thing I suggested?