AP brakes, pedal travel.

[mfp4073]

I had a full set of AP brakes fitted to my Monaro yesterday, and I've just completed the initial bedding in procedure today, although I have to complete another 100 miles normal driving before before I can test them properly.
At the moment there seems to be quite a bit of pedal travel before the brakes bite. I was expecting almost zero travel. If any of you AP owners can advise I would be greatfull.
If I need to bleed them is there anything special to AP's that I should to be aware of?

Thanks

[vxr2010]

Possibly just needs re bleeding again ? but could be pads and discs not bedded in yet , how much travel , brembos you do the furthest caliper first then work your way in , plus two bleed nipples i from memory did inner first then outer , but it never appeared to make any difference order wise , i can’t remember how many nipples the ap’s hace

[mfp4073]

The pedal travels about 1 1/2 inches before anything happens. I'll leave it until the bedding in procedure has been completed, and if it's no better I'll give Walkinshaw's a call and see what advice they can give.

Thanks again.

[vxr2010]

I would wait for bedding in , was it all brand new , if it’s used it may bed in quicker or slower depending on if the same postion of disc and pads , if brand new it can take a little while to bed in , if it’s no better then a re bleed is probably next thing to do

[fred bloggs]

new brakes should have a solid feel. pads and disks are flat and pedal travel should be at a minimum.

[vxkev]

fred bloggs said:

new brakes should have a solid feel. pads and disks are flat and pedal travel should be at a minimum.

Yup if secondhand discs then bedding in takes longer

[mfp4073]

I spoke to Walkinshaw's today and they agree that the brakes do take time to bed in, but don't overdo it or the discs could be damaged.
I'm following the AP bedding in procedure to the letter, I'm at the stage where I used moderate braking from 70, and you could feel the brakes beginning to bite, I was impressed.
The system was bled twice, when the kit was fitted, so it would appear that the chance of any remaining air bubbles are slim.
Anyway, I had the wheels off and cleaned all the dust from the calipers, and they do look rather impessive against a silver wheel, but the clearance is bloody tight on a CV8 that's for sure.

[vxr2010]

mine took a little while to bed in , one caliper outer edge needed a bit of trimming to fit under the cv8 wheels , a good mod that sensibly used last a long time pad and disc wear and tear wise

[mfp4073]

vxr2010 said:

mine took a little while to bed in , one caliper outer edge needed a bit of trimming to fit under the cv8 wheels , a good mod that sensibly used last a long time pad and disc wear and tear wise

I hope they do last a while, or Mrs mfp4073 will have something to say......again!!!!!!!

[jet_noise]

vxr2010 said:

mine took a little while to bed in , one caliper outer edge needed a bit of trimming to fit under the cv8 wheels , a good mod that sensibly used last a long time pad and disc wear and tear wise

Are these 18"s?
If so beware also that the smaller (than VXR) space saver spare in your CV8's boot won't fit over even the rears!

[vxr2010]

I’ve had mine on the car for about 5 plus years and even though i make use of them , plus maybe 25k miles or so with them on there is very little wear on pads or discs , the tyre situation i have a set of monaro cv8 wheels with snow tyres , the space saver is stored else where and one snow tyre gets left in the space saver space not a perfect fit but ok , winter time i run with two snow tyres in the boot and still have room left over , in the snow what a difference they make on the back end even on fairly steep hills , only downside when they are fitted handing is not great at normal cruising speed due to monaro tyre sensitivity

[mfp4073]

jet_noise said:

Are these 18"s?
If so beware also that the smaller (than VXR) space saver spare in your CV8's boot won't fit over even the rears!

Thanks for that, I have a spare yellow VXR space saver now.
I've just been out in my brothers 2016 Mustang GT fitted with 6 pot front Brembo's, now that was more like it. I hope the AP's will be as good.

[shunter V8]

You will not be disappointed with the AP's they are really good., mine were spot on from the start.

[jet_noise]

mfp4073 said:

jet_noise said:

Are these 18"s?
If so beware also that the smaller (than VXR) space saver spare in your CV8's boot won't fit over even the rears!

Thanks for that, I have a spare yellow VXR space saver now.
I've just been out in my brothers 2016 Mustang GT fitted with 6 pot front Brembo's, now that was more like it. I hope the AP's will be as good.

That's what I did too, quite difficult to find?

[vxr2010]

Or a spare monaro wheel , it sticks up a bit but at least it’s a straIght fit , i have the big boot cv8 so i’m assuming little difference in wheel well size to the smaller boot version

[mfp4073]

Just a quick update in case anybody needs it in the future.
I bled the brakes today, but I didn't get any visible air bubbles from any of the calipers.
However when I went for a test drive the brakes felt a lot better?
I also went through part of the beding in procedure again just to bring the pads and discs up to temperature. I then carried out a several high speed stops from 70 mph, and brakes were very impressive,
Driving around town at normal speeds, there is still no initial grab as I was expecting, but the brakes are very progressive and slow the car down quite gently, or if you really stand on them they are quite ferocious.
Overall the brakes give the impression that they could haul the car down from high speeds all day long without any problems. I did encounter the ABS kicking in when I stepped on them too hard, so It's a case of getting to know the threshold and ease off slightly.
I thinks it's worth mentioning that you really need quality tyres and suspension to get the best out of the system.

John

Edited by mfp4073 on Saturday 11th August 22:39

[lincsls2]

Thanks John.

And yes its certainly worth mentioning that a quality tyre is crucial to braking performance. No good having excellent brakes if the tyres can't match that performance and likewise the other way around!
I have just spent £300 on a full set of tyres (bare in mind they are only 15" 195's) on my daily 13 year old Astra 1.7 diesel. I've fitted quality Michelin all round and seriously the car stops and steers so much better than with the cheapies that they replaced and they had loads of tread left! Really impressed!