Another brake thread - test required please
Discussion
Can I ask someone with a standard 06 VXR to try something out for me please?
Sit in the car, engine running, and press the brake pedal. Does it gradually sink all the way down to the floor?
Mine does. To do so requires a lot more travel than you'd udually use, but not a massive amount of effort. The car has always been like it, and I reported it to the main dealer some time back who said it was normal, so I accepted that. What's brought it back to the fore is that the car has been in for some work and I had a new Astra SRi as a courtesy car. The brakes on this thing will stand it on it's nose if you so much as breathe on the pedal, and getting back in the 'Ro tonight (welcome as it was!) just highlighted how spongey the pedal feels in comparison. I know there are options around APs, etc - don't want to go down that road in this thread, I just want to know if my standard setup is same as/different from all the rest.
Ta.
Sit in the car, engine running, and press the brake pedal. Does it gradually sink all the way down to the floor?
Mine does. To do so requires a lot more travel than you'd udually use, but not a massive amount of effort. The car has always been like it, and I reported it to the main dealer some time back who said it was normal, so I accepted that. What's brought it back to the fore is that the car has been in for some work and I had a new Astra SRi as a courtesy car. The brakes on this thing will stand it on it's nose if you so much as breathe on the pedal, and getting back in the 'Ro tonight (welcome as it was!) just highlighted how spongey the pedal feels in comparison. I know there are options around APs, etc - don't want to go down that road in this thread, I just want to know if my standard setup is same as/different from all the rest.
Ta.
Yes, that's how mine is. Thanks for that.
On the plus side, I guess it indicates there isn't actually anything wrong with mine (unless we both have a problem!). On the minus side, it doesn't inspire confidence. IMO there's a world of difference between "the brakes could be better" and "the brakes seem dodgy".
I must try a few other cars and see what they're like, but I don't recall the pedal hitting any form of stop in other cars I've owned or driven.
On the plus side, I guess it indicates there isn't actually anything wrong with mine (unless we both have a problem!). On the minus side, it doesn't inspire confidence. IMO there's a world of difference between "the brakes could be better" and "the brakes seem dodgy".
I must try a few other cars and see what they're like, but I don't recall the pedal hitting any form of stop in other cars I've owned or driven.
I've got an 04 plate cv8 with a set of VXR brakes fitted that caspy supplied and were fitted by local Vauxhall dealer. I was so concerned about the "spongey" feel I had Mark at Rapid try them out when I last popped by his place. He assures me they're pretty much what I should expect. He did suggest braided hoses to improve the feel and to make them up myself with bits from Demon Tweeks - still to have a go at that. What I have found improves things is if I press the brakes on two or three times before setting off - pedal seems to travel much less. Have also had someone here suggest I may have air in the servo if the dealer didnt bleed the system correctly. All I do know is they stop me when they need to and are far better than the old cv8 brakes for that. Does make it difficult to drive her indoors car, a Signum Turbo as you only need to breath on the pedal to be hurled towards the windscreen as you slam to a stop.
flip it around to having the instant on brakes. What you have got are brakes that give you good travel so you can guage the amount of reply back from the pressure applied. Its easy to just replace with a bigger servo and get instant on brakes but then like ceramic brakes you'll complain about absolute lack of feedback
C8PPO said:
Yes, that's very true - the Astra brakes are not easy to modulate at all. However, I think the 'Ro brakes are the polar opposite - press and hope!!
A few things that totally mystify me about the stuff a lot of owners on here come out with1.) Ro's having inadequate braking.
2.) Ro's suffering from disc warping
Its shocking the amount of times this sort of stuff crops up especially when you consider the power of these cars. Its my belief that a majority of owners here don't appreciate braking certainly with the constant "discs are warped" crap that comes up. What worries me is the way people suggest the brakes are inadequate which is frankly laughable.
Not singling you out there c8ppo but there is a lot of this about the ro's brakes not being up to the job or faulty and I genuinely believe people are jumping onto a bandwaggon on this one
Had to jump in on this one.
Monaro brakes are OK for road use can't comment about track use.
As for warping, its not crap, when I brake from high speed the whole car judders, the severity of the judder is related to speed when breaking takes place, sounds like warping to me. My dealer has recommended new front discs and pads waiting for warranty to give me the go ahead.
Some owners may have been lucky and got some good discs to start with I alas did not.
Monaro brakes are OK for road use can't comment about track use.
As for warping, its not crap, when I brake from high speed the whole car judders, the severity of the judder is related to speed when breaking takes place, sounds like warping to me. My dealer has recommended new front discs and pads waiting for warranty to give me the go ahead.
Some owners may have been lucky and got some good discs to start with I alas did not.
Not quite sure what point you're making there Stig?
Personally, I believe that whilst the brakes are OK for normal driving, they're as a minimum not confidence-inspiring when using any decent amount of the car's performance potential. Sure, the pedal never goes down to the stop when you're driving normally, but I know mine "failed" me during one emergency stop manouevre, resulting in me nudging the car in front, and on that occasion the pedal (which, admittedly, I was absolutely standing on at the time) definitely went down to the floor stop. Surely that can't be right, although it's clearly functioning the same as everyone else's? ( Please let's not get into a "you should have left enough gap" argument, that's NOT what this thread is about. It's lucky I nudged a car and not a kiddie though.)
I'd definitely agree that the other two VX cars mentioned above are over-powered/over-servoed, but if it came down to absolute choice, I'd prefer that to a vague, spongey pedal.
Personally, I believe that whilst the brakes are OK for normal driving, they're as a minimum not confidence-inspiring when using any decent amount of the car's performance potential. Sure, the pedal never goes down to the stop when you're driving normally, but I know mine "failed" me during one emergency stop manouevre, resulting in me nudging the car in front, and on that occasion the pedal (which, admittedly, I was absolutely standing on at the time) definitely went down to the floor stop. Surely that can't be right, although it's clearly functioning the same as everyone else's? ( Please let's not get into a "you should have left enough gap" argument, that's NOT what this thread is about. It's lucky I nudged a car and not a kiddie though.)
I'd definitely agree that the other two VX cars mentioned above are over-powered/over-servoed, but if it came down to absolute choice, I'd prefer that to a vague, spongey pedal.
Hmm the old warped discs again. I was told by Vauxhall deffo front discs warped and changed out under warranty. The new pair started displaying exactly the same symptoms after 4k miles. I shall mention this to them when I go for service MOT in August and see what they say. I'm sure they won't change them in which case could well be AP's for me.
I asked in another thread on the same subject, do other high performance marques have the same tendancy to 'display the characteristics of warped discs'?? I believe one or two folks may be wrong, but come on, there are LOTS of us that have worrying braking experiences. Yes, we do stop, (touchwood, I've never had any 'spongy' sensations) but it's not very nice doing so. Feels like operating a pneumatic drill on occasions and that can be braking hard from high speed OR dabbing just to shed a few MPH.
I asked in another thread on the same subject, do other high performance marques have the same tendancy to 'display the characteristics of warped discs'?? I believe one or two folks may be wrong, but come on, there are LOTS of us that have worrying braking experiences. Yes, we do stop, (touchwood, I've never had any 'spongy' sensations) but it's not very nice doing so. Feels like operating a pneumatic drill on occasions and that can be braking hard from high speed OR dabbing just to shed a few MPH.
c8ppo not going to say you should have left a larger gap. I'll go out and check mine for comparrison at some point but cant say I've noticed this. An idiot friend of mine wanted me to do a 30mph emergency stop which I did and without any of the foot sinking to the floor you mentioned (from memory).
Thanks Stig
I'm sure the rulebook says I should have. Unfortunate set of circumstances on a gridlocked roundabout, but that's very much another story!
Groutie, no, this ISN'T a warped disk thread. It's all about the spongey/excessive pedal travel which some of us seem to have. I guess that in extreme cases, it could be caused by warped disks pushing the caliper pistons back in, but that's not the case with me and not what I was referring to in the OP.
I'm sure the rulebook says I should have. Unfortunate set of circumstances on a gridlocked roundabout, but that's very much another story!Groutie, no, this ISN'T a warped disk thread. It's all about the spongey/excessive pedal travel which some of us seem to have. I guess that in extreme cases, it could be caused by warped disks pushing the caliper pistons back in, but that's not the case with me and not what I was referring to in the OP.
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