Brake effectiveness?

[the dodger]

A bit miffed. Just had braked all checked, new braided hoses and refill with dot 5.1. Still bleedin' useless! All pads OK, callipers fine, firm pedal and I can hear servo vacuum when pedal pressed.

Any ideas? (also in Gen Gassing here)

[poorpeet]

My 93 4 litre has new standard brakes. They work ok but don't inspire confidence. I would think that there must be a chance of upgrading via the Ford parts bin.
I'd be interested to hear if anyone has had a go.

[daftlad]

Possibly glazed pads? Bedding in pads correctly is as impostant as pad selection IMHO and if not done effectively, can lead to a very wooden, but firm pedal.

Just a thought?

[SMB]

The early cars has 240mm front disks , and tend to feel like they a braking from the back first, hence give a poor feeling, it's a fairly common upgrade to increase the size of the front to restore a bit of front balance and give a better feel. Heard it said you can go to around 280MM fronts before you need to upgrade the back, changing the fronts to 500 spec may be more than good enough for road use , assuming you have some good pads aswell.