stock brakes

[PrEgO CaNe]

ok sorry if this is in anyway a repost. if so please no search comments as i already have and couldn't find an answer. Anyways lately i've been noticing that the stock brakes suck. and when i say they suck i mean the abs part of it sucks. Several times when i am needing to stop quicker the abs kicks in and i don't feel like i'm getting that much stopping power and in turn scares the sh*t out of me. By adding stainless steel braided lines, pads, rotors and fluid, would that help me out at all with my abs part of the braking or is there possibly a way to change the sensitivity of the abs? (newb when it comes to brakes hence me doing research on it) if no to any of that, would adding a bbk change anything or is it just something i'm going to have to live with.

this is my next project for my car and even though a bbk would be sexy as hell if a simple rotor/pad combo would work as well i would rather do that. So even though my question is about the abs sensitivity feel free to input your opinion on possibly the best braking setup for this car. (parts and make)

(note i might have s/c or turbo plans for the near future if that would affect anyones input) and thanks in advance for any ideas!

[VanSi07]

The ABS is a bit of a spaz, isn't it? Always seems to kick in too early.
I would like to know as well what could be done, besides just adding stickier tires.

[PrEgO CaNe]

well i have a set of bfg kdws and they stick like crazy and yet i still have this problem. i'm surprised that theirs no one with any input of solving this.

[PrEgO CaNe]

bump for some answers

[FALer]

http://nosro1.googlepages.com/absfaq

[PrEgO CaNe]

thanks for the link. if i read it right stickier tires is actually worse for your abs?

[EA Chronic]

nice tires i got the same ta 2's

[mitsukaiSI]

Steel braided lines will take care of it i just did it to my si and havnt had any more problems with abs being a little bitsh and alot of the subi guys have the same problem untill they go to steel braidedl lines too

[PrEgO CaNe]

so all in all braided lines, better fluid, and better pads will take that feeling away a little more?

[superbike81]

Originally Posted by PrEgO CaNe

thanks for the link. if i read it right stickier tires is actually worse for your abs?

What you are reading there is a rare case, sounds more like a suspension problem than a brake problem. Sounds like the suspension was bottoming out under hard braking.

Most of the cars I've owned have had fully operational ABS systems, and stickier tires have always made things significantly better for me. BFG KDW's are not bad tires, but I would hardly call them sticky, they are a great all around mid-level performance tire though, so probably perfect for your needs. If you are looking to decrease your stopping distance, look into an "Extreme Summer Performance Tire" or whatever Tire Rack classifies them as.

But yes, stainless lines, agressive pads, good fluid, and sticky tires should reduce your braking distances without making the ABS problem worse.

[PrEgO CaNe]

ok so my suspension is the HFP suspension. how would i know if it was bottoming out? this winter i plan on focusing on my braking so i want to do it right the first time, i don't really want to cheap out on it.

[superbike81]

Hard bottoming out you can actually hear a distinct sound, you'll know when you hear it. But light bottoming out, basically the car will lose it's poise over bumps. I'm not saying your car will always float over the bumps, but you don't want the car setup so stiffly that your tires are losing contact with the ground over bumpy surfaces.

If I were you, I would do one thing at a time. I don't know how tech savvy you are, but none of this is too complicated, so try to install it all yourself.

Start with the stainless lines and high quality fluid, these two combined will give your brake pedal a whole new feel, and you'll have to get used to it. Test it out, see how your ABS responds.

After that, install the brake pads, test again. Rotors aren't really gonna do much for you overall unless you are doing back to back touge runs or HPDE's at the track.

[miketat594]

Originally Posted by PrEgO CaNe

ok so my suspension is the HFP suspension. how would i know if it was bottoming out? this winter i plan on focusing on my braking so i want to do it right the first time, i don't really want to cheap out on it.

go big brake kit..multi piston, and larger serfice area for stopping always better than 1 piston brake sets..

[PrEgO CaNe]

Originally Posted by miketat594

go big brake kit..multi piston, and larger serfice area for stopping always better than 1 piston brake sets..

(not to sound like a ass) is this a educated response cause of course i would love a bbk but i've heard bad things about them, and i would want front and rear. could you maybe provide me with a write of it?

[The Power of Dreams]

Man, ABS has saved my butt numerous times. This is my first car with ABS. When you are performing an emergency stop where ABS is modulating the brake pressure, you know not to pump the brake pedal right? Just making sure.

[miketat594]

Originally Posted by PrEgO CaNe

(not to sound like a ass) is this a educated response cause of course i would love a bbk but i've heard bad things about them, and i would want front and rear. could you maybe provide me with a write of it?

sure your stock brakes are a single piston that pushes from the inside to the outside, thisa is a big cause of warping rotors. a multi piston calper is normally sold as a 4 or 6 piston unit with 2 or 3 pistons on both sides of the rotor, this makes for a better stopping force , the stock brakes have a good deal of fade to them , causing a spongey feel under load and the more they heat up the worse they get.

If you want to stick with the stock caliper then you may want to go to a slotted rotor with a more aggressive street/race pad..

[superbike81]

Originally Posted by PrEgO CaNe

(not to sound like a ass) is this a educated response cause of course i would love a bbk but i've heard bad things about them, and i would want front and rear. could you maybe provide me with a write of it?

What bad things have you read about big brake kits?

[PrEgO CaNe]

Originally Posted by The Power of Dreams

Man, ABS has saved my butt numerous times. This is my first car with ABS. When you are performing an emergency stop where ABS is modulating the brake pressure, you know not to pump the brake pedal right? Just making sure.

i don't want to get rid of abs i just don't want it to come on so quick!

Originally Posted by superbike81

What bad things have you read about big brake kits?

not 100% sure but i think it's something like there is too much braking force on the front throwing off the ratio or something. making it worse. don't quote me on it!

[miketat594]

Originally Posted by PrEgO CaNe

i don't want to get rid of abs i just don't want it to come on so quick!


not 100% sure but i think it's something like there is too much braking force on the front throwing off the ratio or something. making it worse. don't quote me on it!

no, you have been told the wrong info on BBK's..your car is already equipped with a system thats splits the braking from front to rear, so unless you were to change the rates manually, it would be the same as stock in the terms of force, I added a proportion valve to my kit to give a 65% brake up front with 35% rear.

Even on a stock proportion a BBK adds a better stopping surface for more than 1 reason...1 being that you have now went to a multi piston and... 2... a larger diameter rotor..3..a better cooling rotor, and if mated to a good pad an unreal stopping force..

[PrEgO CaNe]

oh ok, but is this over kill? i don't track the car i just do some spirited driving once in awhile. also what a good value bbk for the front and back?