My brakes are really weird

[tonmarchelli]

ive got an 03 SE V6 and my brakes are really funny, it seems like it takes a lot more force on the pedal to get it to stop. i know that the car has drum brakes on the back but still, it seems like i really have to crank on that pedal hard to get the car. to stop. Why is this? i checked the level of the brakes and there is plenty of pad left on both the rear and the front. any sudgestions. thanks a lot

[atc3434]

Improperly bleed brakes will require more pedal force. MY SE requires a decent press on the pedal to make her stop hard, which is ok with me, because I think it allows you to modulate the brakes better. Ever drive a FORD without ABS in the winter. NO FUN!

[djrkd]

its pretty normal, compared to other cars i've driven my GA has the worst breaks.

[klc317]

I agree. Even my '93 F-150 (which has a supercab and a V8 in it, very heavy) feels much easier to haul down to a quick stop than my GA.

[safemode]

my brakes work damn good in my 01 gt (nothing aftermarket done to them). It's the tires that dont like the ice and rain that will cause any problems.

[djrkd]

the GT breaks are slightly better, I've test driven like 3 GAGT's before buying my GASE and they were all better.

[tonmarchelli]

i agree with djrkd, the GT's have disk brakes in the front and the back while the SE's have Disk in the front and drum in the back but mine seems like it just takes a whole lot of force to stop the car. how many other people have this problem?

[Panacea]

Yeah our whole braking system sucks. You hvae to push the pedal to the floor to get it to stop... My buddies acura, and many other cars i've driven take just a little bit... If you were to apply the same pressure to one of those cars that it takes to brake with ours, you'd skid out. Pretty sad.

[tonmarchelli]

i wonder if there is anything we can do about it like putting on thicker pads, or putting more pressure on the brakes (i have no idea how you would do that). or adding slotted and drilled rotors. any of these ideas any good?

[klc317]

You can install better rotors (such as Brembo or Powerslots) and better pads too. Most of this stuff is availible on PFYC.com or GAUpgrades.com. If it bugs you bad enough to spend a couple handfuls of Benjamins, you can get brake conversion kits that upgrade to larger rotors and heavier duty calipers. If you have even more money and time to blow, you can put on stainless brake lines and upgrade to DOT 5 brake fluid. Since I can't afford that stack of cash, I'm planning on going the first route: Brembo rotors and Raybestos pads and be done with it. BTW, I'm on my third set of warranty replaced front rotors anyway so it wont bother me one bit to upgrade my brake parts to something other than the crappy stock parts.

[Panacea]

I think the main reason why the brakes suck (asside from the rotors) is that the calipers.

[IMICEMAN]

I agree.
The GA brakes DO require a lot of foot-pedal-pressure to stop the car.

I also have a Sunfire and let me tell you...there is a night/day difference between them.
After driving the GAGT around for quite a while and then getting into the Sunfire....lets just say the SF's brakes work like brakes "should". They grab like a motherf@#ker. You end up kissing the windshield if you apply the brakes like you have to in the GA.

[tonmarchelli]

yeah i can see that, just imagine how bad it is for the SE, we have drums in the rear which really ****es me off. but im not complaning, the car was a wedding present.

[safemode]

Umm, maybe my brakes are a fluke then because if i hit the brakes and i'm not on ice the car is stopping _right_ away. If i ease it down i stop like i'd expect. Have you ever needed to hit the breaks at say 70Mph + ? You dont want to be "smacking into the windshield" with the slightest pressure, You want that range of very light braking. I think the gagt brakes like it's supposed to, it's also got steering that would throw a lot of people off by how sensitive it is, would you like that deadened out to where most cars are too? Maybe relax those gears so you cant feel them shift at all etc etc.

[atc3434]

Yea, I like thick steering and brakes. And I really like the easy throttle tip in my car too. You just can't baby the throttle on most cars like you can on a GA. Very nice for work in the snow, same with the brakes. As long as they haul you down quick when your foot really means business, I don't see a problem.

[jake3217]

I have an SE and I love the braking response in my car. Bonneville brakes are pretty nice too, but I'd have to say I like my GA the best. I absolutely detest cars that skid out whenever a piece of dust falls on the brake pedal.

[atc3434]

Originally posted by jake3217
I have an SE and I love the braking response in my car. Bonneville brakes are pretty nice too, but I'd have to say I like my GA the best. I absolutely detest cars that skid out whenever a piece of dust falls on the brake pedal.

Thats exactly what I'm talking about.

[2002AmSE]

Yeah, i love the steering in the GA's, the way that you don't need alot of travel to get the car to turn. I love the brakes too, but when I got the car I didn't have to push down as far to get it to stop, now to stop at a stop light I usually have it about 3/4 the way down when normally it was about 1/4, does it just need bleeding? can I do that at home or the school autoshop?(i've heard something about using diag. equip. to do that, is that true?)

[2002AmSE]

Oh yeah, the pads have tons left, im at 33k miles

[Gt00]

Originally posted by atc3434
As long as they haul you down quick when your foot really means business, I don't see a problem.

Exactly , i think the pedal feel is fine . I don't want them to lock unless i want them to . I have the stock rotors as well and no problems yet . If you want to drive aggressively upgrade your brakes accordingly or sure you'll have problems