Recently I replaced My front brake pads [as I was replacing the complete front end plus some ball joints tie rod ends ,torsion bar seals] and the old pads were worn down a bit,
Now the new pads seemed to work great, but they do NOT lock up the front wheels as the old ones did, even in the wet, it seems all the brakes are working great, even the rear ones.?

Yesterday I really hit the brakes hard at a stop sign to see if the fronts would lock up, or whether they are working better than before.
Well, the car stopped so suddenly the passenger seat flew forwards... lol.. the locking lever was up..
so, it seems they are working just as good as the locking front brakes... but the car is stopping rather then sliding with front locked up...

The rears were adjusted up a bit over a year ago, and then there was the problem with the REGO brake check..
too much braking at the rear wheels...??

Why has new pads made all this difference?

LEE

did u bed the new pads in ??

u may have glassed them now and will have to remove and scuff the surface of the pad

also good to replace the flex brake hoses at same time

Hi
Yes I bedded them in as per instructions on another box.. lol

all brake hoses were replaced new in 2005 along with rear cylinders etc..

LEE

maybe a different compound on the pads what brand where they ( i hope not CHINESE )

A good set of brakes do not lock up, the moment you lock the front brakes you have no control over the steering, you should be able to modulate the brakes just above there lock up point and then you still maintanece control of the car

Lee, ifg you have a better feeling pedal, with no lockup then sounds great dont change a thing... As long as the braking distance hasnt been increased. From what you have listed i am assuming the material is slightly different. Did you replace front pads in 2005?

the pads u have fitted to the front may be of a harder compound so slightly lower friction rating sounds like u have close to ideal weight transfer as in rear brakes coming on first transfering weight to front end and not locking cheers Rudi

Not wanting to Hijack Lees thread too much but while we're on the topic is there any better options other than stock pads for the twin Pin ATE/Varga style calipers that anyone knows of?

Bendix certainly dont list anything for the twin pin calipers other than standard DB15 pads.

EBC do a good range Greens or Reds depends on how hard ur pushing cheers Rudi

Cheers, will suss them out.

I occasionally get them a little warm and smelly with some spirited driving through the twistys but stock ones have always safely pulled up.

I do have cross drilled discs on the front and Fiat Spider discs with single pots on rear which I've been happy with but the front pads are starting to wear down abit.

might not have been just the new pads Lee, if your photo is a guide and you have changed the front shocks a the same time. Worn shocks can be a cause of premature brake lock up under heavy braking. Did you put new shocks on?

But yes, there are hard long-wearing pads and relatively soft fast-wearing pads, guess which ones grip best?

Also, I would prefer to have brakes that gave me the option to lock up the front, because then I would know what they are capable of, and I would use my own judgement how much force to use based on the conditions.

I have TRW twin pin pads in my ATE calipers and I reckon they work well. Brake place that has many years of experience and whose recommendations I trust sold them to me. No idea how long they last but I asked for pads with a high coeficient of friction and have been happy. Not expensive either. I have type 3 drums on the rear with linings similar to formula vee (or so I was told).
Cheers.........Wayne

I'm no brake expert Lee, but it does sound like they're less agressive on the front, and so letting the rear do more of the effort. Makes sense if you think of the reverse - if your rear brakes weren't working at all you'd ALWAYS lock the fronts and take more time & distance to stop, so no wheels locking has got to be closer to the ideal.

Joel - re your hijacking I've used EBC Greens several times previously on the front and loved 'em.

Pretty sure hellbugged has 'em on a car now too - be worth sussing his thoughts, as don't suspect he drives his car at all gently !!!

I've been in the passengers seat, your suspicions are correct

Any suppliers out there aside from RDA?

Ok Lee, it looks like your cal for an 'expert' hasnt got any responses. We are all just enthusiastic amateurs. With no consensus.

You need to search further afield than this website.

cheers.

I'm thinking it's the new steering parts and wheel align. Before the work, the wheels would go out of alignment (due to the worn steering components) and so would be easier to skid due the reduced traction.
Whatever the cause, your describing a tyre - road grip level, the pads may change the feel, but 'locking the fronts' is a tyre grip level which could be the weather, the bitumen, the suspension, the brake fluid, the disc rotors, the style of driving at time of test, the earths rotational spped compared to the local gravitational pull at your latitude .......etc etc etc.........well....maybe

theres a LOT consider here

i found out early that the standard disc heats up quickly with some spirited driving and cannot get rid of the heat, then they fade badly, in my case going from hardly any brakes to wheel lock with no warning, a change of pads will help this but at the end of the day they will generate more heat in the brakes, the solid disc is a problem and they need to be replaced with vented rotors , i fabricated my set of brakes on the front using a 300MM vented rotor, no brake fade or wheel lock up now.

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Originally posted by Joel I've been in the passengers seat, your suspicions are correct Any suppliers out there aside from RDA?

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Originally posted by Joel I've been in the passengers seat, your suspicions are correct Any suppliers out there aside from RDA?

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Originally posted by bajachris88 Quote: Originally posted by vlad01 your brake will continue to work better throughout the pad and rotor life, minimizes warping and also lasts longer. Sounds counter intuitive? no its that guy physics again. I was under the assumption that brake warp was due to distortion from a 'hot spot' being at the caliper and rotor when you have stopped after braking. While the rest of the rotor vents and cools, the pads clamped to the rotor don't allow the heat to dissipate at the same rate. So by riding them hard, you'll make the temperature difference even greater (as the hotter the whole rotor is (delta T)) the faster the rate of cooling down will be for the 'rest' of the rotor while the stinking hot spot in the caliper remains toastie. The concept might work for a race car, but compared to a street car, race cars don't stop at intersections and induce 'hot spots'. Personally I rev match and down shift far prior to the corner, use the gear-braking style (without using the clutch to brake) like a truck. Then apply the brake for the 40-50kmph left or so, say after takin an exit ramp of the pacific highway. And after driving various models, I have never had to change the front brake pads as there was still plenty of flesh left. Plus it sounds cool Just be sure to get those rev's up otherwise the clutch is going to hate ya.