Brake Fade

[Justin182]

I am no mechanic, nor do i go on track days etc... so i was wondering whether anyone here could help. The other day i was making the best use of some of Scotlands finest countryside roads and was driving my 182 quite entusiastically for about 45 mins on very twisty roads. However, after turning a corner at a substancial speed, i was faced with a flock of sheep in the middle of the road. So naturally i braked very hard in order to avoid them only to find the car not really wanting to do the same. Luckly, i stopped with 2 inches to spare (seriously), but was left wondering why the car did not perform as expected. There was no sign of any traction control stepping in nor did it lock up. Just slow braking....

Is this whats called "Brake Fade" ? anyone?.... thanks

 

[Munson]

Im guessing a yes? Although guys here hammer their Clios around tracks and Ive not heard anyone complaining of fade?

 

[Lunner]

Could well be brake fade, did the pedal feel spongy, or did it just not stop, if the pedal felt spongly the fluid coud be boiling, and/or the rubber lines expanding.

Sounds to me like just brake fade, std pads, they just got too hot and didnt perform

 

[Lagerlout]

Sounds like you cooked em... Did the pedal go soft and further down than normal??

 

[Justin182]

Yeh... kind of. and i pushed it as hard as i could and the Traction control didnt even show a hint of involvment.

 

[Justin182]

Now that i think about it though, the pedal felt pretty normal except i was expecting vibrations from ESP ect... which never happended

 

[Lagerlout]

The vibrations are from ABS. You would only get them if the wheels locked, which by the sounds of it the braking system wasnt able to do. Sounds like fade to me.

 

[Lunner]

Get some pagid fast road pads, only £30 from GSF, i havent had any fade on them yet

 

[Justin182]

Sorry... i meant ABS. Yeh, i think the wheels would have locked and the ABS worked with the amount of pressure i was applying to the brake. Once i let the brakes cool down agian they seemed fine so hopefully just fade. Dont think i have ever experienced brake fade before....almost cost me a new front end and a few sheep. lol

 

[jonnyboy]

must have boiled the brake fluid m8, I never ever experienced any brake fade with my 172 even driving really hard, get it looked at

 

[Justin182]

So if i did boil the brake fluid, and it wasnt brake fade, is that a serious problem or just normal for the driving style?

 

[fUbAr]

i was forced to pull in when on track at FCS due to brake fade... very spongey and no feel through the pedal at all.

they were stadard brakes on my 172 with new pads from Renault.

 

[Nik]

Fade? Whats that?

Get some Performance Friction pads and braided lines (speak to Yozza) and fade will be a thing of the past.

 

[Clarkie172]

what sort of price are braided hoses? they easy enough to fit?