Difference in brakes since lowered

[DingDong]

I never had this on my old clio, but with my new one, which I just had lowered 35mm and had 17s put on, I need to press the brakes further to get the same braking power... Also the hand brake needs to go up higher than it did before I had it lowered?

Anyone know what this could be?

 

[Rich-D]

Brake bias valve???

On some Renaults theres a bias valve on the rear beam that changes according to the ride height of the car...

 

[RobFenn]

Beat me to it! Think this has happened to a few people, but not to others..bit strange!

 

[Daz]

Well, 17s are heavier for one.. so I think you need to brake harder to slow them down?

 

[DingDong]

But handbrake as well? Needs to go up higher before i feel the tension....

 

[Daz]

Imagining it?

I cant see anything affecting that apart from the actual brakes or cable.

 

[DingDong]

Im not imagining it



First thing i noticed when i got in my car was the amount i had to pull the handbrake up by... definatly noticibly more...

Could something be caught somewhere? Or does this brake bias valve effect that as well?

 

[rt172]

Id get that checked by a garage ASAP. If I remember rightly, the brake bias problem is what caused Adis nasty crash in his valver not so long ago.

 

[Daz]

I thought the brake bias valve only affects it if you use the main brake.. it just applies a certain amount of braking to the back wheels aswell as the front!

... and I also thought it was only on cars with Disc Brakes on the back - Or is that just the Mk1?

 

[DingDong]

errrr. what?

Now im really worried....

 

[Daz]

Heh, you can never be too careful with brakes tho, can ya!

 

[DingDong]

Oh my god.... How did it cause his crash?

 

[DingDong]

But im also reading everywhere else that u only have brake bias valve when u got discs on the back?

 

[rt172]

Not sure, Ill see if I can find the thread for you....

 

[DingDong]

Or could it be cause the pi springs lower the front by 35 and the back by 30?

 

[rt172]

http://forum.cliosport.net/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=2&TopicID=30079&SearchPagePosition=1&search=dead+car&searchMode=allwords&searchIn=Topic&forum=2&searchSort=dateDESC&ReturnPage=Searchhttp://forum.cliosport.net/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=2&TopicID=30079&SearchPagePosition=1&search=dead+car&searchMode=allwords&searchIn=Topic&forum=2&searchSort=dateDESC&ReturnPage=Search

and

http://forum.cliosport.net/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=2&TopicID=31979&SearchPagePosition=1&search=adi+crash&searchMode=allwords&searchIn=Thread&forum=0&searchSort=dateDESC&ReturnPage=Search&ThreadPage=2http://forum.cliosport.net/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=2&TopicID=31979&SearchPagePosition=1&search=adi+crash&searchMode=allwords&searchIn=Thread&forum=0&searchSort=dateDESC&ReturnPage=Search&ThreadPage=2

Cant be sure its the same thing, but looking at the state of Adis car, its not worth risking. Get it checked out.

 

[DingDong]

Not sure where to take it apart from renault, and i cant really take it to them about this, its a company car sorta...

 

[DingDong]

When i get my car back from the body shop, ill take it to about 40 and slam the brakes on, thatll tell me whether the brake bias is messed right?

 

[viceroy]

Basically what happens is that you lower your car, and because the car is sitting lower the rear brakes think there is more weight so the brakes are applied harder to the rear which can cause them to lock up...pretty much the same as if you applied the handbrake while travelling at speed...any slight turn in the steering wheel will cause the car to spin out of control

 

[DingDong]

ok, but this wouldnt effect the handbrake right?

And also, this is only for cars with rear discs tho isnt it? Cause i was driving pretty fast the other day with my car loaded up with my old alloys, didnt get any locking up..

 

[DingDong]

And abs? Thought that was supposed to stop it locking?

 

[viceroy]

ABS will stop the wheels locking up, but the rear brakes will still be braking harder than normal.

Also remember that the brake bias valve is there so when the rear of the car is loaded, it adds breaking power to the rear to help stop you better. By lowering the car, the car thinks the rear is loaded up so the braking power is added to the rear (which this time has no weight) and things can get scary esp when braking from high speed and hard

 

[DingDong]

Can i get this adjusted or something? Or tested at least....

 

[rt172]

Take it to any reputable garage and explain that youve had it lowered and the brakes dont feel right. I imagine that it wont take more than 20/30 mins to put right.

 

[DingDong]

mmm aint got any reputable garages where i live, lol....

Anyone know any in surrey/guildford area that would sort this?

 

[Daz]

Best to get it checked over..

 

[steve_rt]

yes only have brake bias valve on rear disc cars.

as your handbrake has to move up further this can only mean that either your shoes have moved further away from the shoe( the auto-adjuster should stop this) or your handbrake cable has stretched (unlikely) or your shoes have suddenly worn (also unlikely). take the drum off and check the operation of the auto-adjuster, easy enough to see if the shoes are resting just away from the drum lining. although i have never heard of this as a result of lowering?

 

[cliokongen]

Hand brake cable wont affect normal breaking... If it does anyway (less breaking) get it checked NOW!!!! actually the car should brake harder after lowering, as the valve at the beam is under harder tension(spring)

Michael

 

[R3OBC]

aint fully read what u have all said, but.....the 1.4 16v has drums on the back, like my 1.2 16v. I am almost 99% sure that this means there is no bias valve. Mine is lowered 40mm, and have only had one problem with my brakes - but i had two different tyre sizes on - which confused the EBD (it thought wheels were spinning at different rates). I drove my mates saxo, lowered 60mm, and believe me, its sh*te if u dont get this valve adjusted! It locked the rear wheels before it locked the fronts! weeeee, he managed to crash that car in a straight line.........wonder how eh!?!???

Like i say, i am SURE they dont have a valve on the 1.2 up to the 1.6 (all drums) so as long as you are running the same tyre sizes all round,it should be fine, unless something has been knocked when it was being lowered. The rear springs do sit CLOSE to the rear BRAKE PIPES???? might be worth a check on that one!

cheers, Rob

 

[Fred@BTM]

Mines fine, it all works (i do abuse the brakes im on set 5 of pads and set 2 of discs after 40K)

check your tyre pressures