99 black Z28

Hey guys and gals newbie here hello to all.
I've got a problem with my brakes , the best way I can describe it is like driving a four wheel drum brake car down a hill they fade without even getting on them hard as for panic stops fugettaboutit. It's a four channel tcs car. I've replaced all rotors and pads with gm parts ceramic pads. No matter how hard I push on the brake pedal it does not want to stop I can't lock the brakes or trigger the abs on dry pavement but I can trigger the abs on loose ground.the pedal feels normal and does not sink. The car is parked and covered until I can figure something out I don't want to crash my baby. I'm stumped?

Robbie Wilson

Maybe air in your brake lines? Sounds like that to me.

Try bleeding your brakes and put some good new fluid in there while your at it.

LOHRTBT

iTrader: (12)

Sounds like you are used to better brakes...these cars have dangerously underpowered brakes on them from the factory. It is sad really.

I would do an upgrade if it is that noticeable to you. That is on my list of to do's

99 black Z28

Thanks guys I'll try to bleed the brakes. An upgrade is food for thought but that'll be down the road.
I just can't understand how my 29 year old b body wagon can stop on a dime and my 99 camaro feels at least to me anyway like an old car with four wheel drum brakes. I have a 78 Z28 and the braking feel is much better it should be the opposite.
I'll bleed the brakes and see what happens?
Thanks again

sjsingle1

iTrader: (1)

bingo....ceramic pads............try some hawk HPS !!!!

_JB_

iTrader: (33)

Dangerously underpowered? WTF are you talking about? They are more than adequate for DD. The OP isn't doing 130MPH runs.

You should be able to kick in ABS on dry pavement. I agree with the idea there is air in the line, and/or old fluid. I've never experienced brake fade unless I was running on a track over and over.

NoHope

I too have this problem. Have a set of OEM brake rotors and pads, the rotors are slotted, and the brake fade is very noticeable, especially if I do multiple stops from speeds over 70MPH, and the car will start to shake/vibrate badly with each successive stop. I've had the brake fluid swapped and the brake lines bled already. I've been thinking of getting a set of high quality rotors and pads, hopefully that'll help? Or maybe I should go with a larger rotor size.

BMR Tech2

iTrader: (5)

If you haven't bleed the brakes, that's almost certainly going to be your problem. You should honestly bleed your brakes once a year. Nobody does it, but to keep your fluid in optimal condition, this is what should be done. Brake fluid naturally attracts water. Even in a closed system, water will find its way into your fluid and alter the viscosity properties and lower its boiling point. The result is a mushy pedal, poor brake performance and response.

- Kevin

LOHRTBT

iTrader: (12)

THe ***** I am talking about is the HORRIBLE factory brakes these cars have. They are god awful. One hard stop and they are going to fade from there on out.

Way too little braking power for the weight and power these cars make.

Most of us like to push the car from time to time, these brakes will NOT allow it.

Midnight02

iTrader: (8)

I concur -- the stock pads are a MAJOR part of the problem. The first few times I tried to slow from higher speeds (100 mph+) I began to question if I was going to need to drag my feet to get it to finally stop. Pads were fine, rotors were fine, bled the lines and the issue still remained.

Slapped on a set of Hawk track pads (DTC-30 front and HP+ in the rear) on stock rotors and they had no trouble consistently slowing the car down from 135-140 mph on the back straight at Road Atlanta. They work great on the street too. Night and day difference.

To the OP -- I would definitely flush and bleed the system first to see if that helps. If things still aren't improving the issue might just be you expecting more from the OE brakes. For a noticeable increase in braking performance for a daily driver, the basic Hawk HPS pads are a great fit.

Cra-Z Larry

I installed Baer Eradispeed+ rotors and Hawk HPS pads, now I just look at the pedal and it stops on a dime!!! Time for an UPGRADE and that's not OEM rotors with replacement pads!

01 ss vert

iTrader: (1)

Bleed it. Get new pads (Hawk HPS, or HP+ if you don't mind cleanign your wheels a lot) if bleeding doesn't help.

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

If your brake hydraulics are not maintained, then you can put on whatever you want and the car won't stop one bit. My hard brake line rotted out once too. How much fluid do you see in your brake reservior? If not much, then either really low fluid or a leak might be the case.

1BAD02WS6

iTrader: (-1)

Be sure to check you brake hoses and caliper piston dust boots for any signs of moisture. Also clean and re-grease you slide pins.

99 black Z28

I pulled the caliper pins and cleaned and greased them with synthetic caliper grease when I did the brakes I also checked the caliper pistons I could push them in by hand I've never had a car that I was able to do that I don't know if that's good or bad.
I also checked all the hoses there were no visible cracks or leaks. I am very diligent about maintenence I will generally suck most of the old fluid from the master refill with fresh and have a helper pump the pedal topping off along the way.
I am taking the car to the dealer to have the brake fluid flushed they are only charging me $100 including fluid. According to previous posts you need the tech II scanner to do this properly. I have access to a tech II but I'm not to familiar with useing it my snap on solus has an auto bleed listed listed for this car and I tryed it with the same results. I agree its time to try hawk pads and different rotors. I'll keep everyone updated.
Thanks again guys

99 black Z28

Cleaning my wheels frequently is not a problem for me. I clean it constantly like every day when I'm driving it so the hawk pads shouldn't be a problem.
This is a great forum.
Thanks again everyone's input is greatly appreciated.

brigade24

if bleeding doesn't help...the seals in the master cylinder maybe worn out. when the fluid stays in there too long and too much water is absorbed, it accelerates the wearing of the seals.

The braking system on the car is fine but the stock pads and more particularly the rotors leave something to be desired...

99 black Z28

Update,
Well I took my car to the dealer today to have the brakes flushed.
The tech took the car for a test drive with me riding shotgun he didn't believe me at first but after he drove the thing he was actually amazed and scared at how bad they were.
He did the whole flush procedure and no difference so he repeated this two more times still no change.
He's a great tech with 20 plus years experience. He sugested that the abs unit may have an internal leak causing pressure loss at the wheels.
And he agreed that the oe brake consumables (ie pads and rotors) were not the best and brake complaints were common when Theese cars were new. He said gm's unoficial fix at the time was to toss the factory pads and install cheap aftermarket pads although he wouldn't tell me what brand, all he would say they were not gm parts and came from a local parts store.
I must say they treated me very fair and had great respect for my baby. They didn't want to charge me because they felt they did'nt make any progress. But I gave the tech $50 bucks because he did try his best and spent the better part of the day on my car.
My next step is hawk hps pads on all four corners and new rotors.
Any suggestions on reasonably priced rotors that work?
Thanks

_JB_

iTrader: (33)

99% of the cars on the road will experience brake fade from hard stops, it isn't limited to 98-02 fbodies. A C5 z06 only stops 6' sooner (60-0 MPH) so as I said the factory brakes are fine for dd. The OP isn't on the track, nor is he trying to stop from 100+ MPH.

_JB_

iTrader: (33)

I got my rotors and Hawks from ws6store.com almost 8 years ago, and back then they had the best price. Try searching google and shop around.