For some reason my 2001 camaro's brakes refuse to slow my car down from high speed when I "smash" on the brake pedal... The pedal just gets really stiff a quarter way down and

the car keeps rolling! I have to get off the brake and press it again, to get the brake pedal to travel to the floor and the braking feel is still mediocre..What can cause this?

 

Maybe your slider pins are bound up?

 

What kind of high speeds are you talking about? If you have a cheap pad, and it's getting a lot of heat in it, I can see that happening.

 

I never thought of the slider pins, but its only at high speeds like 90mph the brakes essentially not want to slow down the car when you slam the brake......I had hawk pads before and 2nd to top of the line ceramics from kragen this time and still the same issue

 

Yea, if your sliders are bound up, it may reduce the clamping force that you really need at high speeds. (Because only one brake pad is contacting the rotor fully, instead of two. At lower speeds, one may be enough.)

 

you have air in your brake line. try bleeding them properly. or worse, one of your brake lines busted. is there any brake fluid on the ground? how about the reservoir level?

 

Some things to check...the pad material overheating and causing brake fade if it only happens after repeated high speed passes...old/low brake fluid...old rubber brake lines bulging...air in the lines...spread calipers (calipers soften at 325*F, rotors can reach 900-1100*F)...stuck slider pin causing only half the pad to touch the rotor. If new pads and rotors, could be that they weren't bedded correctly also.

 

I just did some panic stops today and had no issues? I'm lost.... Maybe I should change the sliders and brake fluid? That sounds like a good start..as far as the pads failing I hope they wouldn't since I just installed this set about 6 months ago with not much hard driving..I cant really think of anything else being wrong

 

also try rebeding the pads to the rotors

 

Could be a number of things. Some of the things mentioned here above could be it. 90mph though.. I don't think ceramic brake pads are going to do the trick to slow you down quick. You might want a better pad that won't fade.

Also.. not sure how hard you slam on the pedal.. but I know for a fact that slamming on the pedal sometimes causes the ABS to go into some kind of panic mode. Caused me some problems stopping from higher speeds on the autox course. It seemed to happen when I was not smooth and jammed on the brakes. When I was more gradual with my brake pedal input, I would stop a lot better.

I would start with the simple things first like making sure the calipers and hydraulic system is all functioning properly and maintained. Then look at different pads.

 

Lots of good information from everyone here...I will make sure to look at everything that was suggested and will update the thread as soon as I get a chance to work on the car

 

How about gas build up between the pads and rotors. If the 'maintenance' aspects dont fix it, try switching to cross-drilled or slotted rotors. For a DD car, slotted would be better off than cross-drilled.

 

I notice that too.

 

It almost sounds like you fluid is really really bad, air in the line, or you have a pretty bad leak somewhere. Cause you said you take your foot off of it and put it to the floor, dont know about everyone elses car but my pedal doesnt really even make it to the floor. but if it does im stopping...fast

 

check for all this, but I highly doubt you're spreading your calipers

 

boiled fluid and/or pad fade will do that

 

Brake fluid boiling is a good point. I just read an article in C&D where they wrecked a 370Z because the brakes went soft. They changed from DOT3 to DOT4 brake fluid and it helped the brakes hold up better because it has a higher boiling point. Although it should not be needed. Even the Vette still uses DOT3.

 

for a pure street car, DOT 4 and/or synthetic fluid is a waste. Only a car that sees higher speed spirited driving (canyons), auto-x, or track time will need it

 

Perhaps something to add to the check list:
How does your brake pedal feel while the vehicle is at a stop?

If your pedal is mushy, you'll have to check all the lines to see if any burst or expand, if not, it could be your master cylinder. The seals inside could be broken or worn, causing pressure loss at the source. This has happened to my DD truck though I don't take it up to 90.

Like a lot of the posters above had said, start from the pads and calipers and work your way back to the master cylinder.

Good luck.