not enough 'feel' in the brake pedal

[mitch_f1]

Hey all
So I have one big problem with my car...well not really a problem, just something I don't like about it; the brakes, and their feel. I don't like the way the pedal sinks a good 1/4 push befor eyou start to feel a bite. I replaced the pads today, and now have a master cylinder brace, which helped a bit, but it's still there. Going to get the brake fluid bled and replaced on Thursday, as this could be contributing. Any suggestions? Is this a common issue, or am I just being nit picky?

[Matty]

The MX has a pretty "wooden" pedal feel. Good high friction pads, and fresh fluid (properly bled) should have it pretty good. Then you get into the mods - MC brace, braided lines, etc which each add a small improvement. Upgrading the brakes on the earlier cars also improves sensitivity (if not feel)

[Steampunk]

Second what Matty stated, as I've done it all, one at a time. The most noticeable improvement for daily driving was the MC brace, but if you did not feel a big difference when you fitted yours, I would say that your fluid is on its way out and has a bit of air in it.
Check for any leakage in the brake booster hose.

[wun911]

Do the pplz without ABS get "better feel"??

[mitch_f1]

Oh the MC brace was awesome....massive improvement. Will see what happens with new fluids, as I am starting to think that that may be the culprit.

Has anyone noticed much of an improvement with braided lines?

[Steampunk]

Do the pplz without ABS get "better feel"??

Yeah I've copped a good feel recently.

Oh.... are we talking about brakes still?

[bruce]

Do the pplz without ABS get "better feel"??

Yeah I've copped a good feel recently.

You and WUN get a room!

[AJ]

Do the pplz without ABS get "better feel"??

valid question, although I think you're looking for lightness by having an excuse to toss away the ABS module

however, I would say yes. First ABS equipped car I had was a brand new '01 Tribute, the brakes themselves were brilliant, but not a whole lot of feedback through the pedal (well, till you jump on 'em hard enough to initiate the ABS, THEN you get feedback, first time it did it, I nearly sh*t myself )..............because it was a fairly heavy, auto 4WD, I didn't think much of it. Then came the NC, fantastic braking ability, & MILES better than the tribute, I still felt that feedback was muted..........till I drove an NB, MAN, feels like you're jumping on a brick in those things in comparison......LOL

The main reason that I answered yes though, is because of the difference in my 2 trucks, the '05 Isuzu had great brakes, plenty of feedback & a tendency to lock one of the rears when empty on hard braking as it didn't have ABS...........the '09 Isuzu has exactly the same brakes (drum & shoe size) as the old truck, but they've added 4 channel ABS to it........the pedal in this truck feels completely different to the old one, actually stops better than the old one under normal braking, won't lock a wheel under heavy braking, but doesn't have anywhere NEAR the pedal feel of the old one................hence, I hypothesise that the ABS module actually mutes the "feel" you get from the wheels on a non ABS equipped vehicle.

[tbro]

You say you replaced the pads, where they worn evenly, not tapered?

A very common problem encountered with Mx5's is the slider pins stick in the mounting bracket. This causes the pads to only work on part of the pad, thus tapered pad. This is also a cause of poor pedal feel as the caliper is trying to twist to apply the pads to the rotor.

If this is your problem, remove sliders and apply very high temp graphite grease to the sliders available from spare parts shops and brake specialist.

If your pads have worn evenly front and rear adjust the rear brakes with the allen key adjustment, as posted here a few times. By adjusting the rear calipers it will bring the pads closer to the rotor and remove the travel in your pedal. This is a problem I've encountered qiute a few times.

Hope this helps

Terry

[mitch_f1]

actually they were very tapered, but I put that down to bad original installation, but from what you said it is quite likely. I called around a few places when doing the installation and could not find anyone who even knew what copper grease was...anyone know where I can get some???

[wun911]

you can get copper grease from auto barn.

you can get the caliper grease from bursons.

[Guran]

you can get copper grease from auto barn.

Yep, that's where I bought mine.

It comes in a small tube about 10cm long and you only use a tiny bit at a time. BTW, is this stuff OK for slider pins?

[Mr Morlock]

TBRO suggested "very high temp graphite grease"- . Not sure about copper grease.

[mitch_f1]

the workshop manual that I have been using suggests small amounts of copper grease, but mania reckons high temp bearing grease would work just as well. The workshop manual says to use it between pad and backing plate, and on slider pins, as well as on any other friction surfaces (the retaining clip surfaces etc, but not pad surface, obviously)