Definately not ineffective brakes

Anonymous · August 2, 2003, 20:42

Just took a neighbour for a spin in my '2. He's got a rather nice (relatively speaking) Eunos Roadster, with lowered suspension, front bracing, big low profile tyres etc. etc.

Anyway, he was mighty impressed both with the speed, acceleration (sans extra bracing on the '2) and handling of my '2.

The funniest moment however was when he fell out of the seat stabbing at an imaginary brake pedal, as I left braking (to what I thought) was the last moment (as it turned out, I still had a long way to go <g>).

As he said "that probably gives you a lot of confidence".

If there's one thing he was impressed by, it's the brakes. So if you think your brakes are no good, then either a) there's something wrong with them or b) you've too high an expectiation.

Anonymous · August 3, 2003, 12:53

Quote from: "phil4"b) you've too high an expectation.

No idea how that could happen, this IS just about the best stopping car in the world.

Anonymous · August 3, 2003, 14:51

I must question that. My mates 16v Astra stopped in an amazingly short distance.......OK......he did have assistance from the back of an articulated lorry s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

(no injuries were suffer during the making of this comment & please do not try this at home as all stunts are performed by brain dead show-offs)

Anonymous · August 4, 2003, 11:24

My comment some time ago about inefficient brakes was due to the fact that I drove so carefully I only ever used GRADUAL braking. I have since realised that if I drive like you guys/gals (a lunatic joke) the disks warm up nicely s:!: :!: s:!:

Anonymous · August 12, 2003, 08:49

Hey guys, i'm back as you may have guesssed, i'll reply to the wheel PM's in due course, anyway i was out driving me 2 last night and some1 cut me up.

I slammed me foot down on the middle peddle like you do, the ABS kicked in, i felt the judder, then the front left wheel locked, the brakes CUT OUT completely and i had to drift up the curb (very low luckily) to miss him.

Is this just an MR2 quirk or is it normal with ABS (never driven with ABS)

Slacey · August 12, 2003, 08:53

Sounds very odd... I use the ABS to it's full on a regular basis (don't ask!) and mine performs excellently. It feels a bit odd sometimes after I fitted 17" wheels, but it's still superb. Might need looking at.

Anonymous · August 12, 2003, 08:56

I forgot to mention it wasn't that i'd not left enough distance but the peddle went soft right down to the floor when it drifted.

Anonymous · August 12, 2003, 10:16

Quote from: "bigun007"I forgot to mention it wasn't that i'd not left enough distance but the peddle went soft right down to the floor when it drifted.

It's fairly normal for the peddle to feel all "wrong" when ABS kicks in; after all, it's doing exactly what it's intended to, and that's relieve peddle pressure for you.

Just keep your foot hard on the peddle, like your life depends on it.

Tem · August 12, 2003, 13:24

A wild guess, but could it be that there was some dirt/sand/gravel/whatever on the road..? I've noticed that the wheels can lock up for a moment when going from clean tarmac to sandy tarmac and after it feels like you just lost your brakes. But that's just ABS kicking in to prevent locking.

Anonymous · August 12, 2003, 15:06

as Tem indicated, on loose surfaces, even snow, you will stop quicker without ABS.

However, it sounds like there is a problem with your brakes, if the pedal goes soft - cos ABS feels like juddering of the pedal. Get it checked before you shorten your car.

Anonymous · August 12, 2003, 16:38

I'll try it again tonight and if it happens then i'll get them checked.

Cheers Lads