DIYAR21

man ever sisnce i bought this car, it stops so slowly. many times i was kinda fast and lighted turn green and i would hit the brakes all the way, it wouldn't even lock the wheels ( now you are gonna tell me, it is ABS, well sir, i know how abs works and mine barely kicks in and even with ABS it should still lock the wheels off periodicly)

now the car sat like 1 year and now i am driving her, i swear i am driving 20mph and i hit the brakes and the car stops like 10ft later, if anyone is infront of me, I will rear end them for sure.

just shortly, my car stops way slower than any other cars i have ever driven or ridden into and i know this is NOT normal!

so what to do to when i slam on brakes, ABS will kick in immediately, it will stop decently so my seatbelt will lock up when i hit the brakes???

I really need help! thanks!!!

shock6906

Are you talking about the Cobra in your sig? If so, why post about it in the F-body general tech section?

DIYAR21

no, i have 97 LT1 formula also

shock6906

Ooooh, I either missed that completely or it wasn't in your sig at the time. I agree though. The braking on the LT1 F-bodies leave quite a lot to be desired. I had to do a pedal stomp the other day and I was almost sure I wasn't going to stop in time. Thankfully I did. Fairly new pads and rotors I'm sure were the key there.

DIYAR21

yeah it wasn't in my sig, after your post io added it

well, i machined my rotors and put new pads on just because of this stuation last year and damn thing still wouldn't stop as quick as other cars.

should I order slotted & drilled rotors and a set of pads and see whats up??

or somethingelse is wrong?

Injuneer

Odd..... when most magazines tested the 4th Gen brakes, they rated them "Very Good" to "Excellebnt", with "light" to "moderate" fade, and got some decently short stopping distances. Mine still pull the car down reliably from 130MPH trap speeds, and that's with 4.5" skinnies on the front, and no ABS.

And no, your ABS should not allow your brakes to lock up periodically - that's the whole point of ABS. At least I think that's what the mangled sentence is suggesting????

Sounds yours need major maintenance.

Why not at least put the F-Body on top of you "signature".... this is an F-Body site???

DIYAR21

I know how ABS works.

about putting f-body on top of my signature. sure i will do it but to me it really doesn't make difference to me. i have been on this site for a while and my LT1 has been on my sig untill 2 days ago when i changed my sig!!!

I am a die hard f-body fan however, i don't like my LT1 due to 1.000.000 problems i had and still having! It is nothing but a beater to me at this moment. I will give a shot to an LS1 next year!

mzgp5x

Same thing on my 97ss. Stopin one day and the fade was scary. Car did not want to stop and overshot the exit. An accident waiting to happen. I have never had abs engage. I previously had GMPP brake upgrade, and, the car would throw you thru the wind_screen. Now like a dog on ice. So... I changed discs and HPS pads (summit). Still no stop. Then I replaced lines. Not much help. Then I drained and blead all fluid. That helped. Once the HPS pads seated, it started to stop OK (Although not good). Pulled off the abs. Went to an external vac source (blower mods killed the vac boost). I don't know what next??? Considering kore_3 c5 upgrade now. My truck stops better than this thing. B. (97ss 383-D1)

DIYAR21

i am thinking about getting slotted and drilled rotors with new pads and bleed the system with new fluid. would that work?

n2ceptor

My 93Z has never giving me any trouble???????? You might try upgrading to C5......

http://www.umiperformance.com/page.php?page=c5conv

mzgp5x

Prev posts state that brake fluid can go bad, and, should be changed. Also, I have not re_built stock calipers, but, they do not leak and look to have good action. The lowest cost c5 up_grade I could find is kore_3. I don't think slots or holes make a big performance differance. You can get a good deal @ Summit. Brembo discs are considered the best due to mfg process control (chevyHP mag).

DIYAR21

I will pass. there is no way i will spend over 1-2gs on this car for only brakes. it is not worth it. the car is peice of junk at this moment with oil, coolant leak, a/c dont work, motor vibrates crazy, 134k miles. not worth it man. I found 4 slotted and drilled rotors with pads all over for less than $250.00 shipped and i will get that kit. it should be better than nothing!

marzen

have you gone through the brake system yet?

Try replacing the fluid and bleeding the system if you haven't already. Air bubbles can cause the symptoms you described.




and btw, the braking sucks bigtime on YOUR car, not these cars. Mine stops on a dime, with just slotted rotors and fresh pads.

DIYAR21

well, looks like not just my car if you read previous posts from other members.

yes i took the car to dealership and they machined my rotors, put new pads and changed the fluid but i was never satisfied!
thanks!

Injuneer

When the cars were new, they stopped fine. Not the absolute best available, but not bad enough to cause you to overshoot exit ramps and rear end other cars. Over the years, the brakes are going to deteriorate, and the less maintenance you perform, the less performance you will get out of them. A 1997 is approaching 11 years old.... how many times has the fluid been changed? How much rust built up on the rotors and sliding surfaces of the calipers over the period of years it sat unused? How much of that rust has been pressed into the pads as you started driving the thing again?

If you hate the car that much, why are you wasting your time on it?