[ira968]

I put new rotors and hawk pads on the front and now my breaking is very poor -- very soft pedal, almost feels like an emergency brake stop but not quite that bad. Brakes were excellent prior to changing.



I didn't break any lines when I changed the rotors/pads. I have bled the system with no improvement. I'm sure the job was done correctly, there are no leaks, etc.



Does the clutch also need bled? Something else I'm missing?



Thanks!

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[Dave]

The clutch does not NEED to be bled, but I do it as habit "while I'm in there".



Did you bed-in the pads/rotors?



Check your Hawk Pad bedding instructions. I use my own little procedure of 10-15 progressively harder stops from 65 to 5 mph until smoke is bellowing out of the wheel wells, followed by a cool-down drive, 3+ hours of sitting, then a rebleed of, minimally, the front calipers.



DO NOT TRY THIS IF YOU SUSPECT THE BRAKES ARE NOT WORKING PROPERLY (usual disclaimer).



With new pads/rotors, I always have very mediocre braking until they get bedded in, particularly in front.

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[Eric_K]

Is the pedal soft with the car stationary? I would guess there is air in the system somewhere. Try bleeding again. Also try starting the car before calling the bleeding job done. A seemingly firm pedal can feel soft after the booster kicks in.

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[whakiewes]

I ran Hawk HP+'s in my M3, and they were absolute crap until I had them broken in. On the way from the shop to a barren road, I nearly had several accidents. After bedding the pads/rotors in, night and day. And its fun to test your brakes to see what you can do. I use my G-timer to see how my braking distances look <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> . If you didn't touch the lines, there should still be no air. Even if you did, there shouldn't. The only time air entires the line on a properly bled system is when the resevoir runs below and sucks air in with it. Also try switching to some good ATE Super Blue or something. There are better fluids out now, but they really have helped me at track days and such.



Wes

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