Terrible brakes!

[Blackie_]

So, i know the c180 (w202) isn't a sporty model, however even when doing a little "spirited" driving i have noticed the brakes are rubbish, i mean dire! And they seem to build up an awful lot of heat.

Anyone else have or had a similar problem?

 

[Sp!ke]

Suggest giving your brakes a good checking over. Change the fluids and bleed, Check the calipers for free movement and check condition of disks and pads.

 

[Blackie_]

New pads fitted to the front after i cooked them last weekend, front calipers seem fine, pistons and sliders moving freely.

Didnt really check the rears and i suppose after cooking the fronts last week i should have drained and replaced the brake fluid, cheers for the tips fella

 

[Stratman]

How much meat is left on the discs? Worn, ie. thinner discs will suffer from fade more easily than thicker new ones.

 

[Blackie_]

Oooh, will need to check that, i didnt measure them

 

[Nasco12]

How do you know they're hot? By smell? Do they glow? Are they on fire? Just curious.

 

[Blackie_]

Smell at the moment, though when i cooked the previous front pads it was smell and smoke billowing from the front wheels lol

 

[stwat]

New pads need to be bedded in gently. If you overheat them they will glaze over .

 

[EuroCarParts]

New pads need to be bedded in gently. If you overheat them they will glaze over .

Could be a case of poor bedding in process, or poor quality pads.

 

[Dblock]

New pads need to be bedded in gently. If you overheat them they will glaze over .

I disagree with that personally. You can let the pads get really hot to bed them in. Some pads come "pre scorched" to quicken the bedding process.

 

[Blackie_]

I drove gently for the first 200 miles, which is the normal recommended distance to allow most pads to bed in. The pads are Mintex pads, which are normally a good quality pad.

 

[Blackie_]

Think i have a remedy sorted, just ordered drilled and grooved discs

 

[Blackie_]

Problem defo sorted! Was in a rush tonight which led to some spirited driving and the brakes did me proud, no fade and plenty of good stopping power on the new mtec drilled and grooved front discs!

Gonna buy a set for the rear soon

 

[LawrenceMB]

Before you rush out & buy new discs for rear maybe see how it goes now you've replaced the front discs as 80% of the breaking is done by front brakes. Sounds like your previous front discs were a bit thin maybe & therefore not able to absorb & dissapate the heat at quick enough rate. Drilled front discs are better though as the service area for dissapation is increase as well as the obvious of better airflow through them to take the heat away. Just hold off on replacing the rear discs & see how you go?

 

[DRBC43AMG]

Problem defo sorted! Was in a rush tonight which led to some spirited driving and the brakes did me proud, no fade and plenty of good stopping power on the new mtec drilled and grooved front discs!

Gonna buy a set for the rear soon

So, now that the brakes seem to be working like they shoud do, have you changed the brake fluid? Could be also a good time to do it (every 2 years minimum, specially if you are in a damp climate which I assume is the case in your part of the world)

 

[Blackie_]

Havent done as yet as i snapped the bleed nipple on the drivers side, gonna get a full set of nipples and an easy out set first! Keep putting it off though lol

 

[Blackie_]

Before you rush out & buy new discs for rear maybe see how it goes now you've replaced the front discs as 80% of the breaking is done by front brakes. Sounds like your previous front discs were a bit thin maybe & therefore not able to absorb & dissapate the heat at quick enough rate. Drilled front discs are better though as the service area for dissapation is increase as well as the obvious of better airflow through them to take the heat away. Just hold off on replacing the rear discs & see how you go?

Well they have made a hell of a difference, and you are right about them being thin, they where only 6/7mm thick compared to the 12mm thick they are when new!!!

Again your right about the drilled discs being good at dissipating the heat, but i went for the drilled AND grooved versions to help remove any potential pad glazing as well