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Improving Brake Feel
Travel loss is how much pedal movement occurs before the vehicle begins to slow. Travel loss is measured at the connection to the vacuum booster (power assisted brakes) or the master cylinder pushrod (non-power assist). Travel loss and the associated pedal feeling consists of the following, keeping in mind that any travel loss is multiplied by the pedal ratio that is specific to your car’s braking system:
Precision-fit between the brake pedal pin and booster push rod. This portion of travel loss can unfortunately be quite a bit for systems that use a brake light switch that is mounted at the pedal linkage. The reason for the large amount of travel loss with a brake light switch on the pedal is due to the allowance of a significant amount of brake pedal travel prior to activating the switch.
Feel can be improved here by reducing the loose fit at the pedal pin connecction.
Feel can be improved here by inspecting the pedal system for looseness in the pivot points & appropriately repairing the slop. Usually worn bushings are the culprit here. Or, improved bushings (e.g. substitute bronze for original plastic) can be installed.
Feel can be improved here by reinforcing the body structure to better support the pedals and/or booster mount
Improving the feel here is difficult. The booster could be eliminated by installing a mechanical link. However, the pedal effort to stop the car at a high rate can substantially increase. Honestly, the travel loss here is a miniscule amount and may not be worth the effort to eliminate the booster.
Improving the feel is simple. Remove or replace with a high quality booster.
MC operation. Once again, travel loss is multiplied by the pedal ratio and this loss can be felt at all times.
Improving the feel is simple. Remove or replace with a high quality MC.
Improving the feel requires hose replacement. Teflon-lined hoses with strong hose reinforcement & braided stainless steel protective sheathing actually do provide a considerable amount of swell reduction and thereby greatly affect the feel of the brakes. The improvement in feel can be felt nearly all the time with the improved flex hoses.
the brake pressure is removed as your foot comes off the brake pedal. The piston can retract quite a bit to create a gap between the piston and pad backing plate (or pad friction material and rotor friction surface). With a relatively large piston gap and several pistons in the entire braking system, piston retraction can create a considerable amount of travel loss. This travel loss is felt at all times.
Improving the feel can be done in a tricky sort of way. Prior to installing brake pads into the caliper assembly, the caliper pistons should be set to a resting position that requires forceful installation of the pads. By establishing this force-fit, you are effectively eliminating the gapping between the pistons and pads
The only way to improve the feel here is to replace flexy calipers with high quality stiff calipers.
Above all else, using a quality brake fluid of the proper DOT specification and elimination of air in the brake system via a proper fluid flush is the first step in improving brake feel. Air in the system far exceeds travel loss caused by the aforementioned fixes.
It’s also worth noting that installing a pedal assembly with a lower pedal ratio will improve travel loss. Remember, that all travel loss is amplified by the pedal ratio. Therefore a lower ratio will result in a lower total amount of travel loss. The downside to a lower pedal ratio is it requires more force applied at the pedal. So one should expect a noticeable increase in the effort required to stop the car, if a pedal assembly with a lower ratio is installed.
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