Hydraulic brake system questions

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My parking brake has never really worked, didnt put too much thought into it, brake pads are good. calipers should be okay. Always just assumed that the cable was stretched. Parking brake adjustment 10mm not the issue.

Anyways, fast forward to few weeks ago. Built my own box, bought a wilwood cylinder and made a little hydraulic "staging" brake. ran the lines properly with steel braided lines/ fittings. Bled the brakes for literally 3 days to no avail. installed speed bleeder valves for rear and bled again and now the brake is very stiff, like i'm assume it should feel. Right when i pull the car out of the garage if i yank with both hands on it it will lock the rears up a bit. after driving a mile or so if i do the same thing, doesnt even get close to locking them up. And also i can smell the break pads, the clutch type smell.

Anyways my main questions are, are stock rear s13 brakes with new brake pads (autozone brand) honestly not capable of locking the rear tires up? (17 by 9 235/45/17)

Or is there an issue with my brake system. i know it partially works because when i pull the handbrake the car slows down a bit.

Buddy just installed his but instead he has q45 rear brakes and it locks like crazy. So i'm just wondering if the difference is from his brake system. But it really makes no sense that stock brakes arent able to do the job. Maybe bad calipers? Almost positive the brakes are bled fine. Handbrake feels nice and taught even when its barely slowing the car down. Any suggestions?

[HPballer76]

I'm interested in this as well. my car is doing the same exact thing. I'm going to be in putting in some ebc yellowstuff brake pads in the next day or two to see if that fixes the problem. will report back with results.

[lazysk8er2]

did you bench bleed the cylinder before installing it? if not you just introduced air into your lines.

[Lite it up]

I guess I did not. What is the process on that. I assumed the cylinder would be bled with normal process of bleeding

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any other idea's guys?

[HPballer76]

put on ebc yellowstuff brake pads and some autozone blank rotors now mine works like a charm.

[s13coupedrfter]

***Assuming the system is bled properly and calipers are in working order***

The stock rear disks are rather small and will not have the brake torque the larger q45 rear disks have. Since you increased tire width the stock rear disks will have a harder time locking up due to increased grip.

I used to run 235/40r17 tires in the rear with stock brakes and a cncbrakes.com staging brake. I had the same problem you are having. I switched over to larger j30 rear brakes with hawk pads and it locks with no problem...Id say it takes about 30-40% less effort than before.

[godrifttoday]

^
Brake torque lol

Ok it's should lock the rears instantly... , u installed or bleed it wrong...
http://i47.tinypic.com/1zfha8y.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/oft5oz.jpg

[Lite it up]

Ordered ebc yellowstuff pads. After installing I will re bleed and go from there. I'm positive its hooked up properly because it works it engages rear brakes just either not enough pressure because of possibly bad calipers or how it was bled. Other option is autozone brake pads just not doing the job well enough. Maybe a mix of a few issues but heard good things about them. And that way I can rule that out

[HPballer76]

im pretty sure those ^^ will fix your problem. it sounds like you car is doing the exact same thing mine was and when i put on the ebc yellows and some new rotors it worked great.

[dmaperformance]

what size master cylinder you running, cause i had a customer bring me a car that another company did, and with hydraulic systems they very temperamental, if the master is to small for the calipers it will feel soft but the brakes will lock, and if you go to big for your calipers it will take a gorillas strength to pull it and it most likely will not lock very well, you have to know what size pistons are in the calipers, how many pistons and use a formula to get the correct fluid master cylinder required...if you can get me that info i can let you know what size u should be running to correct the problem.

[slideways2004]

what size master cylinder you running, cause i had a customer bring me a car that another company did, and with hydraulic systems they very temperamental, if the master is to small for the calipers it will feel soft but the brakes will lock, and if you go to big for your calipers it will take a gorillas strength to pull it and it most likely will not lock very well, you have to know what size pistons are in the calipers, how many pistons and use a formula to get the correct fluid master cylinder required...if you can get me that info i can let you know what size u should be running to correct the problem.

What this man said. It sounds like you have everything hooked up correctly and have also bled it correctly

What size cylinder do you have? If you have 5/8", try a 3/4" and vice versa.

[DJPimpFlex]

I have had a hydro ebrake in my car for about a year now. Everyone always asks me why mine works so well. BRAKE PADS. Get a super aggressive brake pad and it will be night and day. I run carbotech brake pads in the rear and the initial bite is insane. With that I can lock both wheels at any speed with 2 fingers.

[Lite it up]

Hopin the ebc yellowstuff will be aggressive enough. Heard good things about them

[driftiteasy0313]

I want to get a hydro brake, should I upgrade my brakes first? Or will baller pads with stock brakes be good?

[DJPimpFlex]

Pads + lines + fluid should be fine.

[slideways2004]

I have had a hydro ebrake in my car for about a year now. Everyone always asks me why mine works so well. BRAKE PADS. Get a super aggressive brake pad and it will be night and day. I run carbotech brake pads in the rear and the initial bite is insane. With that I can lock both wheels at any speed with 2 fingers.

which carbotech pads are you using? I'm not very familiar with this brand, but I hear good things about them.

lol @ sig

[DJPimpFlex]

It's been forever since I bought them, but I believe I have these. I bought them, they sat for a year, then I finally finished the car and I've been using them a lot over the past year. The initial bite is insane and even hot lapping they never fade. Down side is they are noisy as hell sometimes and they are dusty, but its a race car so who cares.

Carbotech XP8™ (1108™)
A high torque brake compound with a wide operating temperature range (200°F-1350°F+). Carbotech XP8™ is the first of our racing compounds. Outstanding initial bite at race temperatures, high coefficient of friction, excellent modulation and release characteristics. Extremely high fade resistance, very rotor friendly with 100% non-corrosive dust. Excellent as a front brake pad for lighter ITA, ITB, ITC, SRF, H4, H5, and other cars that weigh less than 2,400lbs. Perfect for novice, intermediate and advanced track day (HPDE) use with any tire, and can still be driven safely to and from the track. There are several vehicles that use XP8™ on the street, autocross, and at track day (HPDE) events. Carbotech does NOT recommended XP8™ as a daily driven street pad due to elevated levels of dust and noise. XP8™ is also a great rear brake pad for almost any race car (Spec Miata-T1/T2/CMC). XP8™ is a great compound on the front & rear of most open wheel and sports racers.

[Lite it up]

also i should note, i have the wilwood cylinder mounted upside down. have tried bleeding both ways. would that cause a problem?