Adjusting brake pedal (other than booster rod)
 

I've basically almost stripped the brake booster rod trying to adjust it. Even with locking pliers. I can't bed my new q45 brakes in because the pedal goes down too far (not stiff enough).

Is there an alternate way to adjust the brake pedal stiffness?

EDIT: It's not the MC either, as my brakes were just fine before doing this. I also have speedbleeders and stock s13 manual brake booster with stock rear brakes.

Are you sure you bled the lines correctly?

That's on the list of things to try (which would be done before this). But I was just double checking in case they are/do get bled correctly and I'm still getting the problem.

Ok, re-bled. They stop fine, but the pedal is still a bit soft. Stops fine, but not as stiff as I'd like it.

Ok, i just did the q45 brake upgrade myself like 2 days ago. and bled the lines and all... my pedal is a bit mushy too.. there's a reason for this. The old calipers were single piston sliding calipers and the new q45 calipers a "dual" meaning 2 piston sliding calipers. It takes more fluid to move the caliper due to the added pistons. More fluid flow is needed in order to move the calipers the same amount as the stock 240 calipers. so, in order to solve this problem i would recommend getting a 15/16 MBC instead of using the stock 7/8 MBC that you have right now. This will give you a stiffer pedal and better brake feedback. good luck

Gotcha. See, that's what I was thinking, but I thought I read that people who did the upgrade didn't need to change BMC's...unless maybe it's personal preference as to the softness/stiffness of the pedal.

I guess it's back to using a 86 S12 BMC like I had on my old s13.

Semi-edit: I just realized that I didn't extend the adjusting rod (lodge a bar to make the brake pedal pressed or get someone to do it) before trying to adjust it. So you're saying that adjusting the rod won't help at all and I just need to upgrade/change the BMC?

I lodged an old torque wrench to push the pedal some enough to get some locking pliers around it + 7mm wrench and it adjusted with ease. I adjusted the rod out some, and the pedal feels semi-stock, but with noticeable better braking.

I'll eventually upgrade the BMC (probably when I go FI)

my pedal was a little soft until i bedded in my pads, can't hurt to try that.