New wheels = no brakes?

[Auf los!]

Some more details:

Brake fluid is topped up. I flushed and changed to ATE Super Blue LAST spring. No brake problem for about 14 months.

I've got at least 1/4" of pad material (on the outboard pads, anyway). Do the inboard pads wear any faster than the outboard? I would think not.

Never seen any kind of brake-related warning light...I believe I have two, right? One light that would warn me of low brake fluid and one for low pad material?

I went from 17" Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus, which were excellent in every way, run from last fall, all winter, until just a few weeks ago. The new 19s are Michelin Pilot Super Sports, which, jeez, should INCREASE my braking power.

It really seems to me that this braking problem did not appear until AFTER I had more than 500 careful miles on the Super Sports, which is nuts!

Being brand-new wheels, with a lot of spokes, I have been cleaning them excessively with a LOT of dilute Simple Green and water. But jeez, I would think any slipperyness from residual Simple Green would be gone after one or two applications of the brakes.

Just before this problem arose, it is true that I did slather Black Magic Tire Wet dressing on the sidewalls, and the design of the Super Sports is such that they have VERY rounded "shoulders," and yeah, I did get some of this stuff on the first inch or so of the outboard shoulders, but...I have driven through a lot of rain since then, and it is hard to believe that the dressing is affecting the contact patch.

I dunno, it's weird. I step on the brakes and it's like nothing happens for a second or two. Then they start to grab. And the grab seems muted, only about half of what I am used to. It's like my pads are "glazed"?

I have to do something about this, though, because I commute on the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut (my own private Nurburgring when I am traveling in the opposite direction of the rush-hour jam), and it is common to go around a curve and suddenly come upon a sea of brakelights from stopped traffic. (This is literally a recurring nightmare I have, ha!) If I am lucky I have 50yds in which to go from 85mph to zero!

[thstone]

Originally Posted by Auf los!

... Do the inboard pads wear any faster than the outboard? I would think not.

Yes, the inboard pads can wear differently than the outboard pads (or vice-versa). In a perfect world they should be expected to wear the same but sometimes the world isn't perfect.

You can easily check the outboard and inboard pad thickness without removing the wheels by using a small mirror and a flashlight.

[woodsman]

I'm just finishing a brake job on my car and found the pads were within about .010 inch end to end and inner to outer-I was amazed since I'm used to single piston designs which typically have a much wider tolerance.

[Auf los!]

Some great ideas here, thanks, guys.

The CH-Rs were not outrageously priced, at least, compared to the cost of fully-forged BBS wheels like the LM or LM-R. My budget just wouldn't stretch that far. They have the advantage of taking OEM center caps, having a replaceable stainless rim protector, and of course, are BBS-quality. I like them a lot, although I would have gone for 18s instead of 19s if they were available.

[stephen wilson]

What size wheels and tires? The tires really look stretched on the rim.

[The Radium King]

yeah - mebbe mark the rim and tire and see if it's spinning on the rim?

[Auf los!]

Firstly, to answer the last couple of questions, the sizes are:

19x8.5 with 225/35R19
19x10 with 265/30R19

The tire sizes were the Tire Rack's recommendations, and the overall diameter is very close to the 17" overall diameter, so no speedo error, not that my speedo was that accurate to begin with...

And if the tires were slipping on the rims, I would think I'd be losing lots of air, and that's not the case. The Super Sports are funny-looking tires, with those rounded shoulders, I think that's what you are seeing.

I say my braking crisis is a false alarm, because I think the problem was ME. Or something boneheaded I did, anyway. I recently installed the 996 aluminum pedals, and to do this I hadda shove the seat way back. When I was finished with the job, I didn't bring the seat forward far enough, AND I also lowered the seat height. This changed my orientation to the brake pedal, and I just wasn't able to apply the same force I've been used to. Today I brought the seat forward where it should be, and whaddya know, my brakes seem to be back! I feel so stoopid about this.

But not as stupid as what ELSE I did today, which is rub one of my beautiful month-old CH-Rs against a Belgian block curb. Curse those Belgians! The stainless rim protector did it's job, and the wheel itself only took a tiny hit, but the protector is toast, in the way only stainless steel can irretrievably bend.

Now I hafta find out how to get a new protector on there. The Tire Rack told me that I could NOT buy extra protectors, since only BBS in Georgia would be able to mount a new one, but c'mon, it is just a metal ring clipped on and backed with foam tape. Shirley, they can't be serious. I guess I'm gonna find out.

If someone knows of a source for the ring (protector), please let me know.

And thanks so much for all your suggestions. If I manage to unconvince myself that the problem was just that my leg was having to stretch for the pedal, I will be following-up on them.