Brake Judder

[ggrum]

Ever since I've owned my Cabrio I occasionally get brake judder felt through the wheel when the pedal is pressed lightly but goes as you press harder. All the discs are within limits for the specified run-out. Mintex GTech racing pads have been on the car since I have had it and are presumably designed for heavy braking during racing or competition. Ive also noticed that hardly any brake dust is generated making me think they are probably too hard. I'm thinking of replacing them with standard pads but wondered if anyone had any similar experience, thoughts or ideas.
Geoff

[Mike]

Re: Brake Judder

Hi Geoff
I had several Sierras as company cars, doing 35,000 miles pa, and often had brake judder. The result was always the same - a new set of brake discs all round. They were horrible things, and were regarded as a service item.
The discs were designed to wear against the new asbestos-less pads.
Try a different set of discs.

Race pads are inappropriate for Road use - they are designed to operate hot, which yours will not achieve, so will actually be much less efficient than a standard Road set.
Regards
Mike

[ggrum]

Re: Brake Judder

Hi Mike, thanks for the response. The discs on my car are grooved and look in good condition although I realise that may not mean they are. I don't know if they were standard on the Sierra, maybe they were on the higher spec ones. I agree entirely about the brake pads and I've been thinking of changing them for a while. I think what I might do is change the front pads for standard road ones, allow them to bed in and see if I get an improvement. If not, I'll do as you suggest and change the discs recognising that I may need to change the pads again as well.
Regards
Geoff

[chris_cussen]

Re: Brake Judder

Standard Sierra discs are cheap as chips, and the pads not expensive either. Try changing them both. I run the standard setup and can lock up the front wheels if I try hard. Anything above the starndard Sierria configuration in my opinion is overkill unless you are racing.

[ggrum]

Re: Brake Judder

Finally got round to replacing the Mintex racing front brake pads with standard pads. So far no sign of judder and the braking performance under normal driving conditions seems unaffected. Obviously, if I start driving like a hooligan I might notice a difference but that's not likely to happen air my age!!