Reconditioning your brake booster - worth it?

[cyber_scriber]

I was chatting with a mate about upgrading the brakes in the VR-4 to some Evo Brembos.

He suggested that as a bang for your buck alternative, aside from better pads and fluid, consider reconditioning the VR-4's brake booster before doing any radical brake upgrades.

He suggested that this reconditioning would cost under $200 and had the folliwing to say:

"Basically what he does is apart from reconditioning your booster, he modifies the input shaft and puts in a harder reaction disk.

so say a normal booster is 1:3 (1 lb force in from your foot, equates to 3lb of force at the master cylinder) it might end up becoming 1:5.

your overall max braking force doesn't change, but it brings the power on quicker with less effort.

I ended up with a slightly firmer pedal feel.. and the feeling I got from the brakes is not unlike changing from crap pads, to performance pads. not HUGE. but significant.

i told him a few people in my car club were interested so he gave me a stack of cards, and he was happy to charge me trade price, so I would have saved maybe $20."

Any thoughts on whether this is a worthwhile thing to do to our brake boosters?

 

[bradc]

It sounds like a good idea but I must admit I've never thought of it or heard of it before.

 

[cyber_scriber]

I'd be keen to give it a try if anyone has a spare brake booster lying around so I can do a straight swap in the Galant i.e. get the spare booster reconditioned and then bring it to the mechanics for a straight swap over. Otherwise, I'll need to get the brake booster removed from my car; have my car off the road whilst the booster gets reconditioned; and then have it put back in - a PITA.

Thinking about this for a moment. If the improved brake booster will mean that I need less effort on the brake pedal for "earlier" brake activation, surely that would mean improved braking distances? For example, if you have two identical cars doing 100klm/h and the drivers in both cars press the brake pedal half way to the floor, surely the car with the better brake booster would stop sooner because more braking is brought on earlier by just pressing half way on the brake pedal? Who knows, I might just get used to the earlier brake power over time and just brake later, negating the effect of the better brake booster ... lol!

This brake booster thing sounds similar to the variable mapping that a lot of European sports cars have on the throttle. By pressing a "sports" button, it sharpens up the throttle response so that the same pedal effort on the throttle gives more/earlier throttle application.

PM me if you have a spare brake booster lying around.

 

[happymatch]

dumb question here bruce, what is a booster and where is it located at?

 

[bradc]

It is the big circular thing on the firewall in front of where the driver sits. As above, it basically multiplies the pedal effort.

 

[rooks]

Sorry to revive an old thread. Was wondering if anyone has had any experiences with rebuilding their brake booster? What kit to use and is taking the booster out a straight forward affair?
Guessing there could be savings to be had if we bring the brake booster unit to a brake shop instead of getting them to remove,recondition and reinstall the booster.

 

[Scottie]

I would just take it to a shop. Some guys have had luck fitting an EVO 5-6 booster. Could be an option?

 

[rooks]

kool i'll ring around. hopefully around $200-300 mark.

might do this test firstly...
http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/coupe/service/webtech/iindex.asp@id=12476

 

[Jonson]

The only brakebooster I've seen fail was one that was full of brakefluid! I've never seen a component fail in one.

I would be amazed big time if your brake booster is faulty, there are feck all moving parts in there. Basically a diaphragm and a spring.

What problems do ou have to suspect the booster?

 

[naughtika]

same thoughts here..

also if i need to get one rebuilt, i'll get the shops to do it for me.. dont wanna mess with anything that might end up killing me

 

[rooks]

Just the way i have to depress really hard to get any sort of bite, i dread to think if i have to do an emergency brake on the road.

New pads (ceremic), rotors machined and fluids about 15-20k km old (silver/grey castrol stuff nothing fancy).

yeah noted Chris.

 

[Scottie]

Bled your brakes lately?

 

[rooks]

Will try bleeding the fluids firstly. what do you guys use/recommend?

 

[Scottie]

I actually used a cap from my wreck and installed a car tyre valve in the top.. Set compressor to 10-15 psi and sit at the callipers with a spanner.. Worked a treat and bled the cylinder too..

Manually, get a block of wood and fit it under the brake pedal (so it stops about 1 inch from the floor. Then get someone to pump the pedal with a slow long push as you open the bleeder. Don't open the bleeder to much and tighten it up before they finish pushing the pedal all the way.

 

[Black_Ice]

Also some braided brake lines may help...

 

[naughtika]

btw, if you're wanting to get your brake booster reconditioned so your brakes would work better, think again..


do the steps listed above first before spending $$$ on this..

also if better stopping power is required, refer to better pads and rotors or bigger brakes..

and lastly.. get a bigger brake master if required

 

[rooks]

fluids <-- no preference on brand? any DOT4?
braided lines
larger rotors
better pads
bigger brake master cylinder

 

[Guest]

Will try bleeding the fluids firstly. what do you guys use/recommend?

Air boy + Compressor

http://www.justtools.com.au/prod3559.htm

 

[rooks]

Sorry i should have rephrased my question. I was asking on the brand of brake fluids to use currently just using the generic dot4 castrol ones...silver/greyish bottles.

 

[Guest]

In that case, I've been using the Castrol Super Dot 4.

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/on...Super-Dot-4-500mL.aspx?pid=100251#Description