www.integralingham.com/brake-fade

Brake fade

Late last year our John had an incident of brake fade in his Evo1. He had to take an escape road,

not being able to slow down enough to take the Alpine curve.

After some spirited driving the Evo just wouldn't slow down. So before he goes out again this year,

we had to fix the problem.

The Evo's discs were good, and the pads were as new. However, the pads were purchased on the internet,

and were of an unfamiliar Italian sounding brand.

So I ordered some proper Brembo pads from AECar, the old pads lacked the central venting gap of the Brembos.

John suggested we change the brake fluid also, we are often reminded that DOT4 non silicone brake fluid absorbs water, this water content lowers the boiling point of the fluid, thus contaminated brake fluid heated by hard brake use will boil and lose its hydraulic qualities. New DOT4 fluid's boiling point is 230oC, contaminated by water

this boiling point reduces to 155oC.

I jacked the car up and supported it carefully in

each corner, I removed all 4 wheels, then lifted and supported the rear hubs to allow the brake compensator to open up a bit.

I removed the front brake calipers, see vid below, you don't need to do this when changing the Brembo caliper pads, but I wanted to check the pistons were free and have a look at the calipers. I replaced the pads with the Brembos.

Then, starting at the furthest caliper away from the master cylinder, I pushed a rubber tube on the brake nipple and put the other end into some brake fluid in a bottle.

After opening the bonnet I put my new bottle of DOT4 fluid on the heater intake, and removed the top of the reservoir. Inside the car I started the engine and pumped the brake pedal, occasionally checking and topping up the fluid. I repeated this on all 4 calipers.

I kept pouring some fluid out of the catching bottle and topping up the reservoir with fresh fluid until most of the 1ltr new DOT4 was used, I figured the system would be well flushed out by now.

video

I ran the car in 1st gear while it was up on the stands, and lightly applied the brakes.

I could then check if all the calipers were working as the winter's rust was rubbed off. They were all working well, and the pedal did feel more solid.

The Evo isn't taxed or MOTd yet, so I couldn't test it properly, but the pedal was right at the top, and

did feel firmer.

I'll report back after the car's first summer drive.

I will just say that a lot of replacement components are made in China now, and the brake shoe's Italian name kidded me, those old pads could have been

made of anything!

Our Evo passed its MOT without any problems,

this is a great, very original Delta, underneath is

sound and rust free, and the paintwork

is mostly original.

I took it for a ride to Arnside, this is a quiet little

estuary-side town with challenging approach roads,

and a good blast possible on the M6 back home again.

I'm glad to say the brakes were top class, the pedal firm and high, with the new shoes bedding in nicely and giving reassuring stopping power. For some reason, this car has always had a perfect power steering feel, so with the fresh brakes, the car was a joy to drive!