HEL Brake line and DBA T3 rotor upgrade

[suhua4]

Has anyone done HEL brake lines in Brisbane area? I was interested to see how difference you get from the braking.

I just had HEL and DBA T3 front rotor fitted by my friend (a mechanic) and he's done bleeding twice to make sure no air in. After fitting it feels a little less spongy but the pedal is still quite soft and I only feel it has proper braking from 1/3 or half way down. Although after half way down it does brake all the way without any fuss, still the soft pedal feeling doesn't give me too much confidence. I have talked to my friend and he does feel the same (soft braking) but he did the second bleeding after test drive and it didn't make any different.

Definitely not the sharp or more responsive braking feel I expected..........



BTW: next time I'd better check with my insurance before putting anything on. RACQ told me it could contribute to an extra of $200 excess if any brake component has been modified. I explained to her I made the car safer by upgrading the brake she said that's what's been setup in the system can't do anything about it.

Also I almost had a problem with Scott's 3" exhaust as she thought I was fitting them to increase power. How much bloody power can a single exhaust upgrade make? Extra power is exactly what the 2 tone vehicle with 130-ish kw needs!!!

[Cowboy Dave]

Did your mate bleed the brakes in the correct order set out in the workshop manual?

I had a mobile mechanic bleed my brakes but because he used the wrong order I ended up having to take it to another place to get done properly. After that I learned how to do it myself to avoid similar issues in future.

[coughy]

yes abs can be a real SNOTT if not done correctly

[suhua4]

Did your mate bleed the brakes in the correct order set out in the workshop manual?

I had a mobile mechanic bleed my brakes but because he used the wrong order I ended up having to take it to another place to get done properly. After that I learned how to do it myself to avoid similar issues in future.

Hi Dave, do you know the list of steps I will check with my friend. thanks

[snappyrow]

I didn't notice much difference under normal braking when I changed to braided lines. Hard braking did feel better. Upgraded rotors & pads made a fantastic difference but then the originals were also shot.

By far the best thing I can do for everyday brake performance is make sure the rear drums are properly adjusted. I'd be checking them to make sure they're doing their fair share.

[ag9111]

Had HEL lines installed on mine. No real difference day to day. certainly not worse.

[adrianp]

I didn't notice much difference under normal braking when I changed to braided lines. Hard braking did feel better. Upgraded rotors & pads made a fantastic difference but then the originals were also shot.

I have fitted DBA T3 survival rotors and Bendix HD pads, no real difference, except in the wet.

By far the best thing I can do for everyday brake performance is make sure the rear drums are properly adjusted. I'd be checking them to make sure they're doing their fair share.

+1, too much slack in rear brakes

[suhua4]

I didn't notice much difference under normal braking when I changed to braided lines. Hard braking did feel better. Upgraded rotors & pads made a fantastic difference but then the originals were also shot.

By far the best thing I can do for everyday brake performance is make sure the rear drums are properly adjusted. I'd be checking them to make sure they're doing their fair share.

Thanks mate, do you reckon it will be checked out by dealer on schedule service or I better check it out myself? The car is still under warranty though so I'd still go back to dealer for the service.

[snappyrow]

Yes they should do it... That being said, its pretty easy to do yourself and I find that 15000km is too long to go without adjustment. I find that about every 5000km is required.

This thread has heaps of info on the rear drums including the adjuster mechanism.
viewtopic.php?f=40&t=14111
I wind them up till tight and then back them off a few clicks.

[skilbys]

Just had the same rotors installed as well as new shoes on the rear drums - they were shot!
No real difference in brake feel. Best upgrade was the braided lines which I did a while back, removes a
Lot of the sponginess, still a pretty ordinary brakeing system all round though!

[Sootie]

I didn't notice much difference under normal braking when I changed to braided lines. Hard braking did feel better. Upgraded rotors & pads made a fantastic difference but then the originals were also shot.

I have fitted DBA T3 survival rotors and Bendix HD pads, no real difference, except in the wet.

By far the best thing I can do for everyday brake performance is make sure the rear drums are properly adjusted. I'd be checking them to make sure they're doing their fair share.

+1, too much slack in rear brakes

Yep, filled my drums with mud (then emptied them) over the weekend and wore heaps of them off so I have to use half pedal now and my handbrake goes all the way up, just need to adjust

[GLRkenny]

How far does your handbrake go up? If it's a long way it's a good sign that the rears need adjusting. All too often people come into my brake shop and the shoes are so under adjusted its not even funny.
New brake pads require at least 1000km worth of driving to bed in properly regardless of what is says on the box. For the next 1000 km make sure you are forceful with the brake pedal (not harsh like a race at driver but heavier than usual) to bed them in properly.
As for the bleeding process yes it should be done in a particular pattern but as long as there is no air it shouldn't make too much difference.

[GLRkenny]

Just re read your OP and it doesn't actually say that you put new pads in
If you didn't I'd take a punt and say that's 90% of the issue

[suhua4]

Just re read your OP and it doesn't actually say that you put new pads in
If you didn't I'd take a punt and say that's 90% of the issue

The handbrake is only about 15cm from the very bottom of the handbrake well. Looks like where it should be. I didn;t change the front pad as the car only done 35k ish. I presume they are still good enough otherwise my friend will let me know. Only a few thousand kms since last service, car wasn't driving too much as it was left to fit the mods. 70% of the driving was on highway. Do you mean I need to upgrade the front pads (not even a brand new stock pad) to make a difference?

From few others comments it looks like that's what it supposed to be and I have to live with it.....

[Cowboy Dave]

They can still be stock pads but it is good practice to get new pads when changing discs. 35,000 kms is still what 2 years or more of driving? Better to replace them than not.

With the handbrake how many 'clicks' does it take to reach a point where it will hold the car on a hill?

From memory it should only be 2 or 3 if it's tight enough.

[GLRkenny]

I would almost never re use pads on new discs, we see it here all the time (I own a brake shop) the discs are flat, the pads are not (we normally have it the other way around when people just want pads and nothing done with the discs) so you are effectively reducing the amount of braking efficiency because not 100% of the surface area is contacting, at the very least remove the pads and rub the surfaces back on some concrete to make them clean and flat, rub in figure 8 motion until all the glazed surface is gone and see how that goes, as for the handbrake you want it to only go up 5-6 clicks, 15cm sounds like alot

[suhua4]

Just changed a set of new Bendix heavy duty this morning. You are right it IS completely different. I am not talking about vast improvement in braking power, but the light pedal feel is back to normal. Overall a little improvement over the stock brakes, but not as significantly as the shock/strut & exhaust upgrades. My similarly weighted and heavily loaded T5 Transporter van still brakes better, but at least make me feel safer.

[GLRkenny]

The transporter will always brake harder, it's euro, they have great braking power but eat discs faster than pads.
Glad it's sorted

[RHKTriton]

The whole braided lines is bit of a take.

Normal brake hoses are designed and constructed to deliver the hydraulic effort to the pistons.

Most people probably find an improvement after the fitting of braided lines as a result of new fluid and bleeding.

My brakes were better than new after a fluid change.

The VW T4 I had had great breaks too. The biggest problem was the break dust.

[RHKTriton]

The whole braided lines is bit of a take.

Normal brake hoses are designed and constructed to deliver the hydraulic effort to the pistons.

Most people probably find an improvement after the fitting of braided lines as a result of new fluid and bleeding.

My brakes were better than new after a fluid change.

The VW T4 I had had great breaks too. The biggest problem was the break dust.

[motoz]

The whole braided lines is bit of a take.

Normal brake hoses are designed and constructed to deliver the hydraulic effort to the pistons.

Most people probably find an improvement after the fitting of braided lines as a result of new fluid and bleeding.

My brakes were better than new after a fluid change.

The VW T4 I had had great breaks too. The biggest problem was the break dust.

You can say that again...

I do agree to a certain extent about the lines.

Braided lines do give a more positive feel if the standard ones are ballooning. As these vehicles are relatively new so there wouldn't be a great deal of degradation of the standard lines.

[ultimate]

The difference braided lines has made to some Tritons (particularly ML's like Snowman's) has been massive. I don't know if it's because of the length or quality of the factory lines, but I have always found it to be beneficial fitting them on a Triton. Other vehicles we work on like Hiluxs, Landcruiser and Navaras don't really gain anything from the braided lines unless the factory ones are damaged.

[mattz]

I found the braided lines made quite a difference to the braking ability to my ML.
I wonder if Mitsubishi changed anything from the ml to the mn, like hose manufactures or wall thickness.

[al coholic]

I found the braided lines made quite a difference to the braking ability to my ML.

x2

[schlarpa]

Braided brake lines have made a tremendous difference to my MN.