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What reasons could cause my brakes to lock up so easy?

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Old Feb 4, 2006 | 05:36 PM
  #1  
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What reasons could cause my brakes to lock up so easy?

I donot know why ,but my breaks lock up sofa king easy!......i am scared to drive in the rain. i do not have abs and i know that they will lock up but this is getting alittle rediculous.....if i ever slamm on breaks just even semi hard they lock up....what could be causing this?

i replaced rotors and pads....
Old Feb 4, 2006 | 05:43 PM
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A less organic pad compound will not be as grabby. Try a Ceramic pad.
Old Feb 4, 2006 | 05:44 PM
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hey, i had a 96 max that didnt have abs with 1/2 of brake fluid in the reservoir. Once i filled to the full mark, it was alot easier for me to lock up the front wheels and this is tested on dry pavement.

So i guess to make your breaks more difficult to lock up, just take some brake fluid out. You ll still be able to lock up your brakes tho if you pressed pedal down further.
Old Feb 4, 2006 | 06:01 PM
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From: Elmhurst, IL
Originally Posted by ManualMaxima
I donot know why ,but my breaks lock up sofa king easy!......i am scared to drive in the rain. i do not have abs and i know that they will lock up but this is getting alittle rediculous.....if i ever slamm on breaks just even semi hard they lock up....what could be causing this?

i replaced rotors and pads....
Tires... what are you using? (size, brand, model, age).
Old Feb 4, 2006 | 06:09 PM
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I wish i could get mine to lock up easilly. Mine you have to mash them to make them stop...
Old Feb 4, 2006 | 06:48 PM
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Originally Posted by njmodi
Tires... what are you using? (size, brand, model, age).
i am using Bf goodrich g-force 235/35/19....abut 4000 miles on them. it still locked up easy with my old tires that i has so i do not think it is the tires
Old Feb 4, 2006 | 07:17 PM
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Hello:

I am guessing that is your car in the signature, given your description of the 19 inch wheels.

You have your car dropped quite a bit, and I will venture to say that your excessive brake lock-up issues are in-part due to your suspension setup.

From my own personal experience on the Maxima (and it would be true with any car), having a very stiff front end suspension simply increases the dynamic loading of the tires under hard braking.

For example; it would take less g's of deceleration to overload the tires with a very stiff setup vs. a car with a more forgiving suspension.

This concept is how suspension tuners balance out understeer or oversteer on a car. To reduce understeer, a suspension tuner will stiffen the rear suspension to increase the loading on the rear tires and take some of the loading off the front tires.

Now you might be thinking -- the car weighs about the same no matter what suspension you have on it. Yes, STATICALLY, that is true. But all forms of handling (braking, accleration, cornering) are DYNAMIC events.

Think of it this way. When weight transfers to a corner of the car, something has to give. If the suspension does not yield, then the tires have to yield. If the tire has to yield too much, that means the sidewall is compressing a lot. A lot of sidewall compression will reduce the contact patch of the tire tread and leads to reduced traction -- or tire lockup. Here is an easy way to think about it -- When you have an underinflated tire, the sidewall looks compressed and you get heavy wear at the edges because the center of the tread isn't contacting the ground with much force. Same concept applies when you overload a tire with an overly stiff suspension.

That is my humble two-cents-worth...

Take care...
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