Any "fix" for the squishy brakes?

Zaph

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Lots of people have mushy legs, shoes, and feelings.
Most of us are well aware of the several components that comprise brake feel.

Initial travel before resistance
Travel from 0 to full resistance
Fade, firming, softening and other consistency issues

We call the Ranger brakes mushy but a lot of us could define it in more precise terms if needed. This isn't a "people are different" situation. We want the initial travel reduced and we want the travel to full compression reduced. And I'm not just saying that because I've been spoiled by Brembo on some of my vehicles.
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SubVet

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My wife hates when I drive her Escape. The first 1 or 2 brakes nearly put her thru the windshield. I get yelled at and I do better.

Now I do it on purpose. Kind of fun to piss her off once in a while. Lol

Still happily married...go figure.
Same here. She's got everything just right in her CRV she hates when I go and change things I only drive the CR-V once a month just to make sure she don't have any issues. She only drives the truck if the CR-V is in the shop which hasn't happened in the last 6 years because we lease 3 years at a time. And the Honda is pretty Bulletproof.
 

NickTheEnforcer

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Wschnitz

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Crazy but I like that they take more travel to lock up. I swear to god every other new car I look at with my parents you breath on the pedal and the car wants to throw you into a spin it brakes so hard.

It feels a lot more like my 89 325i which was always pretty ideal on brake feel for me.
 


Msfitoy

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There's a problem with the brakes? News to me...
 

Gerder

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the fix is to go out and do a stopping distance check.
take the F350 out, 60-0, and have your sister/mother/best friend stand there, then do the same with the Ranger

then stop worrying about "squishy brakes" the proof is in the pudding so to speak.
the thing is, even if they stop as good as all others when hit in it, they are still very bad to dose the force... and that is very irritating.
english is my 3rd language, excuse my sentence constructions :crazy:
 

Gerder

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There's a problem with the brakes? News to me...
it is just they feel like u step in a pudding or so when u expect a doseable brake pedal...
 

Sashimi_Moto

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Master Cylinder to caliper piston relationship is a big component of this pedal feel.

For the pads to engage, a given amount of fluid needs to be displaced to extend the caliper pistons as well as overcome caliper flex, or any flexing in the system as a whole. A master cylinder with a narrow bore = longer stroke to move a given amount. The outcome of which is A) reduced pedal effort from your leg to stop the vehicle (good) and B) a less firm pedal in regards to “feel” because the pedals physically traveled further.

A master cylinder with a larger bore moves more fluid with less stroke and flips the outcome to the driver, all else equal: increased pedal effort but a much firmer pedal. The challenge from an engineering and design standpoint is that if we increase pedal effort for a firmer feeling by means of a larger MC then more vacuum assist or brake boost is needed and that combo can result in a brake system that while firm, can operate like an on/off switch.
The wife’s Toyota Matrix is like that compared to my Expedition. When I drive her car I almost bang my head on the steering wheel the first time I use the brakes.

Other factors not mentioned: air in lines, pad to rotor interface, brake temps and other braking assists/systems on the vehicle.
 

Toytec

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One more component of this pedal feel is the S/S system. Think of it like a 2 stage brake switch.
 

RockMagnet

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the fix is to go out and do a stopping distance check.
take the F350 out, 60-0, and have your sister/mother/best friend stand there, then do the same with the Ranger

then stop worrying about "squishy brakes" the proof is in the pudding so to speak.
Are you trying to compare a mid size truck to a 1 ton truck?
 

Jmckinley

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Are you trying to compare a mid size truck to a 1 ton truck?
Why not? They both have to meet the same stopping distance required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard #135.
 

Msfitoy

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I come from performance car world so I'm not quite getting this problem since I drive the Ranger like a truck...ie, zero late braking...but the first fix to remove soft pedal would be to replace the rubber with braided SS brake lines like these?
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My guess is that no one makes them for the new Ranger...for the reason that few people attempt to track their trucks...but you never know...Maybe Dr. Phil can chime in since he actually did...:)
 

RCMUSTANG

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That only goes so far with the pedal feel.
 

Sashimi_Moto

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I stopped using SS lines on my production race car(s). I’m convinced that any difference in pedal feel is either due to replacing the fluid with a fresh bleed, the previous lines were shot, if some other worn component in the system was also replaced (like pads). A lot more flex is taking place in the OEM floating calipers and if any longitudinal or lateral pad tapering has occurred (inevitable wear characteristic of floating calipers) that will very noticeably increase pedal stroke.

Ive had an entirely new braking system. MC, calipers, pads, rotors, and SS lines - swapped back to new oem lines and there was ZERO difference in the paddock and in race conditions. Also did the same in reverse where I swapped to SS lines with not detectable difference. Finally, I’ve had more SS lines fail on me than rubber and was very lucky it happened with a lot of runoff in front of me.
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