[ernest]

hi!

just curious; it seems the vacuum boost comes on strong a second or 2 after depressing the brake pedal; i'm used to getting linear braking response that doesn't change unless i change the pedal pressure. when i pointed it out to the Service guys, they drove mine, confirmed it, then drove 3 other S40s and said they all did that,...
has anyone else noticed this and found a way to cure it? i have to keep it in mind whenever i'm driving (this isn't my only vehicle), and it's annoying enough to make me want to get out of the car sometimes,...

i just don't like having it 'decide' to brake *harder* unless i push on the pedal harder!

at the very least, i'm already expecting that i'm going to have to be upgrading the brakes; in spite of how well the brakes on this car were reviewed, i'm rather underwhelmed by how quickly i can get brake fade in spirited mountain driving...

any suggestions?

cheers!
e

 

[zanthalon]

It seems to me that US users seem to have many more problems with their cars than users in Europe. I have had absolutely no problems with my breaks, as a matter of fact, I really like them. And I do lots of mountain driving, again with no problems.

 

[ernest]

quote:

Originally posted by zanthalon:
It seems to me that US users seem to have many more problems with their cars than users in Europe. I have had absolutely no problems with my breaks, as a matter of fact, I really like them. And I do lots of mountain driving, again with no problems.

it could just be that after having had the choice of the worlds autos here in
the US, US drivers have become picker and/or more demanding of their
autos.

i've had the pleasure of personally owning about a dozen different vehicles
(English, American, German, Swedish, & Japanese, even racing some of
them), and have had the pleasure of driving hundreds of others,... and am
disappointed with this particular aspect of the Volvo S40, which i
admittedly had higher hopes for.

i'll be looking forward to some constructive input!

cheers!
e

 

[lumpy]

ernest,
I've noticed the same thing with my V40. I can't offer any help with the vacuum boost but to me, the car feels like it need better pads.

Tim

 

[ernest]

hi tim!

you know, i'm on the way to pick mine up after it's second service right now, and i complained of this again (amongst other things) to the dealer. they claimed that everything is operating within specs and that they didn't find any codes, and made some comments i thought were funny WRT brakes; apparently they think it's normal to go through a set of pads in 7-15K miles, and claim some people (who live in the hills around here) are going through them in as little as 5K! heck i don't go through pads in my big ol' modified J**p that fast! and it definitely sees harder use than the 40,...

word from the service guys is that the organic material that Volvo chose to use is very soft, and wears quickly; seeing how fast my wheels are wasted by dust, i'm not surprised to hear that. of course the dealer can't/won't recommend anything aftermarket, (after all, Volvo knows what's 'best' for us, right?) but i'm thinking that if i'm going to keep this car i'm going to be looking at another source for pads, and maybe a higher temp fluid, drilled or slotted rotors, and SS lines, too. any comments related to the use of these from members here would be appreciated.

thanks for your reply; good luck with the wagon! (i personally think that's one of the best looking wagons in the class.)

cheers!
e

 

[lumpy]

hey Ernest,
Thanks for the comment about the wagon! Of course I agree 100%

Our cars have DOT 4 fluid. I wouldn't change it even if you are going road racing. It's great stuff.
I would pass on the slotted/drilled rotors. They look racy but only have payoff on a road course ... in-fact they can worsen street braking.
I've used braided brake lines on several cars and really like them. They firm up the pedal response quite a bit.
As for pads, EBC makes their "Green" pads for our cars. I've used Porterfield pads with great results eg. little dusting, work well on the street and on the track and are fairly gentle on rotors.

I think the weakness is with the pads. At least that's what it feels like to me. It's like the pads have to grip a bit to get hot and then they start to dig in. See if the dealer has access to european pads and if they are different from US pads.
I wont be suprised if we do go through front pads frequently. It's common with FWD cars like ours. I'll be upgrading when they wear out.

Good luck,
Tim

PS I found this on another site. Check it out.
http://www.volvospy.com/frameset.php?bn=volvospy_sv40&ubb=ubb

[This message has been edited by lumpy (edited 08-03-2001).]

 

[ajmaravilla]

I had the same problem with my S40...It was very difficult to depress on the the barkes right after starting...I went back to the dealer and they took care of it...There was some Technical Service report on the issue. I don't remember off hand at the moment, but they did replace some switch in the vacuum pump. I will get the Service Report number to you when I get home.

 

[scott m]

I am wondering if this could have something to do with the electronic brake distributon (the brakes seeming to grab more after a second or two when stopping gently). It could be that when the system decides to make the back brakes do more work that it applies too much pressure to the back and makes the braking feel less smooth. Just a thought, don't know if it is the problem or not (and indeed not certain exactly how it works, excpet there is speculation that the system is one of the reasons the rear pads wear out so fast on these cars (as the rear brakes do more work than on cars without the system)