Ever since the hot cam install my brakes have really been awfull. We bled them real good and am positive there is no air in the lines. What happens is at low speeds/rpm i have to literally hold the pedal as hard as possible to slow down and to keep from rolling forward at stoplights. Sometimes it will want to chug forward too. If i try to do a standing burnout, no way, the brakes won't even come close to holding it. I even have ls1 brakes and they worked marvelously on the v6 so i don't what the deal is. Any suggestions?

On another note, i did change my pedal assembly for the auto, could the pedal throw be different than a manual setup?

 

There are 2 distances you are concerned with as far as a brake pedal is concerned. The distance from the pivot point to the master cylinder hook up and the distance from the end of the pedal (where the pad is) to the first connection. See if the last one (pedal to first hook up) is different. If it is shorter, you will have some problem.

You could also have some problem with vacuum as you mentioned. It's easy to measure what your vac level is. Check it.

Third, how well did you match the torque level of the cam with the converter your using. My quess is you didn't even give the converter a second thought. As the intake lobe duration increases, so to should the converter stall speed increase. My guess is your converter is giving you more fits than anything.

Give the tech guys an email at Summit and give them the cam specs and see what they recommend

 

I am still running the stock converter. I will look into the pedal differences as well.

How can i check my engine vacuum and what is a proper vacuum pressure? If it is low, what could the cause be?

thanks for the help

 

Kevin, you may need to buy a vacuum reservoir. Summit has it. You may have lost vacuum after you've installed your cam, that's a common problem, knowing that you put that engine on your V6 it may not be getting enough vacuum as it may if it was a V8 originally. I've gone through 2-3 cams and haven't had vacuum problems, but again, I haven't really gone that radical....yet!

 

Good point Goose! I am still using the v6 brake booster. Perhaps this could be the whole problem? Anybody know if the V6 and V8 brake boosters are different or have different part numbers?

 

hmmm
doesn't vacuum make it easier to brake- not harder?

hence a lack of vacuume = stiffer brakes, not softer

 

The boosters on ALL 1993-2002 f-bodies are the same p/n. Most people don't loose enough vacuum with Hot cam to have problems (at least not that I have read).

I would check that you did not change the rod length as badass383 suggested.

 

off topic-
but are u coming to cedar point? i thought i saw your name on the list

 

That eliminates that possibility.

So in the case that it is the changed rod length, what can be done to fix my problem? Different master cylinder perhaps? I am kinda clueless now.

 

Me? Unfortunately no. I am going to make it to that park some day to ride the coasters!

 

Measure the 2 pedals and compare them for differences. The obvious fix if different is to put the correct one back in. If that can't be done, modify the existing one.

You measure vacuum at any port on the intake with the proper gauge and a general rule of thumb is at least 17 inches of vacuum is needed.

You really should understand the relationship between cam lift, vacuum, duration of the cam, torque level and stall speed. Your problem sounds exactly like the things we used to see in the late 70's when friends would build up engines and use their old converter. I would do a lot of studying before changing anything. And check, check, and recheck things first.

On a side note, zhevy-1, you left out the cup holders in your signature.

see ya

 

I will check everything out when i get home. I am kinda concerned about this pedal thing. Do the A4-M6 swappers have any such problems? I am prolly one of the few that has gone from a m5 to a4 so can't really ask anyone i know of. i suppose i could put the 5 speed pedal assembly back in but that would be dumb as far as function and looks go. Hmmmmm

 

The pedal is not the problem. If you got the pedals from an auto to put in the original manual vehicle, there is no difference. Brake function does not change. There is a good article in the fall 2001 Camaro Performers magazine about changing from manual to automatic. The writers got the pedals from a junkyard.

You need to focus other causes. Good luck

 

After doing a lot of thinking about what you have said i figured out i may have overlooked something. When we did the engine swap the brake lines from the front and 1 from the rear werer disconnected from the abs unit and then reinstalled with the new motor. When we bled the brakes we did it only from the brakes themselves. Is there a procedure to bleed the abs unit? I think this could be the culprit. Thanks for all this help!

Kevin