so whats the reason? the brakes on my 79 TA dont even suck that bad in the rain. its such a night and day difference between rain and dry weather. so whats really going on? are the rotors and pads getting drenched? thats what im assuming. any ways to fix it other than doing a LS1 brake up grade or after market system up grade? thanks Trey

 

my brakes are absolutely awesome in the rain and on wet surfaces... There's nothing special about them either they're just stock. Are they locking up at all? Is the pedal too hard or too soft? Maybe its tires....obviously if your tires aren't up to par then you're gonna have problems. Good Luck, be more descriptive and maybe you'll get better responses.

 

eagle F1 tires, stock rotors and replacement pads. the car is just harder to stop. you have to press the pedal so much more compared to dry weather. this is a common problem thats associated with the LT1 cars. vettes and impalas too. so its not just my car. thanks. Trey

 

Maybe moisture somehow affects the ABS system in some cases. I usually hit the pedal once then press it again to alleviate the problem, if it arises. I'd like to hear a proven explanation of this problem too, if anyone has one. I mentioned ABS, because my Dad's old '90 F-150 would become ultra sensitve and the rear brakes would grab terribly in the rain. The brakes on our cars get dull and unresponsive at times, I've heard.

That's all the explanation I can offer, and since you don't use ABS on light braking, it may not be a good reason for the problem.

 

I have the same problem with my 96. In a heavy downpour, I might as well open the door and drag my feet. It' s awful!! I haven't changed brakes yet, so I have no clue whats what with the brakes. I about blew a RED light the other night because of this problem. I do have Power Slot rotors coming in the mail, sometime, hopefully this will be my cure. If it is, I'll let you guys know.

 

Guys the ABS system used on the f-bodies is a budget system from Delphi or Bosch, not a whole lot went into it and quite frankly its a POS when compared to other cars like the Vette and GM's higher end products.

I would either get rid of it entirely, or find a way to reprogram it.

 

like I asked before, is the pedal mushy or hard? I know you're saying that you have to "push it so much more" but this could mean pressure or distance. Do they lock up if you mash them or operate the correct way (i.e. ABS prevents lock-up)?

 

It's got nothing to do with the ABS system. F-body brakes do suck in the rain. Mine isn't driven much in the rain, or I would have looked into this more thoroughly. But I am pretty sure it's the pads, as the basic brake system design is pretty standard. Most likely a pad change to a better pad would fix the problem. Hopefully, someone who has done it will chime in.

Rich Krause

 

my brakes kick a$$ u need to get ur rotors cut that the problem and or replace em i did that 2 time but now i have slotted rotors and they are twice as go they stop even faster now but u what to stay away from the cross drilled with the holes they are bad your rotors with go so fast its like throwing money out the window cause the drilled one will crack and they just back so get new brakes and SLOTTED ROTORS well at least in the front get the slotted rotors i have just a stock rotor in the rear and all new brakes just my 02 cents

 

Wow my brain just went into meltdown mode from reading that, you may want to take a step back and read your reply before you hit "Submit Reply". But he is totally right, I have whatever the expensive pads from Autozone are but I still have stock type (new) rotors. They work great, your system may just need to be serviced.

 

sorry your right i type really fast to reply and don't read what i write but thats only cause im rushing to read other posts.
i need to stop doing that cause i sound like a 10 year old

 

Its all good man, it woke me up this morning, lol. Required my full attention to decipher that code.

 

I also would like to know why the LT1 brakes suck so bad in the rain. It's like the brake has to be pressed much harder to get any braking at all. In the dry a hard quick stab can cause the wheel to lock up and the ABS to engage. In the wet it's almost impossible to get enough braking to engage the ABS. The only way to get decent braking is to drag the brakes first. I guess this heats and dries them, then you get brakes. If you ask me this is dangerous. Since many others complain of this I assume it is a platform problem. My car did this stock and with after-market pads. I now have LS1 front brakes and no more problems.

By the way the LS1 brakes are better in every way, wet or dry. I sould have done this mod a long time ago.

JeffA

 

If its not the ABS system then why does it engage just about everytime I stop in the rain... granted I don't have the grippiest front tires, but I've almost hit several people because it took pressure off the breaking system and allows it to coast 5 feet or so before engaging again, the ABS system in our cars, the same ones they use in the GM truck lineup is not very good.

So in my case, my problems are attributed to the inadequacy of the stock ABS system, there's nothing wrong with the braking system in general and its fairly adequate for non-performance usage.

 

I don't think it's the ABS system in my case. The brakes suck so bad in the wet that locking up the wheels rarely happen. As such the ABS system never even engages. My car has good tires and are larger than stock (275/40/17). They have good grip and it takes a lot to lock them up. However, even with the stock wheels and tires the same was true. The ABS system may well suck but without the brake force to engage the system, it isn't the main issue, at least for me. Larnach, perhaps your brakes work better than mine did and/or you need better tires?

JeffA