Brakes- how good are yours?

[petethefeet]

Hi all,
I had the van MOTed today and I was given the brake test details.
This is my first T25 that we have owned for approx 5 years, the drums shoes, pads and discs and flexi hoses are all new in the last 5000 miles so it should be good to stop.
As I have never driven another T25 I have no point of reference to as wether the stopping is good or bad.
So below are the brake force (kgf) figures
Front left 306
Front right 376
Rear left 317
Rear right 362

Handbrake left 234, right 219

With a main brake eff of 68%

Wheel drag figures are 11 for each wheel

How does this compare with other standard vans?.

[kevtherev]

The brakes are designed to stop 2.5 tonnes.
They are tested by our MOT to see if they still can.
Clearly they can.

The fluid should be changed every two years along with the coolant.
Periodic maintenance of the caliper includes cleaning out the bores and behind the seal as crud builds up if fluid changes where ignored by PO's

[Mocki]

im not a mot man, but those figures look about the same as mine from the mot last week.... well above the fail figures on my mans fancy machinary apparently

[petethefeet]

Kev - The fluid has been replaced twice in the last 5 years when the hoses were changed. The brakes clearly are OK as far as the MOT test is concerned; what I was looking for was a conformation that they are as good as VW intended or I should be looking to get them better within the limits of the standard braking system as I don't know what a 'good' set of brakes feel/stops like as the only comparison I have is a newish modern design car with ventilated discs and ABS which will stop very quickly if needed.

[what2do]

Kev - The fluid has been replaced twice in the last 5 years when the hoses were changed. The brakes clearly are OK as far as the MOT test is concerned; what I was looking for was a conformation that they are as good as VW intended or I should be looking to get them better within the limits of the standard braking system as I don't know what a 'good' set of brakes feel/stops like as the only comparison I have is a newish modern design car with ventilated discs and ABS which will stop very quickly if needed.

But fo you drive both your van and car in the same manner? I'm guessing not, therefore your brakes are probably matched to the job that they're asked to do.

[kevtherev]

Kev - The fluid has been replaced twice in the last 5 years when the hoses were changed. The brakes clearly are OK as far as the MOT test is concerned; what I was looking for was a conformation that they are as good as VW intended or I should be looking to get them better within the limits of the standard braking system as I don't know what a 'good' set of brakes feel/stops like as the only comparison I have is a newish modern design car with ventilated discs and ABS which will stop very quickly if needed.

As you have practically restored all the components to a new state I doubt very much you could improve the efficiency noticeably any more without starting to modernise the components.
By far the biggest contributor to poor stopping distances are cheap tyres., as you're probably aware these tyres are crap, often doubling distances.
So really the MOT tests the efficiency.. the ability to stop well, relies on the tyre.

[bigherb]

Kev - The fluid has been replaced twice in the last 5 years when the hoses were changed. The brakes clearly are OK as far as the MOT test is concerned; what I was looking for was a conformation that they are as good as VW intended or I should be looking to get them better within the limits of the standard braking system as I don't know what a 'good' set of brakes feel/stops like as the only comparison I have is a newish modern design car with ventilated discs and ABS which will stop very quickly if needed.

Ultimately braking depends on how good your tyres are, having the best brakes in the world is no good if you are running on cheap rubber.

[petethefeet]

Thanks all for your input.
Re. driving style.its a 70HP, 2 tonne+ van with poor fuel economy so it is 'gentle '
The tyres are a set of Goodyear commercial tyres, all with good even tread.
I have probably got them as good as they will get short of throwing lots of money at it with upgrades.

[boatbuilder]

My 1984 tintop with 1.9d engine.
Standard brakes with the early ATE square pads on the front... most things renewed on the brakes...
With BMW booster.
Interesting that even with the bigger booster the brakes aren't "better", just a lighter pedal...

Front axle nearside 320kgf
Front axle offside 311kgf
Rear axle nearside 255kgf
Rear axle offside 283kgf
Parking brake nearside 182kgf
Parking brake offside 174kgf
Brake effort 75%



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[petethefeet]

Hi Boatbuilder,
Thanks for the info, it makes me feel a bit better that the figures are compatible.
The lighter pedal is probably the most relevant bit, when comparing to modern brakes. if you normally drive a 'modern' car with good brakes your brain is use to the amount of force used to stop in the required distance; get in an old van and it takes a while to re calibrate.

Pete

[randolph57]

Just had my MOT done with these results FWIW :-
Brake force f left-361
Brake force f right-250

Brake force R left-390
Brake force R right-279

Hand brake L-231
Hand brake R-259

Efficiency 59%

Think i need to look at the front right especially as it was a new caliper a short while ago! Brakes in a straight line though!