Improving the brakes

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Sodan

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Other than fitting new brakes and skimming the discs, is there anything else I can do to improve the brakes of a vehicle? It does not have ABS/EBD and that other fancy stuff.
 
fit a parachute.

what car is this and what modifications have been done that the standard brakes no longer work efficiently
 
2007 GWM D/C (not the steed).

No modifications, the front brakes were just replaced, and the discs skimmed (just went in for a service earlier this week). The brakes were terrible before, now they're just "concerning" - I drive with a moerse following distance (most other drivers are not likely to complain given the size of my vehicle compared to their's ;) ).

But it feels dangerous. Is there anything I can do to improve the brakes?
 
Welcome to the world of sub-standard Chinese motoring. Leave the brakes - if you do manage to improve them at all, you'll probably just end up ripping the axles off the vehicle with their new-found braking power. Roll it off a cliff, claim from insurance & buy a 10-year old Hilux or Isuzu. You'll be happier and everyone else on the road will be safer.
 
Sodan said:
hmm, let's see, who's opinion would I value more when it comes to vehicles: the posters on mBB or those at the sa 4x4 forum discussing GWM?
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People unaffiliated to GWM with a number of years' experience in the motor industry, or a bunch of people needing to ease their own conscience for flushing their hard-earned money? Seems like an easy decision from my side.

In any event, the point is every single component on your GWM is sub-standard. You won't markedly improve anything without spending major money on what is, inherently, a crappily designed and built vehicle. You can try something like EBC brake pads but it's unlikely to make a big difference, as everything from the disks, the callipers & the hydraulics that power the brakes will be comparatively sucky.

Honesty stings. I know. ;)
 
See if any Isuzu brake discs and calipers fit the GWM, source from scrapyard if need be and fit them to your bakkie. (By just looking at a GWM, it looks like a carbon copy of the old Isuzu)
Can be that the master cylinder is acting up on your GWM as well. Is the problem from the beginning or just started recently?
 
enigma243 said:
People unaffiliated to GWM with a number of years' experience in the motor industry [but little to none with GWM], or a bunch of people needing to ease their own conscience for flushing their hard-earned money [and have very real experience with GWM, some of whom have put their vehicles through some pretty harsh tests]? Seems like an easy decision from my side.
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Very easy indeed.

enigma243 said:
You can try something like EBC brake pads
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Thanks, I shall make some enquiries.
 
A3@MBB said:
See if any Isuzu brake discs and calipers fit the GWM, source from scrapyard if need be and fit them to your bakkie. (By just looking at a GWM, it looks like a carbon copy of the old Isuzu)
Can be that the master cylinder is acting up on your GWM as well. Is the problem from the beginning or just started recently?
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I just got it recently, so I don't know when it started or if it's always been like that.
 
Mate, on two occasions I ended up having to use a GWM for extended periods when my company car was loaned out - once a Hover, once a Steed. I'm not stating my opinion from a position of ignorance, but from having crawled underneath and through both extensively purely because anything on 4 wheels interests me. Both were newish, having done less than 25,000km.

The sooner you make peace with the fact that the underlying engineering is poor, let alone the build and material quality, the better. Chinese cars are not the bargains of the century, they are badly built knock-offs. Whether some chap somewhere was lucky enough to coax his over a dirt track without it exploding does not influence this.

I really do hope you manage to get the brakes to a bearable standard though, as you are currently probably genuinely endangering yourself and other road users.
 
Sodan said:
Bleh, formulafriction (EBC) got back to me with a no-can-do.
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Carp.

As was suggested earlier, it might be worthwhile to investigate fitting something like Isuzu brakes. The problem will however be compounded by the fact that you've most likely got a comparatively weak hydraulic system under the bonnet as well.

I'll dig around a bit & see if I can come up with anything more useful than my earlier notion to roll it off a cliff. ;)
 
enigma243 said:
Carp.

As was suggested earlier, it might be worthwhile to investigate fitting something like Isuzu brakes. The problem will however be compounded by the fact that you've most likely got a comparatively weak hydraulic system under the bonnet as well.

I'll dig around a bit & see if I can come up with anything more useful than my earlier notion to roll it off a cliff. ;)
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Thanks. Your (useful) suggestions are much appreciated. :)
 
CARNaG3za said:
Never has a service on my car included flushing the brake system with new fluid. They would probably just top it up if it was low.
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Oh, okay. I'll ask them about doing this when I take it to have the power steering pump replaced.
 
Its called bleeding the brakes... If your brakes feel spongy and takes ages to stop it is more than likely that you have air in your brake's hydraulic system. This is not performed at a service you have to specifically ask for it to be done at a service. It should not cost that much to get it done at a service centre.
 
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