any info on the brake fault yet ?

i'm getting impatient waiting for news , especially as i've got the 312s fitted

Nope - basically I have no reason to suspect the 312s are involved in this at this point, I've had flawless operation from them for 60k miles

Hopefully I can get hold of the PC that dealt with the case tomorrow and find out if they found anything - I've been so busy with other stuff today that I have to get done before I go on holiday, it's hard to fit it all in

look forward to hearing on any news on this.

Ah the "midas" touch If the insurance company are picking up the tab, you may have a case for an "equivalent" car to your own - Enterprise charge about 20 quid a day for a Focus-size car I think and about

Glad to hear you're OK.

It sounds to me like the vacuum pump for the brake servo failed, you get a normal pedal feel but no help from the servo, hence much reduced braking power. It might be worth getting the pump looked at.

Will do assuming the car gets repaired. Why would that fail so suddenly though?

Will do assuming the car gets repaired. Why would that fail so suddenly though?

I suppose it could fail at any time really, if it has failed. Your car has got a relatively high mileage and an enthusiastic driver

The only reason I mention is that we've had 3 go on the works fleet, they were all Peugeot diesels, but most diesel cars need them due to a lack of vacuum in the inlet manifold compared to a petrol engine.

Hmm thanks for that - will mention that to the repairers for sure.

Usually, if the vacuum pump fails the pedal feels "hard" and doesn't go down as far as usual.

Usually, if the vacuum pump fails the pedal feels "hard" and doesn't go down as far as usual.

If you really hoof the brake pedal in an "OH MY GOD!" moment though, the brakes do actually work... Well, they did in my case....

I had a servo failure in a 1.6 Cavalier around 1988 ish. Not an experience I wish to repeat. It failed when I hit the brake pedal to avoid a transit van in a lane. The pedal thumped back up into my foot, so I ended up braced against the pedal and the seat, pulling back on the steering wheel, grimacing and shouting "STOP" amongst other words. I'd got used to cadence braking as no ABS in those days. I wouldn't like to consider whether my reactions would be up to the job these days.

J.

Usually, if the vacuum pump fails the pedal feels "hard" and doesn't go down as far as usual.

i agree with that , total loss of pedal pressure points to excess fluid loss , caused by a leak somewhere ,but if it was on one circuit of the brake system the other should still have worked to a degree

or brake master cylinder failure

or a friction material failure , i've had the complete friction surface come off the pad backing after some enthusiastic track day driving ,

or a wheel bearing failure to the degree that pad knock off would take more than one complete pedal stroke to get the pads to contact the disc

but all this is speculation until the police examination and findings are known

Tried to get hold of them again - no luck :(

... and the only medicine I've had was some ibuprofen 200mg tablet yesterday evening. Hardly likely to impact me 15+ hours later.

You swallowed a tablet...:eek:

And oh yeah, that crash sucks, but I did say so at the time so...

I've driven some Chevrolets in the US of A and frankly unless you go pretty high up in the range, they are sh!te. Welding is awful, visible, and panel gaps of probably half an inch aren't that strange to come across.

Handling is awful, brakes and engine too.

Only once I upgraded to a 3.2 V6 with a sporty car was there a feeling it would go round corners and perform a bit. My Fabia vRS would have mullered it, and that includes on top speed :eek:

Is that the one we had in Indy???

Was nice that

You swallowed a tablet...:eek:

And oh yeah, that crash sucks, but I did say so at the time so...

Is that the one we had in Indy???

Was nice that

Was a dissolving one - should have known :P

And yes that was the one we had in Indy

Question

Have read through the thread, still not sure if the pedal was soft or hard, ie did the pedal feel normal ??

I honestly can't remember - when the car didnt slow I didnt have enough time to think about hand brake application or similar, it was a matter of avoidance tactics to avoid ramming the other car too hard/under a lorry. Once I hit central reservation / gravel the car slowed down pretty sharpish anyway, I wouldn't have realised if the brake pedal was soft/hard at that point :( One of those things I suppose, I think it was hard though..

I honestly can't remember - when the car didnt slow I didnt have enough time to think about hand brake application or similar, it was a matter of avoidance tactics to avoid ramming the other car too hard/under a lorry. Once I hit central reservation / gravel the car slowed down pretty sharpish anyway, I wouldn't have realised if the brake pedal was soft/hard at that point :( One of those things I suppose, I think it was hard though..

Had you lost fluid catastrophically you would have noticed the softer pedal as you would have had a longer reach & felt it hit the floor, I once had a rear bleed nipple blow its centre out at about 80, it was a case of pump, pray, pump & thankfully the roundabout was clear.

Handbrake wouldnt have done any good & would certainly of stopped you swerving.

If the Police dont find anything you might have just experienced that horrid cold brake syndrome with big brakes had you not used them for a while, especially if you are running hard pads, Ive had a couple of heart stopping moments with mine having bimbled down the motorway for some distance & suddenly wanted to stop as you wait that second or so for them to warm.

Either way no one hurt

I'm using the OEM audi TT pads and discs, so it would surprise me but ya never know

The OEM TT weighs a lot more than the fabia - can't remember how much. Been told that the OEM TT setup has about 90+% of the stopping ability of the Brembo setup (although the Brembo setup is way more cool tbh...).

TT setup has more than enough braking power for me...

Do find that a hard stop once in a while is important to stop glaze building up tho.....

I do hard stops every once in a while

... I once had a rear nipple blow its centre out, it was a case of pump, pray, pump. Ive had a couple of heart stopping moments with mine. I suddenly wanted to stop as you wait that second or so for them to warm.

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist...

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist...

The OEM TT weighs a lot more than the fabia - can't remember how much. Been told that the OEM TT setup has about 90+% of the stopping ability of the Brembo setup (although the Brembo setup is way more cool tbh...).

TT setup has more than enough braking power for me...

Do find that a hard stop once in a while is important to stop glaze building up tho.....

nothing like it, the TT has the same brakes as the octavia vRS etc so 312mm single pot brakes compared the 323mm 4 pot brakes. the brembo's are a lot better, you can simply carry on braking harder and longer without fade compared to the TT brakes.

also just had a quick look and the TT is around 100-159Kg heavier than a Fabia so not massive really.

Main reason to get the TT brakes instead of Brembos (apart from cost) is that they fit under the standard 16" wheels. That said if there is any chance whatsover that the TT brakes are to blame they are coming off and getting replaced. I doubt they were at fault though in fairness though