Brake Pedal Feel

Was it like that before you bled the brakes Eric?

 

I think it must be the way these cars are, my car feels the same as you describe.

Best, Paul

 

Perhaps try and compare to another car to confirm that it is ok.

There will be a spec for pedal height and free travel in the workshop manual. Maybe someone has it and can post here for you to check.

 

The brakes on the 550 leave allot to be desired IMO. We do offer braided brake lines for the Maranellos that do improve the soft pedal feeling.
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Here it is:
The free play is 8-10mm.

Stefano
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Nice work Stefano.

P.S-Wife and I are thinking of calling our son Stefano when we have him one day.

 

Nice! It was a popular name in Italy in the early 70s...

 

Ferrari made some changes on the brake system from the 550 to the 575M. Both use the same master cylinder, but the reservoir was made remote on the 575M. A new brake booster was introduced on the 575M that did allow for free-play adjustment, now specced at 9 mm, vs the fixed free play on the 550 at 8-10 mm. 10 mm is only ~0.4 inches, so there should not be much movement before the master cylinder engages and braking action begins.

Are you sure you bled both of the bleed screws on the master cylinder? If so, your at least 10 year old brake lines could be ballooning when you brake, as mentioned earlier, and replacing them would be a good idea. I have SS wrapped lines on mine, and brake feel is excellent.

Taz
Terry Phillips
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Excellent, I will pass this onto the Wifey.

 

Doesnt hurt to have SS brake hoses.

Let us know how you go mate.

 

Was there ever an update to this indicating whether the OP's problem was fixed with SS lines or other solution?

I don't particularly like the pedal feel in my 575 and it has been to the FNA dealer twice. The response both times is "it's normal" but that doesn't solve my issue of too much travel for my taste.

Philip

 

Your post is too vague. What do you mean? Travel length I get. People throw out "pedal feel" what is that to you? You don't like the travel before engagement? You don't like the initial bite? You don't like the pedal effort? You don't like the progressiveness? You don't like the release? You don't like the front to rear proportioning? All of the above in low speed vs. high speed braking?

 

Philip- FBB is correct. Have you completed all the band-aids previously mentioned? 550 and 575M brakes are excellent if the system is well bled at both calipers and master cylinder, the free play is well adjusted, the brake lines are new, and the brake fluid is fresh. Mine work phenomenally. Maybe I cheat a little, but the OEM brakes are excellent, as well.

Leaking vacuum lines or connections will also make the brakes feel less than optimum. The 575M and 550 use a vacuum accumulator for both brake booster and exhaust bypass lines. Leaks in any of those lines can compromise brake feel.

 

Sorry to be imprecise. I like a short pedal, by which I mean little travel before engagement.

On the 575, the issue is more pedal travel before engagement than I like. The binders work fine, balance is fine. Low speed feel and high speed retardation is fine.

I had the same travel issue on my 308 a few years ago and converted from boosted to non boosted and put 355 brakes on it. Not a nice job to convert with mechanical and hydraulic ratio changes.

Had a Noble. (Boosted). Same complaint.

Race car is just twin masters with balance bar. Perfect.
Philip

 

You are a racer....OK! Then either you DIY or have a crew chief. The 550/575 should be very good for a street car but not feel like a non-ABS Tilton twin master w/ balance bar. Have your crewchief check for rotor runout, pader tapering and knock back, wheel bearing runout. I have never stuck my head under the dash of my 550 so I have never looked but there could be a pedal adjustment too. Sometimes pad type can wear funny and open your caliper piston clearances. Sometimes the calipers use shims to square the caliper to the rotor face. When sloppy mechanics loose the shims or miss-match them you cock the caliper opening up clearances and building in pad taper = long perdals. Sometimes you can fool your brain about the long pedal by using a pad with more initial bite.

 

Thanks for thoughts. Yes, have a crew chief and can do some stuff myself.
Philip

 

What are other symptoms of a failing brake accumulator? I thought the purpose was to maintain pressure in the system for emergency etc....today, I got into the car which was on a hill and it rolled forward a bit. No big deal, but the brake pedal was rock hard and there was no pressure in the system at all. Is that a sign of a failed brake accumulator?