98 has poor braking ? =

1998 = lumina base model without abs. 65000 miles. shady tree guy replaced pads. extremely poor stopping power. i had another guy put racing pads on it. also extremely poor stopping power. did not inspect rear brakes yet. i also own 1995 olds acheiva. the olds has abs. it has much better braking stopping power. is poor braking a familiar problem with 1998 lumina,s ?? can anyone please recommend how to get this car to stop quicker? what pads or shoes would you use?? thanks for any advice. jim.

Interesting you say that. My '97 has always had really poor braking power. I often wonder if it's gonna stop, like coming downhill to a light. I have to progressively push harder and harder on the pedal as it stops. I'm used to it now, but when my wife was the primary driver of it, and I'd go from my car to this one, I'd almost rear-end a couple of cars until I'd remember how they are.

Even after changing the pads and cutting a non-directional finish on the rotors, it still sucks. It will stop, but just seems like more effort is required than should be.

Make sure the rears are clean and adjusted, that might be as good as it gets. Heard a few others complain about stopping power with these.

I think GM might have had some braking issues to get over. My 91 Cutlass had horrible brakes, 4 wheel disc. My mom's 1990 grand prix was identical. My sister's 1997 Grand Am has weak brakes, along with my 1999 Lumina. If you ask me, Ford did a better job on their Taurus brakes. It'll toss you through the windshield if you're not careful.

Jeff, I had a leaking master cylinder seal that'd do similar to what you described; seems like more pressure is needed to maintain stopping power? Just an idea to toss around, maybe GMs stock cylinders don't have good ratios or sealing surfaces?

I think GM might have had some braking issues to get over. My 91 Cutlass had horrible brakes, 4 wheel disc. My mom's 1990 grand prix was identical. My sister's 1997 Grand Am has weak brakes, along with my 1999 Lumina. If you ask me, Ford did a better job on their Taurus brakes. It'll toss you through the windshield if you're not careful.

Jeff, I had a leaking master cylinder seal that'd do similar to what you described; seems like more pressure is needed to maintain stopping power? Just an idea to toss around, maybe GMs stock cylinders don't have good ratios or sealing surfaces?

I don't mean as if the pedal drops, that's not it. More like plain old fade, just requiring more effort, not pedal stroke.