Having read all I can I understand that the pedal feel in the S2 Exige ain’t too great to say the least.
When I got the car the dealer had done a fluid change and the pads (OEM) were near new. But the pedal travel and stopping power was a joke compared to my old M3 and even my existing X5!
So, did a complete bleed on the system, calipers off, inverted etc etc. Loads of air came out and this improved things a bit. Then I raised the pedal a fraction trying to get a reasonable H&T position and finally changed the pads to Mintex 1144s (car is 99% road use).
However, I’m still not convinced it’s right. The car stops alright, no issues there. It’s the fact that the pedal drops so far compared to every other car I’ve driven.
Debating braided lines but for road use I think this is OTT and not going to help a lot. And considering the hassle/cost in getting them fitted I’m not sure it’s going to buy any benefits.
What I want to do is reduce the pedal travel as much as possible.
exxxige, I believe your car, (being an Exige S) will have the new pedal box which means it has a totally different brake feel compared with older S2s.
I’ve just had braided brake lines fitted on mine, and the different is not vast. I may need them bled again as the pedal travel seemed longer if anything. I think it feels better when pushing on, but worse in more normal driving.
I have a ‘loan S2 at the mo’ (maybe its RussT’s ) & the pedal feel is a vast improvement over my car. Hopefully I’ll find out what’s been done by the weekend & post here ( & convert mine to suit). Mine is still standard in the brake dept btw.
I have a ‘loan S2 at the mo’ (maybe its RussT’s ) & the pedal feel is a vast improvement over my car. Hopefully I’ll find out what’s been done by the weekend & post here ( & convert mine to suit). Mine is still standard in the brake dept btw.
If you do get the chance it would be appreciated. Mine is 100% better than when it came from the dealer but theres got to be room for improvement somewhere.
Sorry Tony, but in this instance, I genuinely was trying to avoid that kind of reaction. Unfortunately, the S2 brake pedal feel/position is a let down, upon comparison with a non-servoed Elise/derivative. Relatively simple things like braided hoses, quality fluid & decent pads will noticeably improve matters, especially if the dealer knows about the “official fix” for the oft criticised standard pedal height.
Those are the starting points, & if you’re still not happy, better disks, then calipers would be the way to go (at noticeable expense).
Just for the record, since we got the braided hoses/RS14s/pedal adjustment, I have been very happy on the road with the brakes, much happier than with our 111R which still has the old pedal height and would benefit from that mod alone, which is at a very low cost. The new Elise S, as standard, has a high pedal out of the showroom.
Realistically I think that I have probably got them about as good as they are going to get. I might tweak the pedal adjustment a little more but I probably need the H&T pad from Sector 111 to sort the issue.
The actually braking power itself is fine, certainly better than most cars on the road.
Sorry, I don’t know details. Nick Whale’s did mine and it’s a massive improvement for H&T. It doesn’t reduce the travel at all, it just means that during heavy braking, the pedal height is good for heal and toeing.
> Sorry, I don’t know details. Nick Whale’s did mine and it’s a massive improvement for H&T. It doesn’t reduce the travel at all, it just means that during heavy braking, the pedal height is good for heal and toeing.
I’ll forgive you just this one time but it’s the detail I need as I did that wonderful trick of getting my head into the footwell and couldn’t see anything to adjust!
> Sorry, I don’t know details. Nick Whale’s did mine and it’s a massive improvement for H&T. It doesn’t reduce the travel at all, it just means that during heavy braking, the pedal height is good for heal and toeing.
I’ll forgive you just this one time but it’s the detail I need as I did that wonderful trick of getting my head into the footwell and couldn’t see anything to adjust!
Explains all. All you need are a couple of spanners and some ibuprofen for the back ache!
> Sorry, I don’t know details. Nick Whale’s did mine and it’s a massive improvement for H&T. It doesn’t reduce the travel at all, it just means that during heavy braking, the pedal height is good for heal and toeing.
I’ll forgive you just this one time but it’s the detail I need as I did that wonderful trick of getting my head into the footwell and couldn’t see anything to adjust!
Explains all. All you need are a couple of spanners and some ibuprofen for the back ache!
Thanks Tony but that’s a pre 06 pedal box and I’m not sure the same adjustment is still available. I shall “adopt the position” over the weekend and have another look but if anybody else has any ideas…
> Sorry, I don’t know details. Nick Whale’s did mine and it’s a massive improvement for H&T. It doesn’t reduce the travel at all, it just means that during heavy braking, the pedal height is good for heal and toeing.