What did you do to your BG(part 8)

[me109]

You could probably tune brake feel with different booster/MC combos. If you think it's worth the effort. I vaguely remember a thread about that from years ago...

Does that answer your question? I might try to dig up that thread. Unless I imagined it.

Edit: Got tired of looking. The result of the thread, according to my memory, and in general terms, was having a large-bore master cylinder and a smallish booster seemed to be desirable. Something about allowing modulation and having a good pedal feel. I seem to remember some kind of 1" bore master cylinder, and possibly a Mazdaspeed MX-5 booster, but don't trust me on any of this.

And yes, I know all that is very subjective and utterly useless as thirdhand hearsay, but whatever. I couldn't find it to link before I lost interest in sorting through hundreds of search results.

[atomicEGT]

I'm gonna have to do some research I think, it'll probably end up with me just living with the ****ty brake feel haha

[KAinjection]

There is an adjustment for the rod where it goes into the M/C. Try that first or check if it's correct. The procedure for it should be in a service manual.

[FE3-323]

worked on another local 323 today.... installed front ES bushings & rewelded in a new flexpipe into the downpipe

[ChillinZX]

I'm gonna have to do some research I think, it'll probably end up with me just living with the ****ty brake feel haha

Swap to MX3 GS booster/master combo. You'll need a different proportioning valve, I used one off a 2000 Civic Si (2 in, 4 out). GREAT braking, less effort, less pedal travel then OEM.

[KAinjection]

What did you do to your BG(part 8)

Unless the booster is the difference there shouldn't be much change in feel considering the escort has the same size 15/16" bore MC as an MX3 does.

[ChillinZX]

Unless the booster is the difference there shouldn't be much change in feel considering the escort has the same size 15/16" bore MC as an MX3 does.

The booster size is smaller/fatter, the master cylinder is the chubby mx3 V6 with 2 output lines. It could be the complete front and rear brake job overhaul I did, all I can say is that with maybe an inch of pedal travel, the car stops very well.

[KAinjection]

What did you do to your BG(part 8)

Hmm, come to think of it my MX3 does have a better pedal feel than both of my escorts. I was going to upgrade to a 1" Millenia unit for future reasons anyway...

[atomicEGT]

MX3 booster is an okay idea, swapping in a 4-wheel disc prop valve and adding a bunch of hard lines is not.

[KAinjection]

Ok I decided to go look up some more information on brake boosters and i think I have an answer for all this. The booster diameter determines the amount of assist and ultimate pressure seen at the caliper pistons. With this in mind and going by what has been stated here:
MX3 booster= smaller diameter than the Escort booster.
MX3 has better pedal feel than Escorts and Escort pedal feel improves after swapping to MX3 stuff.

The smaller MX3 booster is providing less assist to the driver and less pressure at the caliper, thus giving a firmer pedal feel.
The larger Escort booster is providing more assist to the driver and more pressure at the calipers, thus giving a softer pedal feel.
The MX3 and Escort have the same size M/C bore of 15/16" but the Escort theoretically has more stopping power due to more assist from the larger booster while having a worse pedal feel.

My conclusion is that the Escort really needs a 1" M/C and it would feel the same.

[atomicEGT]

see that's kind of weird, because my wagon (originally 1.9/auto) has perfect brake feel and it has a thicker booster than the ZX2...

[KAinjection]

I could be wrong in my assumption as well. My 94 wagon 1.9/auto has a very squishy pedal compared to the 95 hatchback 1.9/manual, but the MX3 feels better than both of them.

Here is some more information to hurt your brain from the service manual:

Pressure check for the M/C with screw in proportioning valves:
Press pedal until:
356 psi is reached for the sedan---rear pressure should read 328-384 psi
498 psi is reached for the wagon---rear pressure should read 455-540 psi
Press pedal until:
853 psi is reached for the sedan and wagon---rear pressure should be 462-547 psi

Pressure check for cars with firewall mounted proportioning valves:
press pedal until:
284 psi is reached---rear should be 246-312 psi
press pedal until:
850 psi reached---rear should be 370-426 psi

Brake booster specs:
Manual trans with or without ABS= 9" or 228.6mm
Auto trans with or without ABS= 7" and 8" or 177.8mm and 203.2mm in tandem.

[Kitty]

I feel like you guys are changing to many variables at once to really determine what's providing the change/problem.

I can't imagine how high on the pedal the 22v calipers would lock the wheels on a good set of pads with the 929 MC. If you can't get the pedal feel you want out of adjusting the MC properly you either have something wrong with your brake components, your adjustments, or your understanding of the system. I could only see a smaller booster being beneficial for higher speed heavy braking race applications because of how high on the pedal the wheels can be to lock if you have sticky tires and good pads. But if you're racing at those speeds you should be running multi-piston calipers anyway due to them being better in all regards except weight.

[atomicEGT]

yeah, I'll definitely start with adjusting the MC and go from there.

[KAinjection]

This may be the reason for why your wagon feels different than mine Atomic:
Auto 5/94 and older and all manual cars: larger thinner single diaphragm also like the 97+ manual trans escort
Auto 5/94 and newer: smaller thicker tandem diaphragm like the MX3 V6 version

Both of my cars have the single version which I also went and looked and your car being a 95 (I think) would have the tandem like you said earlier