My car is fine, but I find the brakes gushy at the pedal. Any suggestions for more linearity or feel?

 

This seems to be a common 'complaint' and I too feel like mine have far too much 'squish' before grabbing.

They have never failed to stop the car of course, but they sometimes still give me pause as the pedal has to be pushed far enough to almost feel like manual brakes sometimes.

I've already had the disks turned, replaced the pads with quality Akebono Euro pads. Next will be a proper bleeding of the brakes.

There is a thread or two here that talks about the sensitivity of bleeding the brakes on the X300 and that technique is key to eliminating the 'squish'. I'll have to see if I can find it.

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Here you go:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...brakes-120817/


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Over the years I've used a few different bleeding methods on my XJR. Most recently I used a pressure bleeder. It firmed things up a bit ....but just a bit.

Brake pedal feel is one of those things that can play a little mind-f**k game with you. You can get hyper-focused on pedal feel and travel and convince yourself there's a problem. I have a lot of experience with that

To be honest I'm having a hard time remembering any ABS-brake car that had a really firm pedal. They'll all been a bit soft-ish to some degree. Nothing at all like the 'hard pedal' feel of older cars without ABS.

Cheers
DD

 

My braking has always displayed the same characteristic, however I've read a couple of articles over the years which confirmed that the X300 brake set up results in a "spongy' feel at the pedal. It is evidently quite normal and not indicative of a fault. Sorry I can't point you to the source of this info. as I'm typing this hurriedly, save to say that I don't believe there is a cause for concern. Google around a bit, you will probably turn up more info.

 

I've had my X300 since 99 and even after one of the main steel brake lines rusted out and was replaced this summer, there is no difference in the amount of "play" in the pedal. Completely different than my BMW E46 with the performance package, not better or worse just different

 

I've had my '96 XJ12 for about a month or so as a daily driver, and before that I drove my '92 XJ6 for a year as a daily driver.

One of the most noticeable differences is in brake feel. The XJ6 has a very, very firm pedal, and I love it. Each stop feels confident, and even under hard braking, you never ever get the feeling that you're running out of pedal. Maybe this is due to the hydraulic booster of the XJ40?

The XJ12 has quite a spongy pedal, and one of the things I hate most is how the boost changes with engine speed (because of lower vacuum), and during a quick application of the brakes, maybe just after acceleration, while the engine RPM is slowing to idle, you'll feel the brake pedal get soft then firm, because the increased engine vacuum at idle, and more boost.

I really wish Jaguar kept the electro-hydraulic setup of the XJ40 with the electric motor and accumulator (even though they are pricey to replace).

I'll be searching for solutions for the spongy pedal, too.

-Nick

 

I had these fitted to my XJR6 with Akebono euro pads got them in blue to match my car LOL
MY X350 has them as well of course black to match it LOL

 

Did the SS lines make any positive difference?

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