I have a 1999 XK8, and I had my rotors turned and I replaced all brake disc pads yesterday.

Because I wanted to insure everything was working fine, I very aggressively slammed on the brakes several times while testing, and I noticed something interesting.

On my other vehicles, I always notice the anti-lock brakes kicking in when slamming on the brakes, and my foot would actually feel the rapid brake cycling taking place...not so on the XK8.

I guess I have never noticed this before because I probably have never had to slam on the brakes on the XK8 before.

I can't get the brakes to 'lock-up' either (I guess that's good), so now I'm concerned...is my anti-lock brake system not working properly?

The ABS warning light goes out after the ignition switch is turned on along with the others, so all seems fine there.

What should I be looking for?

 

New pads take time to seat. Panic stopping on new pads rarely results in ABS events on any car. However, you've taken the first steps to abusing your new pads and may have glazed the friction on the surface rather than giving it time to 'bake through'. When baked through the pads harden, yielding a firmer brake feel in the pedal and shorter stopping distances. Also, glazing the pads normally results in the pads developing squeaks, grunts, etc.

 

@Beav ...

What's your take on the proper procedure for breaking in new pads?

There is the usual 10 hard rolling stops from 60mph ... is there an alternative?

10 hard rolling stops around here will end up getting someone pulled over and defeat the "rolling stop" part.

 

http://tinyurl.com/lbksfw9

 

I guess I should have elaborated more...I did many more than 20 slow stops ranging in speeds of 20 mph - 50 mph before I did several 'slams'.

So allow me to rephrase my question:

Should I expect my 1999 XK8 during aggressive stops to have the same rapid vibration feel of the anti-lock braking system on the brake pedal as my other vehicles do, or do Jags do things differently?

I'm concerned that I may be having an anti-lock brake system failure.

 

ABS kicks in when one or more tires have lost traction. If you have grippy tires, a non-slippery surface, etc. then you will not wake up the ABS. Just stopping suddenly does not guarantee that ABS will do its thing. These cars have lots of contact patch and if your tires are not worn, it takes some doing to make them skid.

Find a gravel road or wet pavement and try it again.

 

That is my impression as well. That "vibration feel" is the ABS allowing the wheel to turn enough in small increments so that you can maintain steering control instead of having the tire skid, in which case you essentially have no steering.

Also, I suspect that you will get a warning when your ABS is not working properly, as I get from time to time. The next time I start it up, the warning is gone.

 

Perfect!

That makes total sense to me.

This forum ROCKS!!!