Horrendous brake feel

[jyalpert]

Stock brakes on the M3 standard RWD feel horrendous. Non-linear feel, inspires trepidation rather than confidence. They feel like really cold racing brakes. Even my wife commented on this. Hasn't gotten any better in 1mo of ownership.

I saw other threads on this but no solutions.

Is this simply a bedding issue? Should I just take the car out and get the brakes nice and stinky?

Or do I need a new set of real brake pads? Anyone have a suggestion for better pads?

Will be a street car, although I may take have my wife drive it to a track day with me and run it for a session just to see what it's like.

 

[brandonee916]

I hardly ever use my brake pedal... do you have your Regen settings configured correctly? If you have it set to Low or your battery is cold (or your state of charge is 90% or higher) your car won't regenerate as strongly which will impact your "braking"... look for power meter and specifically for little dots on the left side, that will show you the amount of potential regeneration... long story short... if you see dots your car will not be slowing down as strongly as it would normally. Dual Motor versions have stronger regenerative braking due to having 2 motors compared to the RWD models

 

[Petrlol]

These cars have brake pedals ?!

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Stock brakes on the M3 standard RWD feel horrendous. Non-linear feel, inspires trepidation rather than confidence. They feel like really cold racing brakes. Even my wife commented on this. Hasn't gotten any better in 1mo of ownership.

I saw other threads on this but no solutions.

Is this simply a bedding issue? Should I just take the car out and get the brakes nice and stinky?

Or do I need a new set of real brake pads? Anyone have a suggestion for better pads?

Will be a street car, although I may take have my wife drive it to a track day with me and run it for a session just to see what it's like.

I think bedding could be it, but there are options for different pads out there and it's a relatively cheap upgrade to try out. If you're up for it, might be worth taking a front wheel off and the pads out and seeing how they look?

 

[Federico]

I use the brake and I don't see any of those issues, my setting for R.B. is low, I prefer to change the brake pads than a new set of tires every couple of thousand miles.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I prefer to change the brake pads than a new set of tires every couple of thousand miles.

I don’t follow this reasoning? I guess with RWD, the tire wear with regen would be rear-biased, but with adequate rotation, the tire wear should be no different on average, whether brakes or the motor are used to slow the vehicle...or am I missing something? The tires are what stop the vehicle in either case...

So assuming the same speed profile and tire rotation there should be no difference in tire wear.

 

[jyalpert]

I mostly use regen braking where possible (set to max), but when I do have to use the brake pedal the feel is awful.

Who are the best-respected 3rd party pad manufacturers for this car? It doesn't look like any of the primary performance manufacturers make pads for it yet.

 

[follow.johnny]

I've used hard braking before and I have no issue with them. Most of my braking is from regen but occasionally I would use the brake hard to loosen any dirt build up or rust on the brake calipers or pad.

 

[beastmode13]

For street, try bedding it before making a switch to more aggressive pads. For the track, change to high temp brake fluid like Motul 600/660 or Castro SRF is advised. Racing Brake XT910 would be good upgrade pads for street/occasional track use, EVTuning sells them.

Model 3
Model 3 Brakes

 

[animorph]

I'd take it to the service center. Our brakes are excellent.

 

[fishh]

After driving my dad's GT350, I can tell you all right now that the brakes in the Model 3 come nowhere close to the massive Brembos on that thing. However, the brakes on my car are nice and stop the car quickly, but I agree that something about the feel (bite, short pedal travel, etc.) is lacking.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

First off, I have driven an early RWD Model 3 and found the brakes to feel OK on the street.

It would help if each of us here qualified their opinions on the brakes by confirming which Model 3 model they are talking about.

 

[brandonee916]

Agree in taking to the service center! Have them check it out, many of us have no problems with the brakes. I can tell you when I first got my car coming from an i3 the weight of this car is very heavy.... so I had to get used to that, but once I did it's no problem.

 

[kbecks13]

Stock brakes on the M3 standard RWD feel horrendous. Non-linear feel, inspires trepidation rather than confidence. They feel like really cold racing brakes. Even my wife commented on this. Hasn't gotten any better in 1mo of ownership.

Agree, the non-performance brakes do not inspire confidence at ALL. I previously had a RWD car and upgraded to the Performance AWD, even the Performance stock brakes aren't that great in terms of feel and bite - but they are certainly better than the RWD.

Definitely try bedding them in, can't hurt! If that doesn't work, i'd suggest you check out the Unplugged Performance brake pads. I use those for street and track use and they made an incredible difference to brake feel

New Brake Pads on P3D - Much Firmer!

 

[stickman]

What is the feel characteristic(s) that is bothering you? You say “non-linear” does that mean they lack initial bite then come on or something else? Is the pedal firm?

 

[jyalpert]

What is the feel characteristic(s) that is bothering you? You say “non-linear” does that mean they lack initial bite then come on or something else? Is the pedal firm?

Non-linear feel means that when you press harder, the car does not slow down more, in proportion to how hard you press. Essentially they are difficult to modulate. The initial bite of the pads is pretty weak but you can tell you've engaged them. Past the initial bite, I really have to stand on the pedal to get much more response.

Pedal feel isn't really a safety issue, as long as the brakes have the oomph to engage the ABS. It's more a drive-ability issue. I'm an avid recreational track driver (Miata) so I'm probably more sensitive to brake feel than most (IMO smooth brake release is absolutely key to keeping the car settled on corner entry), although my wife also commented on how bad they are.

 

[lbowroom]

Racing Brake and Mountain Pass Performance offer upgrade street pads

 

[ecarfan]

Non-linear feel means that when you press harder, the car does not slow down more, in proportion to how hard you press. Essentially they are difficult to modulate. The initial bite of the pads is pretty weak but you can tell you've engaged them. Past the initial bite, I really have to stand on the pedal to get much more response.

Pedal feel isn't really a safety issue, as long as the brakes have the oomph to engage the ABS. It's more a drive-ability issue. I'm an avid recreational track driver (Miata) so I'm probably more sensitive to brake feel than most (IMO smooth brake release is absolutely key to keeping the car settled on corner entry), although my wife also commented on how bad they are.

So you’ve had your 3 for a month and you think the brakes “fee horrendous”. Have you taken your car to a Tesla Service center and requested they check your brakes? That would seem like a useful course of action.

I love the brakes on my 3. I have done some vintage racing, but don’t track my Teslas.

 

[MoreAgain]

I also recommend having the service center take a look. What you are describing does not sound normal.

My wife and I each have a RWD, built about two months apart. Vins 42k and 57k. I track mine (and have since upgraded lines, rotors and pads), and she uses hers only on the street. But early on when they were both stock, I noticed a difference in the brake feel between the two - her brakes just felt 'better' than mine. Their progression and release were just smoother. Not as extreme a difference as what you are describing, they were both 'good', hers just felt 'better.' I just drove hers again yesterday, and they still feel great.

 

[jyalpert]

Thanks. I really need to go out and bed the brakes this weekend and see if that helps. Beyond that, it sounds like at this point there is not community consensus that the brakes on the Model 3 are particularly bad.