Miata Mailing List: December 1993, Message #43
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   From: Alan Dahl 
Subject: Re: wet brake performance degradation (fwd)
   Date: Thu, 2 Dec 1993 18:50:01 -0500

Jeff Maurer  writes:
> Forwarded message:
> > From: eramo@sgi505.msd.lmsc.lockheed.com (Robert S. Eramo)
> > To: Multiple recipients of list 
> > Subject: wet brake performance degradation
> > Date: 	Thu, 2 Dec 1993 18:30:44 -0500
> > a friend has a 93 base model and is experiencing a
> > lack of braking for 3-4 seconds when first driving
> > after a rainstorm.  
> Seems to be a fact with the Miata.  Surprised the heck out of me the
> first time I came off of a freeway in wet weather, hit the brakes and
> found little or nothing there.  As discussed before on this list, the
> brakes have no shields and aren't grooved or cross-drilled, so
> once they're wet it takes some time/pressure to disperse the water from
> the rotors.  3-4 seconds is probably exaggerated - it seems like this
> long when you're at the wheel.  In reality (for me anyway) it's more
> like 1/2 to 1 second.  Even so, it could still be potentially dangerous.

Some early '90 models exhibited this behavior. I tell you, it was awful scary.  
For the first second or so it was like I had no brakes at all! Mazda had a  
recall back in '91 and replaced my front pads with (what I thought was) the  
'91-on pad material and the problem went away. The only drawback was a slight  
increase in brake dust. So far it's been 50,000 miles (and lots of autoxing)  
since the pads were replaced and they *still* have material left! Still no  
wet-weather problesm either and here in Seattle we have *lots* of wet weather  
:-(.

Since I once had this problem and now do not I suspect that there really is  
something wrong with cars that have problems with wet-weather braking.  
Obviously, my dealer fixed whatever it was since my car's fine now. Maybe they  
did something besides the pads or maybe the pads prescribed as the fix are not  
the same as the current regular-production pads.

---
  ___   __   ___  Alan Dahl                    | alan.dahl@mccaw.com -or-
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