How good are G3 Brakes?

I had reason at the weekend to implement a full-blown emergency stop thanks to a failed attempt of another vehicle to turn right in the path of my (Invisible) Jimny.Thankfully I managed to stop and avoid collision, but in doing so I was surprised that the ABS did to kick in. In other vehicles I have owned such none planned braking has always resulted in full blown tyre squeal (pre-ABS) or that buzzing assistance. The road was also damp which adds to this mystery.

My ABS works fine and the brakes are fully serviced, vehicle pass its MOT less than 4 weeks ago. So, it got me wondering if this lack of brake “power” is normal, just how good are Jimny brakes compared to other vehicles you own? 

My gut feeling is this is normal, so any tips or mods that can be applied to improve the stopping performance?

It’s a completely standard G3, but I am aware those with bigger tyres seek better stopping power, so hoping for some suggestions. I am aware that stopping performance is subjective and difficult to benchmark, but worth asking as I tow with my Jimny which increases the need for better brakes.

Thanks

Mike

The car stopped without any drama.
At least that is how the car saw the situation .
We humans look at a situation and if there is plenty of drama, tyre squeal, smoke etc, we feel satisfied, the brakes are doing there job: but if there is no drama, we feel kind of cheated!
Sounds daft I know but it harps back to the days of driving by the seat of one's pants.
It's one of the reasons I gave up on F1.
If you want reassurance, force the ABS to work. Reasonable speed, dry road, if you can find one ha ha, and try a full blooded stop. If the car just stops fast in a decent distance, try harder. You should be able to activate the ABS but then again if you are a product of that earlier generation that didn't rely on fancy gizmos to stop a car, then maybe you are not programmed to engage panic mode.
Well done that man.

Roger

Like most Suzuki products they are adequate without being outstanding. You should be able to activate ABS or lock the tyres. First step is to establish that what you have is working how it should be. As Roger says, have a play on a bit of empty road so you know what you're working with. The discs are non ventilated so repeated aggresive stops will quickly lead to brake fade. If anything seems amiss then get it looked at.
In terms of improvement, some people upgrade to ventilated discs and accompanying calipers from a Vitara. From memory they are the same diameter so don't improve the overall stopping power, but they will allow you to do more repeated fast stops before letting the smoke out. I'm sure there are some upgraded pads available for the standard Jimny brakes  too. Performance pads can give more power and resist more heat, but be wary of anything that mentions racing as they may rely on being warmed up to reach optimal performance. Not ideal in road conditions where you may need to do an emergency stop after cruising at 60mph for a few minutes and the brakes will be cold.

I'd check your tyres, particularly your front ones. When I got the Jimny, there was the factory fitted Bidgestones on them, which were 8 years old at the time, starting to crack.

Replaced them with new Yokohoma Geolanders and they were much better at braking than the old Bridgestones. The old tyres would squirm and activate the ABS very easily whereas the new Yokohomas grip a lot more before the ABS kicks in

I had to do a mild emergency stop last week, my ABS kicked in, but I was surprised how smooth it was, the Jimny must use a very high frequency for the ABS.

That aside I think the brakes on my Jimny are very good, perfectly adequate for the size and weight of the vehicle and seems to have good progressive breaking.

I say this in the context of my other car a Boxster which also has very good brakes and a stream of company cars (BMWs) all less than 3 years old.

In the wet disc brakes can take a couple of turn to get rid of the water, it depends on what pads you have fitted, but unless it was icy then they should soon get up to working temperature and clear the disc.

You could change the rear drum brakes for discs, that would give you a bit more braking force, but possibly not in the wet?

wrote:

In terms of improvement, some people upgrade to ventilated discs and accompanying calipers from a Vitara. From memory they are the same diameter so don't improve the overall stopping power, but they will allow you to do more repeated fast stops before letting the smoke out.

Rotor diameter is not the only factor to be considered, pad surface area and the distance between the pad from the center of the rotor (consider it a lever) also contribute significantly to stopping power.

Since the original poster has mentioned towing an upgrade to the Vitara brakes might be worth his while.

The towing capacity of a Gen.4 is 350 kg un-braked and 1,300 kg braked. The former is a nominal amount and should not affect driveability to any extent, especially as the driver should be aware of the what is behind him and make due allowance, but the 1,300 kg braked weight should be compensated by the brakes on the trailer/caravan.
Or am I being naive?
Braking power, as I know it, is about converting kinetic energy into heat energy and dissipating same to the atmosphere before melt down. The better and faster they do it, the better the brakes.
Not certain I understand fordem's comment re: pad to centre of rotor, unless it relates to rotor thickness?

Roger

wrote:

The towing capacity of a Gen.4 is 350 kg un-braked and 1,300 kg braked. The former is a nominal amount and should not affect driveability to any extent, especially as the driver should be aware of the what is behind him and make due allowance, but the 1,300 kg braked weight should be compensated by the brakes on the trailer/caravan.
Or am I being naive?
Braking power, as I know it, is about converting kinetic energy into heat energy and dissipating same to the atmosphere before melt down. The better and faster they do it, the better the brakes.
Not certain I understand fordem's comment re: pad to centre of rotor, unless it relates to rotor thickness?

Roger
 

Pad to centre of rotor is just saying the bigger the disc (rotor) and the further out the pads are the more braking force you get.  The pad moves over more disc area for each revolution the further out it is, just like a lever moves further for the same angular distance.

I agree with you about trailer brakes, they are there to slow the additional weight and stop the back of the car becoming unstable (jack knife).

Mike, just remembering you tow a small caravan, rear discs would probably be a good investment.

I'm towing a ~1,200kg load every day through the winter, about 300 miles of short trips a week including lots of dual carriageway at 60mph.
G3 Jimny, no ABS, 215/75 BFG tyres, standard brakes, braked single axle Ifor Williams trailer.

I have no issue with stopping power and no issues with brake fade. In my opinion the standard Jimny brakes are perfectly adequate for towing. 


 

Thanks all.
I have new good Yoko tyres so plenty of grip. The brakes feel plenty good enough day to day, even towing my caravan.  The initial push on the brakes feels promising, plenty of bite. It's just surprised me that when you ask more your don't really get anything, it sort of feels a little wooden from that point on.
I had experienced similar with my caravan on the back in a must stop quickly situation, but had attributed the lack of progressive bite due to the 750KG on the back.
But the emergency stop without the van highlighted that it's the car, the van brakes are keeping the van under control.
I genuinely think at the moment I have more grip than stopping power, if not it's going to take more pressure on the pedal than I can currently apply. So big thumbs up to Yoko geolanders grip levels, even in the wet!

It sort of sounds it's about correct for a Jimny, so looks like that my lot. I know the ABS works as it can activate on manhole covers and other similar surfaces. I was sort of hoping some magical pad / disk combination existed, tried and tested, with better performance (friction).
Thanks again.
Mike