Brakes don't Bite Options

[bkrantz]

As part of my rebuild I completely replaced the brake system:
calipers and rear pressure valve rebuilt by PMB
new ATE 19mm master cylinder
new hard and flex lines
new disks and Porterfield R4-S pads

I went through many (many!) episodes of bleeding, with different methods. The pedal feels very firm from the first push, and does not pump up. Rear clearance is set at .004". I went through the PMB bedding process, and have driven around a bit.

But the braking force seems weak. When I get on the brake pedal, I do not feel any "bite". Another 914 friend drove the car and also agrees.

Any suggestions?

[Superhawk996]

Brake feel is highly subjective.

The obvious thing is that you’ve gone to the 19mm master cylinder. That involves a trade off between having less brake pedal travel but that comes at the penalty of higher brake pedal force to achieve equivalent brake line pressure vs the OEM 17mm master.

The other is to make sure you aren’t comparing expectations between modern power assisted brakes to a pure manual brake system.

The most objective question is: can you lock up the front wheels? If not, something is wrong.