What, Not Hammer time! ?
My brakes were mushy in general and a bit hairy when going down a steep rock - I really had to mash it to the floor to stop or at least get a slow roll going down...
I was a bit fortunate to do my various brake upgrades in stages due to the way life works. If I had my way it would have been all at the same time....
Since I did it stages I can say where the big improvements came (spoiler:front discs).
First thing I did was stainless brake lines from Ind. 4X. Braking felt a bit more stiff after, but I still had to mash into the floor to stop fully. It drove me nuts when I was reaching into the back and took the pressure off the brake the tiniest bit, I would creep forward almost into the car ahead...
I was almost about to install a new booster, it was in my cargo area for about 1 hour, then I drove Ldub's VX and found the braking quite similar so I passed on that fun piece of work, and gave to booster back to Ldub...
Then I replaced my rear pads, these were down to the point of squealing! The rusty rotor was chewing these up:
(front were good, 80% still). Braking got a bit better in the pedal feel with more meat on the new pads.
Then I replaced my rear rotors. Again, a bit more in pedal feel. I was still creeping down steep hills at Moab.
Then finally when my ship came in (literally - brake stuff got a bit lost for while by mail) I was able to put the front discs on with new EBC pads all around. THEN I noticed the difference in the pedal, I now only have to go about 50% into the pedal to stop instead of 90%, and I'm sure I'll have no problem stopping on a steep incline. I attribute it to the new front discs being much thicker than the old ones and maybe the extra bit of meat on the new front pads (the ones I replaced were about 80%) ... It sounds a bit goofy since it's all fluid pressure, but maybe it likes a few teaspoons less of fluid to push... I can't think of anything else.
I've bled my brakes multiple times over the years thinking that I must have air in em' with no change. Any my last bleed with the new rotors was quite basic compared to what I've done in the past.
I now have SP Performance drilled and slotted with EBC brake pads (6000 series) all from Tone. Worth every penny, I think.
When selecting discs and rotors, know that you may have options on finishing (I didn't know myself at the time). I have just a basic coating that wears off after a while (note the dull grey finish) I removed it and painted in the areas where the pads don't rub. The other option is to go nickel plating or some other plating -more $$. But might be worth it for added life around the edges and rotor drum...
As for brake lines, don't go overboard trying to get the style with the plastic coating, after a few years it may just crumble off - like some of ours did. Look for DOT approval and try not to skimp and go cheap on no-names. Get them from the 4x4 places discussed, they're cut to suit your VX and have proper connections.
As for pads, go stock with Merlin (low low low dust)- not much more $ than the EBC pads anyways. I'm not into the EBC pads enough yet to know if they are dust prone - they are sticky however.
Good Luck.
My $0.02.
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hopefully its nothing some air pressure, a good brake bleeding and chassis lube wont fix
