Upgraded to 19mm Master Cylinder, Brakes are hard - not mushy!! Options

[vesnyder]

Just upgraded my my brake system along with a major front end overhaul and I am really impressed by the difference in the feel of the brakes. They are as hard as a rock - reminds me of my 911! I did not change anything else other than bleed the lines real well and they went from a mushy VW feel to rock hard secure feeling! I read a bunch about brake upgrades and one of the recommendations was not to upgrade the MC without changing out the calipers - but in my case it made a world of difference.

[bondo]

I've used both, and consider 19mm to be an upgrade. In fact I used both on the same car as vesnyder. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

(The 19mm one started leaking so I had to put the 17mm one back)

Some will say that with a 19mm MC you get less PSI of pressure for every pound of pressure you put on the pedal. They're right. But on the other hand, you have the capacity to move more fluid. That means for every inch of pedal travel, you're pushing more fluid out of the MC. This means that it takes less pedal travel to get the pads into contact with the rotors, so your pedal will end up farther from the floor than with the 17. It also results in a firmer pedal feel, and any swell of rubber brake lines will have less of an effect. It also means you have more pedal travel "left over" in case something goes wrong. As far as stopping ability, either one can lock the brakes. I think most people are strong enough to lock the brakes with a 19mm MC (It will take more pedal force, but it's still reasonable)