What can be done to a 197 ('12 Boss) to improve the brake pedal feel and firmness? Not the brakes, just the pedal application. Is that all in the booster/mc?

I have a '12 GT that has gone through the stock brakes, Boss brakes, and now S550 brakes and big rotors in the rear. The actual feel of the pedal has never changed. The braking is spectacular, but the pedal feel is the same across all three setups. You gotta want it, lol. You gotta get in that pedal.

Fast forward, I just got a brand new '12 LS and the pedal feel in that thing is identical to my GT, even with the big brakes. I want the pedal in this to have similar travel, firmness, and feel as my 350.

Is that even possible?

I felt the same way when I got my 350R and still had my LS. I found a special sale of Stoptech 15" rotors and 6 piston calipers and, combined with Ferodo 2500s, the pedal feel was exceptional. Much firmer than OE and easy to modulate (in some ways even better than the 350 pedal which can feel a little abrupt around town). Stopping power was maybe not quite as good as the 350 but not too far off. Stoptech is out of business now so I'm not sure if you can even find that kit.

galaxy said:

What can be done to a 197 ('12 Boss) to improve the brake pedal feel and firmness? Not the brakes, just the pedal application. Is that all in the booster/mc?

I have a '12 GT that has gone through the stock brakes, Boss brakes, and now S550 brakes and big rotors in the rear. The actual feel of the pedal has never changed. The braking is spectacular, but the pedal feel is the same across all three setups. You gotta want it, lol. You gotta get in that pedal.

Fast forward, I just got a brand new '12 LS and the pedal feel in that thing is identical to my GT, even with the big brakes. I want the pedal in this to have similar travel, firmness, and feel as my 350.

Is that even possible?

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Have you switched the rubber brake lines to OEM Boss 302 brake lines? They're made of a type of long-lasting rubber tubing that's as stiff as stainless lines. Made a huge difference in feel on my 2011 GT Track Pack.

Kohr Motorsports used to sell a replacement brake master cylinder & booster kit that supposedly was similar to the Boss 302S system. I'd give them a call to see if it's still available, and exactly what the difference is in pedal feel.

No help but I also hate the pedal on mine. I have the Wilwood 6 piston kit and that helped a little...I have debated messing with different calipers to improve it but have never spent the $$$$$. There also has to be a way to adapt other MC.

I did try the GT500 booster and there is no difference there.

If you still have stock rear brakes, make sure the rear caliper brackets are moving freely and not bent. I have found this on my car and several customer cars and it makes a pretty big difference.

As it sits, mine are just bad enough for me to b*tch about it, but just good enough to not rise to the top of the spending money list to fix.

DaveW

I don’t have experience with all the setups mentioned. But there are a lot of reports out there of the s550 6 piston calipers leading to a softer and longer pedal on an S197.

Sort of stating the obvious, there is a world of difference in brake pads. Stock or similar pads on the 4 piston Boss calipers to me feel quite wooden and lack bite. So I end up having to push the pedal hard and the whole thing just feels soft and not very confidence inspiring. Just switching to something like a set of mid level Glocs vastly improves bite and makes the whole setup feel a lot firmer.

Good advice about the rear calipers, I’ve had that happen to me also.