brakes are garbage

[Incantation]

ok.. so my e34 is with my pops for the last 8 months or so.. i have not driven it in 6 months or so. got in.. realized the brakes are really bad.. it feels like i have wood brake pads in there or something.
so i checked the pads.. raybestos QS all around.. and i have lots of pad on there.
then, i get a "low brake fluid" thing on the obc.. so i check the level and it's fine.

can someone help me here.. no idea how to begin taking steps to remedy this

[Robin-535im]

ok.. so my e34 is with my pops for the last 8 months or so.. i have not driven it in 6 months or so. got in.. realized the brakes are really bad.. it feels like i have wood brake pads in there or something.
so i checked the pads.. raybestos QS all around.. and i have lots of pad on there.
then, i get a "low brake fluid" thing on the obc.. so i check the level and it's fine.

can someone help me here.. no idea how to begin taking steps to remedy this

Not an expert... but my humble experience has been that bleeding them thoroughly with new fluid can bring it back to firm if nothing else is wrong. Suck all the dirty stuff out of the reservoir first, fill with new, then pressure bleed with someone ALSO pumping the pedal and the rest is the traditional approach. Bill R posted the "official" procedure but it's something pretty close to what I mentioned. Don't forget to do the clutch too if it's a manual.

Look closely for leaks, and consider steel lines as an upgraded fix if you want to have an excuse to turn this opportunity into an upgrade event.

HTH

- Robin

[Incantation]

thanks. pops said it's supposed to be tricky.. but i suspect it's not. i'll check out the guide. thanks again

[markus]

could be your pads. I sell auto parts for a living and it seems like we get more returns on raybestos parts than the shitty cheap chinese made junk we offer. but yet again, raybestos products are now mostly made in china too. if it were me id change the brake fluid then see what happens. The quiet stop pads are most likely a ceramic pad desgined for being quiet and low dust.

look into the "advanced technology" pads if you lake raybestos. they are designed for more severe duty like on cop cars, ambulences etc...

[Macv]

I just bought/installed my second set of raybestos QS's, I love them. On my slotted rotors they brake just fine.

[Tiger]

I would say bleed the brake system with new fluid.