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Have any of you experienced drastically reduced braking performance when driving in the rain at highway speeds? What I'm referring to feels very much like the effect of wet pads and rotors, such as after driving through deep puddles, and it takes one pump of the pedal to get the brakes to grab again. This ONLY happens when driving in the rain, and only at highway speeds. Around town and in the rain -- no problem; at absurd speeds in the dry -- no problem. But in the rain, when enough mist can be kicked up onto the braking surfaces, it's as though someone greased the rotors.
I've experienced this a few times now, and the effect is reproducable only under the conditions of rain and high-speed driving. This has only started occuring within the past few months. Most notable among the recent changes to the car before this condition became apparent are:
a switch from OEM Volvo pads to PBR Deluxe Pads
new tires
an extended stay at the body shop, including repainting the entire car.
Now, I should mention that I've had the PBR Deluxe pads on the car for at least a few months and a thousand miles already. Generally, these pads have performed wonderfully. I'm concerned that there might be some correlation between the use of new pads and this braking anomaly, but considering the popularity of these pads within the Volvo owner's community, I feel this correlation is unlikely. For what it's worth, I did not replace or resurface the rotors at the time of the service. After flushing and pressure bleeding the brakes, the pedal felt as hard as it ever does. (Which isn't very hard, BTW. Do all S/V/C70s have this same GM-quality mushy pedal? All the others that I've driven do.)
As for the tires, I'm sure that this is not a tire problem, but I did notice that the tire installer swapped my 16" Perfo wheels from the left to right sides. Note the design of the Perfos on page 3 here:
http://www.volvocars-accessory.com/pdf/volvo_review_vol1.pdf
Also note that these wheels are not a directional set, designed or sold with separate right or left side wheels. But I am wondering if the fan-like design of the wheel could have the effect of "inhaling" water towards the rotor surface when driving in the misty rain that was present during the last time I experienced this mysterious brake failure.
Lastly, I mention the body shop experience because I'm wondering about contaminants on the brake rotors. The other two service items that I mention above -- pads and tires -- were done long before the first time that I experienced this braking problem. But when the car came back from the body shop after a tree attacked the roof during a windstorm -- the entire car was repainted as part of the repair -- I took it upon myself to go over the entire car with my favorite polishing products. Yes, I even did the wheels, although I didn't spray the wheels directly. Most significantly, I'm wondering if some combination of Zaino's "Z-6 Gloss Enhancer" and the kind of dust that the PBR pads produce -- plus a little water -- might be enough to cause this very odd, rare-but-reproducable brake failure.
If you can't tell, I'm grabbing at straws here. I'd appreciate hearing from you if you have any experience with any of the following: PBR Deluxe brake pads, Volvo "Perfo" wheels or Zaino (or any other brand) spray-on polish finisher. Even if you have experience with one of these and you've never experienced this peculiar "wet brakes" problem, please say so, as it might help me rule out one or more factors.
Thanks.
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James Rothe, '99 S70 T5M, http://www.monmouth.com/~rothe/carstuff.html#Volvo
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