I let my friend(type r owner) drive my s2k one night and he forgot to put down the parking brake. After his little joy ride was over, I noticed there was a strong burning smell coming from the car. We just noticed that he drove the whole time with the parking brake up. He drove about 2 miles and was going about 40-45 mph max.

Im really worried about the strong burning smell coming from the car. The smell was mainly coming from the rear. Is this a big problem? Will it have lasting effects?

I cant stop thinking about what he has done. I would really appreciate some info on this.

 

All it was was the rear brake calipers being rubbed up on the discs. That smell will go away once you stop driving with the e-brake on.

 

VtecS2000 is right. Your "friend" chewed up some rear brake pads, but they last longer than the front ones, anyway. Although unlikely, he could have overheated the rotors to the point they became warped. Since the rear rotors aren't vented, they can't take as much heat as the front rotors. If you have brake chatter (brake pedal pulsing when heavy braking), that's what would have caused it. If not, then the only damage you have is less rear brake pad.

Boy, the guy must have thought your car's torque really sucked when he first took off!!

 

I agree with the posts above. If you don't feel a pulsing through the pedal when you brake, then the only damage is a slight shortening of the pad life.

It's not enough to ruin a friendship over.

 

I hope you left the parking brake off after shutting it down. If you did otherwise you may have warped the rotors.

 

so i guess theres nothing to worry about ....... thanks guys....

 

The other day on the way to a group drive I opened it up a little on a long straight and when I started to brake gently it seemed like ABS was engaging. Of course this scared the shite out of me but it only did it a couple of times then went back to normal There is no way that they could have been hot because Id been on the freeway for ~30Kms so not much braking there.

I checked my pads and they looked fine without taking them off and they worked fine for the rest of the day. I was thinking that maybe a rocked got up in there and the pads couldn't grip so the ABS was kicking in but there was no squealing at all?

Anyone got a suggestion as to what could have caused it?

 

Make sure the is not a ton of buildup on the wheel sensors, and be sure all the teeth on the toothed wheels are not damaged. Also check for a loose ring(improbable but possible).

 

Not sure what you just said Billman could you dumb it down a little for me

 

It sounds more like you had some superficial rust on your rotors, which will give you a similar feel to ABS until the rust gets worn away. This can happen if you just washed the car, or went through a puddle, then parked it overnight.

Billman is referring to the ABS sensors. If you crawl under your car, say under your engine and look toward the wheels, you will see a thing that looks like a pinion gear with lots of teeth. Next to it on the back side, you will see a sensor for the ABS. If the teeth are damaged, or there is a bunch of crud on the sensor, then the ABS could malfunction. I know it seems odd that such a delicate item is located in such a vulnerable position, but it has to be to do its job.