Traction and brake problems

[Ramphex]

So lately I've been having a couple of problems... brake pedal is often STIFF and once I give my foot some more power to press it, ABS kicks in and car stops hard.... Never did that before and it's kind of annoying now... second problem is, in second gear after like 2800-3000RPM I lose traction and tires just start spinning and the car starts sliding to the side, that's on a clean road (no rocks/snow/ice) with 1 month old winter tires with a lot of tread still... so any ideas?

 

[1WhiteSSTC]

i'll start with the tires, ever driven with winter tires before on your cobalt? They don't give very good traction at all on dry roads, maybe your used to going into 2nd and dropping the hammer? With winter tires they'll break loose very easy.

The brakes......have you checked all your rotors/pads? Clear surface? Have you bled your brakes anytime recently?

 

[Ramphex]

Haven't bled the brakes but rotors and pads are like 2 months old and still have plenty of metal on both, rotors aren't warped or anything

 

[1WhiteSSTC]

Haven't bled the brakes but rotors and pads are like 2 months old and still have plenty of metal on both, rotors aren't warped or anything

I would bleed the brakes and see how it feels after.

Are you satisfied with my explanation for the winter tires or do you think I'm wrong?

 

[ff_drift_lol]

your drums are too tight.

 

[1WhiteSSTC]

your drums are too tight.

that was my other thought, a problem with the rear drums but I don't know much about drum brakes so I didn't want to mention it.

 

[ff_drift_lol]

happens all the time. the first few times i did drums i didn't adjust them right and this exact same thing happened.

 

[1WhiteSSTC]

happens all the time. the first few times i did drums i didn't adjust them right and this exact same thing happened.

shitty deal

 

[Ramphex]

I never adjusted them or anything, what could've happened to them?

 

[ff_drift_lol]

your wheel cylinders could be leaking contaminating the shoes and causing cracks, maybe a piece of the shoe lining broke free and is stuck. i've seen that happen ONCE. it's unlikely though. all I can say is do a visual inspection. have you ever removed drums before?