All good points and well made. In my experience, which is mainly mucking about with Lotus Carltons over the past 25 years, the more effective the calipers (and the bigger the diameter the discs are) the less you notice the softness of the pedal, because you have to use less pedal effort for a given amount of retardation. In the same way that one can bleed the brakes and get a good pedal only for it to feel spongy once the engine is running and the servo kicks in. The feel of a Lotus brakes after we've upgraded to 6piston front calipers is miles better than the already good 4 pot ones, because of the hydraulic advantage of smaller pistons and greater pad area. The only car I've had that has had a really firm pedal is my own Lotus Carlton track car, which has braided hoses throughout and (crucially in my opinion) no ABS pump. Also I am always struck by the sharpness of the brakes on more or less any new car, for instance a delivery mileage courtesy car offered by a dealer or a shiny new hire car usually takes me by surprise the first time I hit the brakes until muscle memory is recalibrated. So I am sure that the accumulated wear of every component has a cumulative effect over the years. I've also been told that the lining of rubber brake flexis can break down over time and contribute to the mushiness by trapping micro bubbles of air, so that even changing to new rubber flexis can be an improvement, never mind the teflon lined braided hoses that can be obtained. I've often wondered what method is used at the factory for bleeding brakes, because even with the fanciest pressure bleeding system, it still seems to takes ages and lots of fluid to get all the air out of a complete brake (and clutch) system.