Bad Brakes

I recently replaced the front brake pads on my '92 XJ. It was the first time I had ever done this, so I'm afraid I may have done something wrong. The brakes don't grip down very tightly, and my stopping distance seems greatly increased. I didn't buy the highest quality brake pads, but I believe they were decent quality ones. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

did u bleed the lines? i would start there, along with making sure you got everthing put back in the right way.

How rough were your rotors ?? if they were real rough it will take a bit of time for the new pads to wear into their grooves, thats one of the reasons for turning rotors so that you have a nice flat surface against a nice flat surface.

As long as you did not open any brake lines you should not have to bleed them.

When you first replace brakes it is always important to be "easy" on them. If you hit the brakes hard right after you change them it is possible to glaze them. This sounds to me like what happened to you. It is a possibility anyway. It is tempting some times to make sure that they are working okay by hitting them pretty hard. You will probably have to have the rotors turned if this ends up being the case.