diff --git a/test/e2e/apimachinery/garbage_collector.go b/test/e2e/apimachinery/garbage_collector.go
index c608878a92b..c6cf2440a5c 100644
--- a/test/e2e/apimachinery/garbage_collector.go
+++ b/test/e2e/apimachinery/garbage_collector.go
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ func estimateMaximumPods(c clientset.Interface, min, max int32) int32 {
 		availablePods += 10
 	}
 	//avoid creating exactly max pods
-	availablePods = int32(float32(availablePods) * 0.8)
+	availablePods = int32(float32(availablePods) * 0.5)
 	// bound the top and bottom
 	if availablePods > max {
 		availablePods = max