Front brake upgrade

[Shoduchi]

Brembos 18Z with 350 mm discs:

How much did the entire front brake setup cost you mate? Calipers, discs, pads, mountings the lot.

Around 930 €/£ 750.

[AJP]

Brembos 18Z with 350 mm discs:

How much did the entire front brake setup cost you mate? Calipers, discs, pads, mountings the lot.

You can get the 18z as a kit from a few vendors. Here's one:

http://www.pwmotorsport.com/pr,107,brembo-18z-calipers-6pdiscspads-golf-mk5mk6mk7,shop,brembo-big-brake-kits-pp,brembo-6-pistons-upgrade-vag-5x112kits.html

It can probably be done cheaper if you get hold of the components separately. Quite a few refurbed 18z calipers on ebay. Think I remember reading that a 17z pad works best in the 18z caliper on the mk5 platform.

Going the TTRS route, the calipers on their own seem to have become quite rare, but a full kit with pads, 340mm TTS discs and adaptors can be had for 1200 (I think) from @vRSAlex at AKS Tuning. They're advertised as Aston DB7 calipers - the same thing as TTRS/RS3 calipers. They also offer the same kit but with two piece 362mm discs, at 2 grand. OEM 370mm TTRS discs themselves have a bad rep, and are something I'll personally avoid when I get round to BBK time.

[Shoduchi]

The pads for the Brembos 18Z to use in the mk5 Golf with ML450 350 mm discs are for the Brembos 17Z, yes.

[Shoduchi]

Not sure why HEL sells braided lines for Brembo calipers when the braided lines for the GTI fit too and are cheaper. I have the braided lines for Brembo calipers but my mechanic preferred the way the normal braided lines are screwed to the caliper. A friend fit the normal braided lines to the 18Z calipers and all works well.

[Shoduchi]

For caliper adaptors if it was today I'd order this ones: https://www.epytec.de/3788/vw-golf-5-6-gti-a3-s3-8p-seat-leon-cayenne-zr18-bremssatteladapter-r32-bremssattel-vorderachse, instead of the bolts I got from Addition Motorsport.

[Stupots]

I'll check my MC. I suspect being a diesel it will be 22 :(

Prices... I picked up my kit gradually so as I could get bargains as and when they appeared. The calipers were about £300 on eBay from a 2012 VW Touareg, the Brembo pads were about £80 from Amazon, the Zimmermman Zcoat disks were about £130 from eBay (from Germany) and the pad fitting kit was about £15 from Camskill. Oh and then there's the pips, I got them from eBay for about £40. I've not got a bolt kit yet, but you can make your own for less than £10 using 12.9 bolts/nuts and some14mm ID 16mm OD stainless pipe. So I guess a fair price for a put it together yourself kit is around £600.

I'm doing R32 on the rear and though the calipers can be purchased new on eBay for £75 each you'll need the carriers which are around £50 each new... I think my 310mm R32 Zimmermann disks were about £70

That mounting kit looks great, I've not seen that before, but had they same idea as far as replacing the nuts with a metal plate like that.

I have the correct pads for 18z calipers (i.e. not the 17z pads), will that cause an issue for me?

Cheers

Stu

[AJP]

I'll check my MC. I suspect being a diesel it will be 22 :(

Prices... I picked up my kit gradually so as I could get bargains as and when they appeared. The calipers were about £300 on eBay from a 2012 VW Touareg, the Brembo pads were about £80 from Amazon, the Zimmermman Zcoat disks were about £130 from eBay (from Germany) and the pad fitting kit was about £15 from Camskill. I've not got a bolt kit yet, but you can make your own for less than £10 using 12.9 bolts/nuts and some14mm ID 16mm OD stainless pipe. So I guess a fair price for a put it together yourself kit is around £600.

I'm doing R32 on the rear and though the calipers can be purchased new on eBay for £75 each you'll need the carriers which are around £50 each new... I think my 310mm R32 Zimmermann disks were about £70

That mounting kit looks great, I've not seen that before, but had they same idea as far as replacing the nuts with a metal plate like that.

I have the correct pads for 18z calipers (i.e. not the 17z pads), will that cause an issue for me?

Cheers

Stu

Good info mate, and Shoduchi.

I can't find the thread now but there were a couple of concerns of Dave B (Vagbremtechnic) regarding the 18z and 350mm MB discs. If I remember correctly, one was the adaptor ring for the disc/hub, and the other was that the bolts really had to be up to a certain strength/tensile. That said, I haven't heard one horror story about the 18z setup on a mk5.

If anyone knows of that thread feel free to link to it!

[AlexK1]

Have many people on here used the k sport brake kits? 356mm x 32mm 2 piece discs with 8 pot calipers and lines for around £980

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

[Paradox1]

The KSports are quite proular and I have only heard good things about them. Seems like a decent option

[AJP]

I'd imagine any 8 piston caliper would have a piston area too large for the standard master cylinder.

The TTRS master cylinder can be used, but I think you might need to also change the servo to do this. Don't quote me on that, but please do research piston area and master cylinder upgrades along with the brakes themselves. The calipers must be within the master cylinder's operating capacity, or you'll run into problems.

[Dave J]

This is my R32/S3/TTS set-up - calipers with 340mm Brembo High Carbon discs (have a lovely painted surface on the edges and centre hub part to prevent corrosion. They are a bit heavier than standard, but I have the S3 ali wishbones (hubs yet to fit), so don't feel noticeable now I'm used to them.



Would love some of the even bigger braking options as shown, but didn't want spacers and this kit was what I was happy to justify the expense on. Was never happy with the ED30 brakes as standard - I think the same 312mm, 256mm rear was fitted to the old 180bhp 1.8t's, so on a car with another 50bhp (& weight), it was a bit stingy by VW when the Cupra got the better stuff!

[AJP]

This is my R32/S3/TTS set-up - calipers with 340mm Brembo High Carbon discs (have a lovely painted surface on the edges and centre hub part to prevent corrosion. They are a bit heavier than standard, but I have the S3 ali wishbones (hubs yet to fit), so don't feel noticeable now I'm used to them.



Would love some of the even bigger braking options as shown, but didn't want spacers and this kit was what I was happy to justify the expense on. Was never happy with the ED30 brakes as standard - I think the same 312mm, 256mm rear was fitted to the old 180bhp 1.8t's, so on a car with another 50bhp (& weight), it was a bit stingy by VW when the Cupra got the better stuff!

I might end up going for this, as I'm not keen on a 10/12mm spacer to fit TTRS calipers behind my VZs if it turns out that's what's needed. It's just the weight of the R32/S3 calipers that puts me off.

Incidentally I had the Cupra R Brembos with 323mm discs on my old mk4. Much nicer than anything the Golfs got!

[Paradox1]

I got offered a set of 996 calipers but I'm not sure what model car I need to get the 330mm disks from? Anyone able to shed some light?

[danc1706]

I ended up going for the r32 calipers, vagbremtechic j hooked 340mm discs, ferodo ds2500 pads and hel braided lines, haven't fitted them yet though


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dave J]

I ended up going for the r32 calipers, vagbremtechic j hooked 340mm discs, ferodo ds2500 pads and hel braided lines, haven't fitted them yet though


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You should be happy with that combo - have the same pads. Thought I'd done the wrong thing to start with as they squealed a bit at low speed, but properly bedded in they have quietened down.
Nice choice on discs - sadly those weren't available when I bought mine, otherwise I'd have gone for them. Next time...!