Looking for some advice on brakes please...

[J5BWS]

Hi

Over the past few months I've done some subtle mods on my car (pics will follow over the next few more weeks) and I've pretty much got it where I want it to be, however one thing that has come to my attention more-so than ever now that the car is feeling rapid, is that the standard brakes are pretty poor.  I was on a bit of a spirited drive today and had to really stamp (like as much pressure as I could put on them!) on them before they did anything at one point. 

I was wondering what would significantly improve my braking setup on a tight (£300-£700 tops!) budget?

I do intend to fit my new wheels in the next few weeks, with some Michelin Pilot PS3 tyres so obviously that will help a bit but any advice would be really appreciated please...

[Janner_Sy]

http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=10942.0 get your these, then buy a good set of pads. DaveB1978 will be able to advise on good pads. you wont get anything better value than that

[J5BWS]

Thanks, but are the R32 brakes really that much better than the standard GTI setup?...

[vRStu]

I think so yes.  The brakes on my S3 are much better than the Octavia's I had.

[QD MBE]

Thanks, but are the R32 brakes really that much better than the standard GTI setup?...

Dave B put it well.  You get £400 worth of improvement.  I had S3 brakes (same as R32) Front snd Rear, and I was impressed by the improvement over stock.
 

[Hurdy]

I agree, for your budget the R32/S3 upgrade is about the best you'll get (especially new). In combination with some fast road pads you'll have much better braking than a GTI

312mm v's 345mm discs
286mm solids v's 310mm vented

The calipers are still single pot, but the pots are slightly larger and give more force to the pads.

 

[J5BWS]

Thanks for the comparison there, much appreciated.

I have however also seen the Porsche BBK's now, god what I'd give for them however, budget, not wanting to go daft and wanting to keep things fairly standard means the R32 setup is the main contender so if that set is still for sale at the end of the week I'll probably be treating my Geet! 

[DaveB@Vagbremtechnic]

Porsche brakes for £700 is doable maybe a bit less.

They are sizeable calipers and can be made to fit effectively, here are some GT3 RS calipers on a Mk4, these are over 90mm wide but with some wisely chosen wheels and some adaptors we managed to get them on a mk4 with no poke



Ive been toying with the idea of doing a carrier for 312's on boxster fronts calipers which would be a cost effective 1/2 way house between the S3/R32 stuff and a Fullon BBK with a little Bling thrown in cos we like it. Theres good pad choice for that caliper and the boxster fronts have the same piston surface area as the 996 Carrera 2/4 calipers but are limited to a 25mm thick disc so it would work well.

If anybody wants to guinea pig it for me I'd do it as cheap as I could, but it wouldn't really validate it unless somebody was tracking it with some 1/2 decent pads which aren't cheap. The geometric limit for the caliper is about 320mm on disc diameter and we all know we like to think biggest is best which again we all know isn't really the case. The 996 only gets 318mm brakes and they're phenomenal.

The big problem with the S3/R32 kit is pad availability - theres just not much out there for them, Beddie brought my attention to some Carbon Metallics for a Mazda Race Series that would fit but they contaminate your disc when it comes to your driving to work pads

PM me if you fancy guinea pigging that setup.

[tony_danza]

Carbotech stuff Dave?

I run them and agree, you can't use them on a used disc and you can't swap back to normal unless you have it re-ground. Luckily I dropped on a spare set of rotors, so I can have a set just for the XP8s. I will say though, they do have plenty enough cold bite to be a good daily pad.

I ran these at Oulton yesterday, I was doing 2:05-ish laps and at one point stayed out for 25 minutes... they didn't fade once.

Tabs and I had some good scalps yesterday 

[Dubtek]

HEL Braided brake lines? Best £60 you'll spend on your brakes 

[robern2]

Carbotech pads are one of the best, but unfortunately unkind to alloys regardless of how often you clean them.

[tony_danza]

Carbotech pads are one of the best, but unfortunately unkind to alloys regardless of how often you clean them.

Really? But then I suppose mine are powdercoated rather than painted and they're bladdered in rim-wax. Bit of Bilberry wheel cleaner and they're sparkling again.

You use brakes hard, you've got to expect mess I suppose.

[john_o]

comes down to your anticipated usage tbh, more than an occasional track day then go BBK.

I went R32 setup as it suited my needs and budget at the time.
as stoke said, DaveB hit the nail on the head , its an improvement overstock but only to a certain extent.

R32 : relatively cheap , VW OE parts but increased unsprung weight.

I went road an wet Oulton Park just fine with them (albeit not at tony d's pace  ) without fade (which I would have had in stock 312mm discs)
I like them alot (apart from the weight issue , which can be partially negated by fitting lower TT alloy arms   )

[tony_danza]

Pace - I don't know what you mean?  ha ha.

Check this pic From Saturday, if you look hard enough, you'll see the discs are glowing red - that's how good XP8s & RBF600 are not to have faded!!

I might have been bullying some rather modded & LSD'd Focus STs at the time. The working class GTI scalps again!!  

[Aparoon]

I've heard loads of people say a decent set of pads make a huge difference on standard brake, why not give some a go and potentially save hundreds... IMO a lot of people go for bigger brakes for show, and theres nothing wrong with that but its a lot of money!