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Author Topic: Brake Confusion!  (Read 14251 times)

Offline Lucastheone92

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Brake Confusion!
« on: February 20, 2017, 11:39:57 am »
My edition 30 is going stage 2 soon and I feel i will need some better brakes.

I dont fancy spending a fortune of big brake kits and I've heard the r32/s3 brakes can be too heavy. Could i just upgrade the pads and change the brake fluid?

Offline RetroRaz

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2017, 11:45:32 am »
you can R32 setup but get Audi TTS Discs, they are lighter than r32 discs.

I ran these on my old gti and you feel the difference in the steering.

Ill have an r32 setup coming off my current car soon if youre interested?

Offline Lucastheone92

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2017, 12:08:39 pm »
you can R32 setup but get Audi TTS Discs, they are lighter than r32 discs.

I ran these on my old gti and you feel the difference in the steering.

Ill have an r32 setup coming off my current car soon if youre interested?
What would the r32 setup consist of and do you have the tts discs coking off your car too?


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Offline RetroRaz

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2017, 12:23:15 pm »
R32 Brake Calipers, carriers, Discs, pads and braided brake lines.

Ive not got the TTS discs on mine, not sure what brand they are but they dont seem heavy compared to my old r32 setup I had so just left them on.

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2017, 08:30:16 am »
The R32 brake setup is more than enough for fast road use, quite cost effective and the weight penalty isn't too much of an issue especially if running after market alloys which are usually lighter than stock items anyway.

The next upgrade to consider would be the Porsche 986 Boxster front caliper upgrade. This is probably one of the most popular multi-piston, lighter caliper upgrades for the Golf/Audi/Leon platform with loads of support for it from tuning companies.

Ultimately, you can do what I did and go for the Porsche Cayenne 6 piston upgrade. Cost me around £1000 in parts and I fitted it myself to keep costs down but it's more than capable of big power in a Golf/Audi/Leon.

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Offline Dan_FR

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #5 on: February 22, 2017, 09:44:39 am »
Get a used R32/S3/Cupra setup for £300 ish. Best value for money brake upgrade you'll find.
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Offline rich83

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2017, 09:49:07 am »
Get a used R32/S3/Cupra setup for £300 ish. Best value for money brake upgrade you'll find.

What he said.

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2017, 09:50:41 am »
Get a used R32/S3/Cupra setup for £300 ish. Best value for money brake upgrade you'll find.

What he said.

Don't forget to add it's also the cheapest and easiest kit to maintain in terms of parts too.

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Offline Stig_gti

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2017, 11:14:52 am »
Will he notice the added weight tho.
Will the ride be more crashey only reason that puts me off is the added weight and how it will fill behind the wheel.

Offline Shoduchi

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2017, 11:27:10 am »
Will he notice the added weight tho.
Will the ride be more crashey only reason that puts me off is the added weight and how it will fill behind the wheel.
The added weight might be only noticeable just after installing the calipers. You soon get used to it. The ride quality will keep the same, IMO. I have this setup on my GT Sport, BTW. :smiley:

Offline pudding

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #10 on: February 22, 2017, 12:05:54 pm »
R32 calipers are ridiculously heavy.  The 2 piece discs aren't too bad, but still heavier than 312s.  Some of the weight gain can be offset by fitting Passat bearing carriers and wishbones, and also the driver eating fewer pies  :smiley:

Brake the car appropriate for it's purpose.  The amount of crazy disc and caliper combinations I see pop up on the facebook group is nuts, and most of them for sale.  Lambo 8 pots, Audi 6 pot ceramics etc etc.  It's just nuts.  90% of these combinations are thrown on for kerb appeal and bragging rights, with no thought given to Master cylinder volume, brake bias, rotational mass or wheel clearance.  OEMs fit brakes appropriate for the car's mass, performance and tyre width.  No Golf running 225 section tyres will even realise the full braking potential of Lamborghini 8 pots and 390mm discs  :grin:

If it were me, I would go MK7 GTI caliper with TTS 340mm discs, along with the aforementioned Passat alloy items.   You'll get the benefit of stronger braking, but without a weight penalty, minimal increase in rotational mass, and more flexible wheel choices.
« Last Edit: February 22, 2017, 12:09:35 pm by Pudding »


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Offline Shoduchi

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #11 on: February 22, 2017, 01:45:24 pm »
I feel an huge braking power difference between my R32 front calipers with TTS Brembo Sport 340 mm discs and my Brembo 18Z calipers with MB ML450 350 mm discs.

My GT Sport has the smaller MC so it's working at its maximum. I never floored the brake pedal while hard braking. I do know that when the pads are worn out the brake pedal will have much more travel.

My Ed. 30 has the bigger MC and works well with the Brembo 18Z that have a smaller piston area than the new GTI PP/7R front calipers. Keep in mind that the 7R has the same size MC as my Ed. 30.

I do notice the heavier brake discs compared with the TTS brake discs. On track the setup has never faded yet. The increased mass helps to dissipate the heat too. I chose these calipers due to being able to fit lightweight wheels without needing wheel spacers, being cheap and a direct fit to my hubs.

I reckon that I don't have the same flexible choice on discs or pads for track use but I have plenty of cheap options for daily driving. These calipers being so close to the hub make them incompatible with the SuperPro adjustable ball joints and with alloy hubs.

Bottom line is, choose wisely the brake setup for the intended use. :smiley:

Offline pudding

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #12 on: February 22, 2017, 02:02:17 pm »
You are a shining example of the opposite of "What do I need to make these 56 pot McLaren P1 calipers fit my Ed30?" type stuff that seems to be the culture these days  :smiley:

I have yet to find a requirement to move away from the standard brakes.  I don't do track days, because it's a road car.....I'll buy a Caterham when I do track days  :smiley: 

I think most folk who feel the standard brakes are inadequate for road use....

...are driving way too fast on public roads and / or leaving the braking way too late.
...have f'cked rear calipers.
...have a vacuum pump seal leak.
...have crap pads.
...have worn dampers.
...etc.

Seriously, I have braked from some pretty silly speeds I'm not proud of and the standard brakes were absolutely fine.   Bigger brakes improve the initial bite because of the torque leverage and bigger pad area, but you cannot deploy more stopping force to the tarmac than the tyres are capable of.  Standard brakes can lock the tyres just as easily as massive brakes.  The only difference is pedal effort.  I'd rather save my money and push the pedal harder  :smiley:


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Offline rich83

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #13 on: February 22, 2017, 02:23:08 pm »
Yeah but big brakes.... they are big  :ashamed:

Offline Paradox1

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Re: Brake Confusion!
« Reply #14 on: February 22, 2017, 02:40:03 pm »
You are a shining example of the opposite of "What do I need to make these 56 pot McLaren P1 calipers fit my Ed30?" type stuff that seems to be the culture these days  :smiley:

I have yet to find a requirement to move away from the standard brakes.  I don't do track days, because it's a road car.....I'll buy a Caterham when I do track days  :smiley: 

I think most folk who feel the standard brakes are inadequate for road use....

...are driving way too fast on public roads and / or leaving the braking way too late.
...have f'cked rear calipers.
...have a vacuum pump seal leak.
...have crap pads.
...have worn dampers.
...etc.

Seriously, I have braked from some pretty silly speeds I'm not proud of and the standard brakes were absolutely fine.   Bigger brakes improve the initial bite because of the torque leverage and bigger pad area, but you cannot deploy more stopping force to the tarmac than the tyres are capable of.  Standard brakes can lock the tyres just as easily as massive brakes.  The only difference is pedal effort.  I'd rather save my money and push the pedal harder  :smiley:

@r5gtt exactly what I said earlier!!