VW Racing Big Brake kit product review

[danishmkvgti]

So what you're saying Dave, is the Tarox 2 piece calipers is to be avoided? 

 

[DaveB@Vagbremtechnic]

That's unfair to say Jake, a lot of the most popular and successful calipers are two piece. If I was going to make my own I'd want to ensure they were of an advanced design reflecting the most modern design and manufacturing techniques.

Two piece calipers are a third of the cost to manufacture than monoblock unless you're making 10000 at a time

I'd also like to say I'm not for certain saying the VWR caliper Has rigidity issues, I just can't think of any other reason its reported that it works better upside down than the right way up, Caparo no doubt did the analysis.

Regarding rigidity some mono block calipers have a bolt through pad retaining pin to help, some two piece calipers such as the R8 rear (a caliper i really rate for a mk5) have a reinforcing bar across the front face as does the larger R8 front which is monoblock and has a re bar as well

We tested the xyz calipers on the bench with some pads and a hand levered master cylinder and the flex was very visible, we also then tested an AP Racing CP5020 on which the XYZ caliper was "based" which did also flex but nowhere as much, the castings will evolve over time with added mass and material. AP have had 40 years to get that casting correct.

[danishmkvgti]

That's unfair to say Jake, a lot of the most popular and successful calipers are two piece. If I was going to make my own I'd want to ensure they were of an advanced design reflecting the most modern design and manufacturing techniques.

Two piece calipers are a third of the cost to manufacture than monoblock unless you're making 10000 at a time

I'd also like to say I'm not for certain saying the VWR caliper Has rigidity issues, I just can't think of any other reason its reported that it works better upside down than the right way up, Caparo no doubt did the analysis.

Regarding rigidity some mono block calipers have a bolt through pad retaining pin to help, some two piece calipers such as the R8 rear (a caliper i really rate for a mk5) have a reinforcing bar across the front face as does the larger R8 front which is monoblock and has a re bar as well

We tested the xyz calipers on the bench with some pads and a hand levered master cylinder and the flex was very visible, we also then tested an AP Racing CP5020 on which the XYZ caliper was "based" which did also flex but nowhere as much, the castings will evolve over time with added mass and material. AP have had 40 years to get that casting correct.

Thx Dave, so calipers stay, but will catch you regarding your floating discs 

[Janner_Sy]

that would take the kit to over £2.5K....that opens up a WHOLE lot of options, advanced brake kits at that sort of money deal with heat by design..... fully float in the bell systems with front face cooling for example
if you cut out the hype of which calipers people are running, in the pit lane it's simply down to what pads people run. The calipers at that level are simply there to hold the pads in the correct place nobody gives a rats arse what calipers you run, it's accepted they're up to the job and pads are what count.  There's a place for the VWR kit, my issue with it is Value for Money, I've not commented on my own personal viewpoint on the kit until now, take the badge of it and it's a £1200 inc vat kit which would be competing with Forge, K-Sport, XYZ, willwood., Hi-Spec. .....  What aspect of the kit makes it £800 more expensive?

I'm getting value for money with my kit as I'm the development car for my particular kit which is a 4 pot setup instead of the current 6 poT option.  Id understand if I was paying alcon money, so imnot losing out as much as others

[MAT ED30]

It strange as my brakes are strong the amount of times I have lit the emergency lights up just by giving them a good jab 

[Janner_Sy]

The important thing here is to seperate objective and subjective opinions.

The pad wear is an issue but is it something directly related to soft pads on track cars with heavybraking thus easily solved?  Maybe rotating the calipers will solve it, idont kniw.  I've asked a few times on here

[MAT ED30]

Thats what I am thinking too ds2500 on a track with slicks or even track rubber will get get chewed up badly I would think hence why they look so bad,so maybe some better pads in and then see what happens but I don't know much about brakes and dave does so I can only say what mine have been like over 20k plus of driving on the roads and I still have loads of pad life left and even brake wear so I can only go by that 

[tony_danza]

Matt's kit clearly works, the VWCup runners kits clearly work. Maybe it's slightly different and they changed the road version, I don't know? And DS2500s are fine until you overheat them, then they melt like butter and you'll have no pads. Simples. They're not really a track pad, they certainly are not a race pad.

It isn't fundamentally a bad road kit, the big pot leading is wrong and a bolted disc isn't ideal, but for 90% of people (pending the pot issues) it'll be perfect.

For the other 10%, you wanna play racecars, you've gotta pay racecar money. Just buy the best... look at any decent race/rally series, they're not running "pretenders", brakes win or lose races. AP, Alcon or Brembo at a push, as their consumables are vulgarly priced.

The thing is, most people can't justify AP/Alcon/Brembo money - which is where a good VWR kit will come in. I hope they get the issues sorted and the 4-pot is a good 'un.

[MAT ED30]

If they did not work they would not be on the race cars and the drivers would say get them off the cars they don't work surely  or don't the guys paying for the cars get a say in anything on the cars?

[tony_danza]

I'm just talking about the road kit, Matt - surely there's something odd about it?

[MAT ED30]

I'm just talking about the road kit, Matt - surely there's something odd about it?

I don't know Mike it's something that vwr need to look at then  might have to call into see em and ask the ???

[jhtrophy]

I don't get why they would be two kits, as matts race set obviously work on the road, I'm sure after 20k you would see the uneven pad wear even with road use, them pics are nuts and clearly points to an issue with that setup.

[MAT ED30]

And you know the car stops you have been in it and driven it I think

[jhtrophy]

Yeah, but I think you have the race car setup Dude

[MAT ED30]

Yeah I do so I don't know what they have changed then