R32 Brake upgrade or upgrade pads

[MattC]

Been researching this for a few days and can't decide what to do.

DS2500 or M1144 pads or R32 calipers and cheapish discs and pads to stay below £500, probably £200 on discs and pads so not Ferodo or Mintex for that money...

Currently I have cheap brembo discs and pads (£104 all in) and they're trash always have been.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[Clarkj93]

Pad choice depends what the purpose is. Daily/fast road/ any track days thrown in. Personally I use the brembo discs, find them fine for all manners of abuse, I tend to save money and get the plain brembo discs and then get a really good quality pad.

 If you're on a budget then I would just go for an r32 setup, making sure the calipers are in good nick and the discs and pads are at least OK, then upgrade the pads and discs at a later date.  It will be your best bant for buck I think, you'll get a noticeable brake performance increase where as just doing discs and pads never goes very far in noticeable braking performance I've found.

[FatWelshBoy]

I would go for the 7R calipers over the R32 option to save a few kgs. My front  setup up and what I paid is:

7R calipers - £300
HEL mk5 to mk7 stainless lines - £50
Tarox Strada pads - £110
Mtec grooved discs - £110
R32 dust/stone shields - £25

It's a little over £500 but I'd say it's the best bang for buck. I've seen people saying you can use the stock brake lines without issue, and dust shields can be bent back, so that could possibly save a few quid. My calipers were immaculate for £300 but I've seen them going for less and still in really good condition. 7R/Gti PP/S38v/Cupra Mk3 are all the same bar colour. Brake pedal will go ever so slightly longer but takes very little time for it to become unnoticeable.

[Clarkj93]

I would go for the 7R calipers over the R32 option to save a few kgs. My front  setup up and what I paid is:

7R calipers - £300
HEL mk5 to mk7 stainless lines - £50
Tarox Strada pads - £110
Mtec grooved discs - £110
R32 dust/stone shields - £25

It's a little over £500 but I'd say it's the best bang for buck. I've seen people saying you can use the stock brake lines without issue, and dust shields can be bent back, so that could possibly save a few quid. My calipers were immaculate for £300 but I've seen them going for less and still in really good condition. 7R/Gti PP/S38v/Cupra Mk3 are all the same bar colour. Brake pedal will go ever so slightly longer but takes very little time for it to become unnoticeable.

I was under the impression they r32 setup and 7r calipers were identical weight? How much lighter are they?

[pudding]

MK5 R32 front brakes are crazy heavy and not that great either. 

The MK7 setup is much better.  I don't know what the weight difference is, but they're definitely lighter, and smaller.  R32 calipers are like ship anchors.

[Lewo]

MK5 R32 front brakes are crazy heavy and not that great either. 

The MK7 setup is much better.  I don't know what the weight difference is, but they're definitely lighter, and smaller.  R32 calipers are like ship anchors.

Ship anchors, quote of the day 

[FatWelshBoy]

From what I've read the 7R/GTI PP/S3 8V setup saves a chunk of weight over the R32 option:

R32 caliper - 9kg
Mk7 R caliper - 7kg
Mk5 GTI caliper - 5.5kg

R32 disc - 12.1kg
Mk7 R disc - 10.75kg
Mk5 GTI disc - 8.25kg

Don't take the weights as 100% accurate, it's just what I picked out of Google searches when looking at brake upgrade options.

[Clarkj93]

From what I've read the 7R/GTI PP/S3 8V setup saves a chunk of weight over the R32 option:

R32 caliper - 9kg
Mk7 R caliper - 7kg
Mk5 GTI caliper - 5.5kg

R32 disc - 12.1kg
Mk7 R disc - 10.75kg
Mk5 GTI disc - 8.25kg

Don't take the weights as 100% accurate, it's just what I picked out of Google searches when looking at brake upgrade options.

Good find. Roughly 4kg increase of unsprung mass compared to 7.5kg is a pretty good saving to be fair! Nice to know there is a reasonably priced oem bbk option that doesn't have a massive unsprung mass increase like the r32 setup does.

[chimp400]

I find the R32 set up more than enough for road use but they are big old units.

[MattC]

I actually went out for a drive last night and found the stock brakes okay. I think the problem I'm having is I clean my car weekly then drive with rusty brake discs even tho that surface rust should come off in a few seconds, idk.

So I'm going to hold off on upgrading the brakes, even tho the aesthetic is so much nicer than the standard puny calipers.

OT. Also had an encounter with a Bentley Arnage so that was pretty cool. 

[pudding]

I find the stock brakes to be fine as well. I wouldn't use them on track days but for general road use, they're not bad.  I went back to stock from the MK7 setup and it didn't feel like the massive drop in stopping power I was expecting    If anything, the initial bite at slower speeds is sharper with the stockers 

That is one opulent barge!  As Clarkson once said when he was doing donuts in one, "It's like Blenheim palace on wheels" 

[Clarkj93]

Everyone slates oem brakes, bet you even the porsche 911 guys slate theirs I've had them on track, they run fine tbh as long as they're not pushed for too long with a decent pad choice and on road orientated tyres.

[pudding]

Everyone slates oem brakes, bet you even the porsche 911 guys slate theirs I've had them on track, they run fine tbh as long as they're not pushed for too long with a decent pad choice and on road orientated tyres.

Very true    In some cases, slagging the stock brakes is more than justified!  E.g. MK1 - MK3 GTI, Golf and Corrado VR6, E36 M3, MK4 R32....all had TERRIBLE brakes 

[GilesWoodward59]

I’ve just “refurbished” my OEM set up with new calipers, Hel braided lines, decent fluid and new discs & pads and the difference is night and day. I used to have what felt like an inch of pedal travel before anything happened, now it’s instantly good feel and progressive. The old lines & fluid were probably as big part of the problem and I think the lines were the originals on the car judging by the date stamp (07/07).

[LC5F]

Yes - Mk7 R are a great upgrade but not light, the bigger disks add more weight too, I am still very happy with mine, coupled with (not sure why everyone knocks them) Brembo pads and discs all round

No - for the Mk7 R conversion you don't need adaptor brake pipes - the original Mk5 ones are the same thread size - but if they are original it is likely they are due replacement.

I have DS2500 in my other VW - for a track bias pad, in real world driving they have really good cold braking

MK5 R32 front brakes are crazy heavy and not that great either. 

The MK7 setup is much better.  I don't know what the weight difference is, but they're definitely lighter, and smaller.  R32 calipers are like ship anchors.

Ship anchors, quote of the day 

I think he's talking reminiscing about his Rado R32 VR6 engine again.