Braking Question

[CarlW]

Thanks for all the info. I've taken it all onboard so shall wait and see what happens in the near future when i get the motor

[xjay1337]

If your going to be adding power then upgrade your brakes instead of new pads, discs and fluid.

As mentioned, R32/S3 for valve and a very noticable improvement or 4 pot calipers such as the Porsche Brembo 986 kit (otherwise known as the NQSBBK on here) which are a LOT lighter weight option but cost around £800-£900 if your sourcing the parts for the BBK yourself or from £600 second hand on here.

Combine an BBK with some better rears such as S3 or Caddy 2k's.

Lots of threads on all the above.  

I'm sorry, I disagree.
More pots and/or a larger caliper and/or a larger disc does not automatically give better braking. It may help improve fade but only because of thermodynamics or something like that. Larger surface area means more cooling and more ability to maintain heat.

The main problem is fade.
You can fit 18 piston calipers on a 700mm disc but you can only stop as fast as the tyres can grip. The tyres are the limiting factory ultimately.
The best bang for buck upgrade would be high performance pads and brake fluid..... and is all you NEED.

[MC71]

^^^^ No need to be sorry! 

[GarethB]

I'm sorry, I disagree.
More pots and/or a larger caliper and/or a larger disc does not automatically give better braking. It may help improve fade but only because of thermodynamics or something like that. Larger surface area means more cooling and more ability to maintain heat.

The main problem is fade.
You can fit 18 piston calipers on a 700mm disc but you can only stop as fast as the tyres can grip. The tyres are the limiting factory ultimately.
The best bang for buck upgrade would be high performance pads and brake fluid..... and is all you NEED.

Sorry Jay, but I disagree.

Without going into a mass physics debate, if your GTI (with standard 312mm front brakes) is rolling alongside say, RedRobins GTI (with 330mm AP four pots), and you both were to anchor up at any speed - he will stop first  

[xjay1337]

No need to be sorry. ;)

On the same tyres on the same road, all things being equal, I can't see how.
You are limited by your tyres. If your tyres can only hold 0.8g of braking you can only stop at 0.8g... even if your brakes are capable of pulling 1.2 , for example?
Correct me if that's not right.
However after 3 attempts while his would still stop i would imagine the stock brakes would be suffering with some amount of fade.. THAT'S where big brakes kick in.

[GarethB]

I think we need a DaveB in here really....

although I agree with your thoughts on fading - my APs are unreal. They just feel stronger than standard or R32 brakes that were fitted before, and never ever seem to fade 

[rich83]

Braking from high speed and you'll notice the difference between setups... take 3 GTIs. One with 312mm... one with 345mm and one with 362mm 4 pot. Braking from 100MPH, and you clearly see the benefit.

[Tinytim]

I have VWR 6 pots fitted to mine and couldn't imagine going back to standard gti brakes.
The difference really is night and day in terms of stopping ability

When travelling at speed the VWR brakes enable you to loose speed at an amazing rate.

Everytime I drive my other halfs car I nearly fail to stop because I am so used to my brakes where you only have to touch the pedal to stop.

Best upgrade on my car in my opinion.

[MC71]

No need to be sorry. ;)

On the same tyres on the same road, all things being equal, I can't see how.
You are limited by your tyres. If your tyres can only hold 0.8g of braking you can only stop at 0.8g... even if your brakes are capable of pulling 1.2 , for example?
Correct me if that's not right.
However after 3 attempts while his would still stop i would imagine the stock brakes would be suffering with some amount of fade.. THAT'S where big brakes kick in.

Did you make that up or find it on the interweb?? 


If the tyres are the same on both cars (one with the OEM set up and one with a BBK set up) of course the car with better brakes will perform better!

[flashp]

I can't say I've noticed a problem with the brakes on my GTI at all, especially for a 200bhp hatch... more than good enough.

 Large BRAKES do not improve braking automatically.

Fit new OEM discs, Ferodo DS2500 pads and ATE Superblue fluid.

 

Do this unless you are tracking your car or planning to go beyond stage 1. I ran standard brakes with Revo stage 1 on the road and it was fine. 

[Tinytim]

Get some of these. Expensive but an amazing product, once you've had them you'll never want to go back.

http://www.goapr.co.uk/products/brakes_vwr_vag_a5.html

[xjay1337]

No need to be sorry. ;)

On the same tyres on the same road, all things being equal, I can't see how.
You are limited by your tyres. If your tyres can only hold 0.8g of braking you can only stop at 0.8g... even if your brakes are capable of pulling 1.2 , for example?
Correct me if that's not right.
However after 3 attempts while his would still stop i would imagine the stock brakes would be suffering with some amount of fade.. THAT'S where big brakes kick in.

Did you make that up or find it on the interweb?? 


If the tyres are the same on both cars (one with the OEM set up and one with a BBK set up) of course the car with better brakes will perform better!

I don't make things up
You can only stop as fast as the tyres will allow you (ultimate braking)
Larger/better brakes will be less susceptible to fade and thus allow you to brake more reliably more of the time (eg in repeated runs) .