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Author Topic: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved  (Read 56788 times)

Offline Poverty

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Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« on: November 01, 2009, 01:20:09 pm »
Hello, am hoping some people here can educate me on brakes.

Basically I need a new set of pads and discs, and have been looking at uprated discs. There are several companies who offer uprated discs, but Im confused as to which one would suite me best.

Surely grooved and drilled should be better than just grooved? But some people say that drilled discs will crack?

I just need a set of discs that will work as well as OEM when cold, and better when hot. Has anyone got any knowledge on this.

The discs im looking at are tarox ones. They sell 3 different types of discs but there is no info as to which disc is designed to do what, or which disc is best suited for what application. Also as these are heat treated discs do I need to stick with tarox pads or would some ferodo ds2500 be fine with them?




« Last Edit: November 01, 2009, 01:21:44 pm by Poverty »

Offline Janner_Sy

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2009, 01:46:00 pm »
I have tarox strada pads, but would rate the DS2500s as better IMO.

I have heard that the G88 discs are very good indeed, but have read they are particularily nasty to brake pads which would make sense when you see the amount of grooves. Id say absolutley no chance of the pads glazing with heat on those discs though.

what are the prices of them.

would also be good to know the weights of them in comparison to the OEM discs as well

Offline tony_danza

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2009, 01:50:42 pm »
Drilled discs are purely for weight saving and looks. They will crack if you use them wrong.

Those G88s chew pads, I've had a set. ATE Powerdiscs FTW.

You can use any pad, just bed them in right.
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Offline Poverty

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2009, 01:56:08 pm »
I have tarox strada pads, but would rate the DS2500s as better IMO.

I have heard that the G88 discs are very good indeed, but have read they are particularily nasty to brake pads which would make sense when you see the amount of grooves. Id say absolutley no chance of the pads glazing with heat on those discs though.

what are the prices of them.

would also be good to know the weights of them in comparison to the OEM discs as well

Apparently lighter than the oem cupra 345x30mm brakes but no idea by how much. Price for set on the front for the cupra is 280 pounds, for the gti and fr its 240 pounds. There are for of us over on SCN who want some so will try and negotiate some money off.

Good to hear that the G88's are good, not too good to hear that they eat pads as the stock ones have only lasted me 9 months and thats without even a trackday   :rolleye:

Gotta pay to play though  :driver:
Drilled discs are purely for weight saving and looks. They will crack if you use them wrong.

Those G88s chew pads, I've had a set. ATE Powerdiscs FTW.

You can use any pad, just bed them in right.

Pads go much much quicker than oem with the g88s?

ATE powerdiscs? Tell me more  :party:


Also have found this from my research

High Performance Brake Discs

The demanding driver can soon find the limits of a standard braking system. When brakes get hot the pads give off a gas, this gas then gets stuck between the pad and disc and will push the pad off of the disc stopping your brakes working. This effect is called brake fade. Fitting grooved or drilled discs dispels the gases and stops this happening. There are also further advantages of fitting performance discs: A cross drilled disc will stay cooler because the air will flow through the holes in the disc, this in turn will keep the pads cooler and they won't give off as much gas. A grooved disc will de-glaze the pads if the pads are overheated. If you combine grooving and drilling on the same disc you will get the best of both worlds - Maximum gas dispersion, maximum cooling and pad deglazing.


Porsche, MB and Audi sell cars with drilled oem discs, apparently, if discs are drilled in a special way they wont crack.

Offline Janner_Sy

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2009, 02:06:37 pm »
the gas will also be expelled through the grooves though.

ive also seen plenty of pics with audi drilled discs with cracks in them

Offline tony_danza

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2009, 02:13:41 pm »
It isn't the drilling technique, the decent brakes (Porsche etc) are forged and not cast metal, so its properties are much better.

Drilled means they heat up and cool down quicker, as there's less mass, that's why the crack. RS4 discs are a bugger for cracking.

ATE Powerdiscs

Heat in brakes is a good thing, so long as it is all matched - you want the right pad for your temp range. A set of DS2500s, or even better, Pagid blues on those ATE discs and you're golden.
« Last Edit: November 01, 2009, 02:19:21 pm by tony_danza »
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Offline stealthwolf

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #6 on: November 01, 2009, 02:17:24 pm »
Hmm...interesting.

Out of curiosity, what other brakes are available that will fit the mk5 and are forged? Or would they have to be custom jobs?

The GTI isn't just a machine. It's very much a living, breathing thing.

Offline Poverty

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #7 on: November 01, 2009, 02:25:04 pm »
Hmm...interesting.

Out of curiosity, what other brakes are available that will fit the mk5 and are forged? Or would they have to be custom jobs?
Havent seen any forged discs yet myself


It isn't the drilling technique, the decent brakes (Porsche etc) are forged and not cast metal, so its properties are much better.

Drilled means they heat up and cool down quicker, as there's less mass, that's why the crack.

ATE Powerdiscs

Like the look of that, they also do two piece discs which should be considerably lighter than oem.

Offline tony_danza

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #8 on: November 01, 2009, 02:37:15 pm »
Forged = mega money, that's why Porsche discs make people cry. I'm not sure if any are available for the MKV.

Grooved cast discs are perfectly fine, it only needs a few cuts to shift gases. Alcon, AP and some others have all moved to cresents. Look at discs on race cars and you'll see what works in the real world, not the "tuners".

The more grooves you have, the more wear on the pad and more noise given off them.

ATE's 2 piece discs aren't there for the MKV yet. There are some Zimmerman versions though (again highly regarded). Note the use of an aluminium 'bell' and the disc on pins to allow expansion. I know they're drilled, but there's big gaps between holes, I'd be buying these if your budget stretches because of the 2 piece benefits and chance your arm on the cracking. ECP sell these and have a great warranty policy...so hopefully you'd be ok if they did. ATE if not.
« Last Edit: November 01, 2009, 02:45:05 pm by tony_danza »
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Offline Poverty

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #9 on: November 01, 2009, 02:46:31 pm »
Forged = mega money, that's why Porsche discs make people cry. I'm not sure if any are available for the MKV.

Grooved cast discs are perfectly fine, it only needs a few cuts to shift gases. Alcon, AP and some others have all moved to cresents. Look at discs on race cars and you'll see what works in the real world, not the "tuners".

The more grooves you have, the more wear on the pad and more noise given off them.

ATE's 2 piece discs aren't there for the MKV yet. There are some Zimmerman versions though (again highly regarded). Note the use of an aluminium 'bell' and the disc on pins to allow expansion. I know they're drilled, but there's big gaps between holes, I'd be buying these if your budget stretches because of the 2 piece benefits and chance your arm on the cracking. ECP sell these and have a great warranty policy...so hopefully you'd be ok if they did. ATE if not.

Thanks you have been super helpful  :happy2:

Those zimmermans are drilled though? Presume because of their special construction they are unlikely to crack hence the holes?  :ashamed:

Any idea where I can get zimmermans from?

Offline tony_danza

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #10 on: November 01, 2009, 02:50:11 pm »
I might have edited after you read.. sorry. I added:

"I know they're drilled, but there's big gaps between holes, I'd be buying these if your budget stretches because of the 2 piece benefits and chance your arm on the cracking. ECP (Euro Car Parts) sell these and have a great warranty policy...so hopefully you'd be ok if they did"

Mike.

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Offline Tfsi_Mike

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #11 on: November 01, 2009, 02:55:52 pm »
DaveB1970 on here has been very helpful on the disc front  :happy2:

Offline Poverty

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #12 on: November 01, 2009, 03:00:54 pm »
DaveB1970 on here has been very helpful on the disc front  :happy2:

any links? What discs are you going for?

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #13 on: November 01, 2009, 03:05:09 pm »
DaveB1970 on here has been very helpful on the disc front  :happy2:

any links? What discs are you going for?

Either oem sent to badger5 for grooving or daveyB for drilling or discs supplied by daveyb drilled

Offline Poverty

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Re: Lets talk brakes: Grooved & drilled vs Grooved
« Reply #14 on: November 01, 2009, 03:10:11 pm »
DaveB1970 on here has been very helpful on the disc front  :happy2:

any links? What discs are you going for?

Either oem sent to badger5 for grooving or daveyB for drilling or discs supplied by daveyb drilled

Are the daveyb ones OEM?

I might have edited after you read.. sorry. I added:

"I know they're drilled, but there's big gaps between holes, I'd be buying these if your budget stretches because of the 2 piece benefits and chance your arm on the cracking. ECP (Euro Car Parts) sell these and have a great warranty policy...so hopefully you'd be ok if they did"

Mike.



Sadly they dont have performance discs listed for the cupra. Need 345x30mm ones. Think I will send ATE an zimmerman an email and see if they make any discs that size.