Roger Blassberg 0 Posted October 17, 2007 An article in the November issue of VW Driver (pp52,53) details an upgrade to front calipers. The rubber bushes in the caliper, through which the guide pins pass, are replaced with bronze bushes located by circlips. This does away with the slightly sloppy location of the caliper on the carrier and tightens up the feel of the brakes. No special equipment is needed to install the bushes, and a kit costs about £50 from a website in USA http://www.tyrolsport.com Has anyone tried this? If so, what comments do you have? I'm tempted to give it a try on the 288mm setup on the VR6. Best wishes RB Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dinkus 10 Posted October 17, 2007 Ooh that is rather interesting... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted November 2, 2007 i am also now thinking of buying this? did you get round to ordering? i would be looking at them for a 288mm caliper too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roger Blassberg 0 Posted November 4, 2007 No, when I went onto the website it showed the item as "out of stock". Then it slipped my mind, so I'll have another go sometime soon. Best wishes RB Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mystic Rado 0 Posted November 4, 2007 I've ordered a set of these to stick on while I'm upgrading to 288mm discs and calipers. They make theoretical sense, I think, and they're back in stock, or at least they were a couple of weeks back. If you drop them an e-mail, they'll give you a shipping price to the UK, plus you can pay by PayPal, which circumvents the vagaries of the online shop. Will report back once they arrive. Unfortunately because I don't know how the 288mm brakes feel as stock and I'm going to stick them on as one job, I won't have any idea if there's a detectable difference after fitting, sorry about that> I suppose I could do a before and after, but I really only want to have the calipers off once :-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mystic Rado 0 Posted November 5, 2007 OK, my bits just turned up via Parcelforce. No duty to pay as they were declared as a 'gift' on the customes declaration. Seem very nicely machined and come with a little sachet of synthetic brake caliper grease. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted November 5, 2007 i wondered if the rubbber bits were there for a reason? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve @ 0 Posted November 5, 2007 Have seen these on ebay. Look interesting but seem a little ££ for what is an easily machined part. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mystic Rado 0 Posted November 6, 2007 Have seen these on ebay. Look interesting but seem a little ££ for what is an easily machined part. Yeah, I guess so, but not having access to a lathe and precision engineering skills, I don't really fancy my chances of doing it myself. And if you think car upgrade bits are expensive, you should try mountain bikes - you can easily pay the same amount for a single, weeny, rear shock unit for a bike as you would for a set of four coilovers for a car :( i wondered if the rubbber bits were there for a reason? As far as there being a downside, well, I guess that there's more chance of seizure when you have a metal to metal interface, but not much beyond that. I guess you could ask whether there's not a good reason why VW designed sunroof mechs made of melted-down Kit Kat wrappers or headlight wiring that runs the current miles around the houses then straight through the headlight switch itself causing eventual failure. Sometimes it's just that it's cheaper or easier to manufacture things a certain way. I'm not an engineer though, just cynical or maybe realistic... I guess if there is a good reason to use rubber bits, I'll find out the hard way and let you know :? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pete_griff 0 Posted November 6, 2007 looking forward to see what you think about these as i've just had my calipers rebuilt i have to confess that the first thought on my mind was seizure, especially as part of the reason i'm now upgrading my brakes is because the old ones proper seized up on me! - make sure you get hold of some nice shiny new rubber sliding boots and arent shy with the grease! sure if they work fine though initial brake bite especially would be infinitely improved - anyway, looking forward to seeing what you think... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mystic Rado 0 Posted November 6, 2007 looking forward to see what you think about these as i've just had my calipers rebuilt Yeah, I saw your post - I'm about to send my calipers and carriers off to Biggred, just as soon as I can find the time to wrap the things up and stick them in a box :-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted November 6, 2007 whats involved in refurbing calipers as i will be needing some done soon, is it just the seals or do people replace the piston and other bits? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pete_griff 0 Posted November 6, 2007 whats involved in refurbing calipers as i will be needing some done soon, is it just the seals or do people replace the piston and other bits? in all honesty it all depends how far gone your calipers are - you will just have to rip them apart and see - it goes without saying that all seals etc should be renewed as a matter of course, probably the rubber slider cases, but as for new pistons etc - see how far gone your old ones are - you might be surprised how much you can clean things the only reason i payed biggred to do my calipers with new pistons etc is because i hate rust, am a tart and love the look of the poly coating, and (only very occasionaly i hasten to add) drive like a lunatic on my favourite b-road and am very hard on the brakes also mystic rado - don't know about any of the other finishes, but biggred's polymer finish is awesome - almost seems a shame to put copper grease on it! stand by for some pics later on tonight hopefully... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted November 9, 2007 got my calipers lastnight, i'll get a pic of them, as i'm not sure where to start cleaning them up. can i dunk them in water, is there anything i need to protect, they look alot better than i thought Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roger Blassberg 0 Posted November 9, 2007 Don't allow water to get into the hydraulic pathway (ie make sure the seals are in place and the hose connection point is adequtely closed off). Best wishes RB Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted November 9, 2007 ill put some pics up before i start, don't wanna bugger anything up :lol: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fla 9 Posted August 28, 2011 just installing these on mine right now. Quick question: Which way round do the calipers go - is the bleed nipple at the bottom or top? Also, how tight should the slider pins be in the carriers? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
floppyman 0 Posted August 28, 2011 Bleed screw allways on top Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fla 9 Posted August 29, 2011 thanks. Any pics of an installed setup - too drizzly yesterday to make much progress, plus it took ages to seat the dust covers properly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
