VR6 Front Brake Discs...??

[Westie 10]

Evening All,

 

Right I apologize if this has been asked/discussed before but what front discs are you using on your VR6's and what is the general opinion on grooved/slotted discs??

 

I've just done a 288mm upgrade on my fronts and unfortunately the old pair of what I thought were good plain Pagid discs from my donor MK3 are abit warped so going to change soon and looking for some wisdom :)

 

Cheers.

[fendervg 32]

I just use VW's own 288mm discs on the front. No problems with them so far. ATE do them as well, and I think you can even get 288mm discs with the non-corrosion coating on them.

 

I'd see no point in grooved or slotted discs for increased braking performance unless you are running huge calipers and performance pads and do a lot of track days. All they tend to do is create more brake dust and wear faster. Some I've seen are also of questionable quality and are liable to crack. The real limitations of the system are the pedal to servo/master cylinder mechanics which limit the amount of force you can exert on the disc and gives a spongy feel to the brakes, even with 288s, although they are definitely an improvement - at the end of the day they will never match a modern car, being a 20+ years old design.

[Dude VR6 0]

Westie where are you based ? As I may have a pair in the garage you could pick up for a small fee

[Dox 23]

Westie where are you based ? As I may have a pair in the garage you could pick up for a small fee

 

It says Mansfield beneath his forum name

[Westie 10]

Ok cheers fender, I've added braided lines to the system aswell, so with some new discs and maybe another through bleed they'll be up to scratch.

Dude, as Dox has said I live in Mansfield but I work in Lincolnshire at Coningsby during the week.

Whereabouts are you and what have you got?? I can collect if not far :)

[fendervg 32]

Braided lines will help - I have them on mine - but the main thing they do is stop the dreaded MOT/NCT fail on "bulging brake lines". I've got 288s with VAG calipers, discs and pads, braided hoses and ATE Super Blue Racing fluid, and have pressure bled the system countless number of times, and still not entirely satisfied with the feel. They are much better than standard, but there is relatively long pedal travel until the pads bite and you need to stomp on them to brake in a hurry.

 

I think it's about as good now as it will get with those components, and have decided to live with it. I want to keep my Speedlines, so don't have the option of going to larger calipers such as 312s as they won't fit. Some on here have converted to the ABS system off a Mk3 Golf, to solve both ABS and brake feel issues, but it's a big job and I can't comment on it.

 

Try driving a Mk1 GTI or Mk1/2 Sirocco if you really want poor braking! They used a lever to the master cylinder on the other side of the engine bay for the right hand drive conversion.

[Westie 10]

Oh right, well it sounds like you've got the same setup as me there and I too don't think I'll be doing the ABS upgrade from a MK3.

 

I think with the new discs it'll cure the wobble under braking and that's good enough for me, like you say the brakes will never be as good as newer systems, but I'm sure a little bit more tinkering and they'll be as good as they can be.

 

Anyway many thanks fender, that's one issue sorted haha.

[Dox 23]

seanjaymo has said the larger bore mk4 master cylinder should fit the standard vr servo

 

http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?80155-Corrado-Part-Duex-24V-Aqua-Blue-She-s-gone/page64

 

The good news is the pedal travel would be reduced, the bad news is that more pressure will be needed on the pedal.

[Westie 10]

Ah cool, cheers Dox.

Not a route I'm going to take I don't think but interesting :)

[AngusL 10]

Hey guys I have recently upgraded to a new set of generic ebay grooved and drilled 288mm ATE IIRC front discs with goodrich braided hoses all round Mk 3 golf refurbd calipers on the front and new mk4 calipers std discs on the rear and what a difference it makes. The car feels so much better for the upgrade already. Far more positive and smooth braking. It is really noticeable how much better the brakes are already. No long pedal travel either. You guys sure your Master cylinder seals are up to scratch or you still have air in there somewhere or dodgy brake fluid? My brakes wern't brilliant befor thanks to god knows how many years old std sized tarox thin and rusty disks. When VW had the car a while back they refused to drive it with the nasty old tarox disk. All sorted now though and they feel a hell of a lot better no question about it. I did the pressure bleed and have been very plesantly surprised at how good it turned out.

[fendervg 32]

Don't know about my seals on the master cylinder - it's still original, but there's no leaks to be seen. It's been bled countless number of times with a pressure bleeder (Sealey pumped reservoir type) and I don't believe there's any air in it. But great to hear that you have got good results from the upgrade and are happy with your braking performance now.

[Dox 23]

288s and 280s both have 54mm pistons, so if both are working as intended the pedal travel should be exactly the same.

 

The 288s have a larger pad area and a wider swept area compared to 280s

[AngusL 10]

Hey Dox... Exactly the wider contact patch providing a wider arc of disc material to grab hence more stopping power. Mechanical Advantage is in play here. Like old skool levers :-)

[AngusL 10]

Hey Fendervg - If the Master/slave cylinder seals leak same also for the clutch cylinders .. you probably wont see any leaks because its all enclosed inside the cylinder in question.

If this were the case though the brake/clutch pedal would continue to press to the floor as the fluid leaks past the offending piston seal.

[AngusL 10]

Hey I forgot to mention I bought one of the Gunsons ezi bleed kits and its a git to get the fluid cap to stay on Straps help.. But if you increase the pressure too much using in my case a spare tyre then you can also blow the seals. I think the ABS has seals in it that can be damaged by too much bleeding pressure so take care with those pressure kits.

Sorry if I am overstating the obvious here.

[Westie 10]

Hi Angus, I'm pretty sure the slight play is probably down to a little bit of air in the system. I've bled it a few times, the old pedal pump and gravity style but I think one more proper bleed after the new discs and I'll be happy.

As mentioned before, there will probably always be a tiny bit of pedal travel due to the nature of the old systems' design.

Just curious Angus, why the grooved and drilled discs??

[AngusL 10]

Hi Westie...Mansfield eh I'm in Worksop. I chose the grooved and drilled discs because they were a good price and quickly delivered from ebay seller mtec100 for 89.99. Nothing more. I could go into the bs about lighter discs and better air cooling through drilling but that really wasnt a concern. I have only done 300 miles in 2 trips so far but this upgrade is the best money I have spent on the car so far. Perhaps my original brakes were so bad that anything would have been better. Time will tell as to how they last.

[Westie 10]

Hello again, slow reply sorry guys.

Oh right Angus, maybe I'll spot your C one day.

Yer that's fair enough, I have spotted the mtec brakes on eBay before, can anybody shed any light as to how good they are??

[Jim Bowen 1]

I use pagid discs and pads from eurocarparts. I don't really drive too hard on the brakes so are fine for me.

 

Same with tyres. I never notice the difference between the mid range and then the expensive ones. Never bought the really cheap ones.