JH79 10 Posted June 11, 2020 Hi guys, I'm a VR6 owner who has just pulled the VR out of the garage it has been moth balled in for a few years. I'm after some expert knowledge from the seasoned pro's on here if poss. There are several things I need to do on it before it'll be on the roads again. Service it for one and the brakes are totally screwed. I'm going to do the standard upgrade of the brakes while i'm at it so was hoping someone can point me to a definitive parts list needed to upgrade the front to the MK3 Golf 288 setup and the rears to the MK2 golf to prevent the classic seizing up. I've had a read of some threads which are great but have some part numbers missing etc. Any advice on some good reliable parts suppliers? I'd like to use as much OEM as possible. The other thing i need to do is replace most of the coolant hoses that have perished including the breather valve etc. Anyone recommend a good hose replacement kit or a thread that has the hose part numbers? Really appreciate any advice. Good to be back trying to get the VR back motoring again! J Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dox 22 Posted June 11, 2020 All rear bakes seize, mk2, mk3 and mk4. The current trend is MK4s, using the original carriers, disks and pads - you will need conversion hoses as MK4s have a banjo fitting For 288s I'd source MK4 288mm callipers and carriers, pads and MK3 288mm disks (MK4s are the wrong offset). You'll need MK3 front hoses with a banjo fitting with these too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JH79 10 Posted June 12, 2020 Cheers Dox. Much appreciated Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fendervg 30 Posted June 12, 2020 There's a thread on here with the part numbers, there's a number of options. MkIV rears with original disks are the ones to go for, and the front 288mm discs will be off a late-ish Mk3 Golf VR6 - hoses can be got from Goodridge and othrs in the braided version, and the callipers come on a number of different cars, VR6 Golf, Passat, 4Motion etc. Be aware that some 15" wheels will not clear the larger callipers on the front, and you won't get a space saver spare on either, so will need to move the rims around if you have a blow-out on the front. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JH79 10 Posted June 12, 2020 Cheers fendervg. Great tips. Especially on the space saver! Do you guys have a preferred parts supplier you have used? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fendervg 30 Posted June 12, 2020 Not really a single go-to point on the parts - VW still have some stuff, there's VW Classic Parts and VW Heritage in the UK, a lot of stuff on eBay. For the callipers your best bet might be a breaker somewhere, and then refurb them if needed - I bought mine new from VW at the time, but that was nearly 10 years ago. The MkiV rears are still available new, but they are so plentiful second-hand that you should be able to pick up a decent set. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
g0ldf1ng3r 13 Posted June 12, 2020 22 hours ago, JH79 said: Hi guys, I'm a VR6 owner who has just pulled the VR out of the garage it has been moth balled in for a few years. I'm after some expert knowledge from the seasoned pro's on here if poss. There are several things I need to do on it before it'll be on the roads again. Service it for one and the brakes are totally screwed. I'm going to do the standard upgrade of the brakes while i'm at it so was hoping someone can point me to a definitive parts list needed to upgrade the front to the MK3 Golf 288 setup and the rears to the MK2 golf to prevent the classic seizing up. I've had a read of some threads which are great but have some part numbers missing etc. Any advice on some good reliable parts suppliers? I'd like to use as much OEM as possible. The other thing i need to do is replace most of the coolant hoses that have perished including the breather valve etc. Anyone recommend a good hose replacement kit or a thread that has the hose part numbers? Really appreciate any advice. Good to be back trying to get the VR back motoring again! J having been through all the options for front brakes on my VR & having done a cost comparison i can personally recommend HiSpec 4 pot's as a much better alternative to 288's the 4 pot's are the biggest brakes you can fit under the standard 15" alloy, one of the reasons i went for them IIRC i got everything needed from HiSpec with exception of the 10mm spacers, as the ones i got from them were not hub centric. i believe i put a cost break down on my build thread but there was not too much of a price difference i can vouch for them being a cracking set of brakes & massive improvement from standard Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
g0ldf1ng3r 13 Posted June 12, 2020 10 minutes ago, g0ldf1ng3r said: having been through all the options for front brakes on my VR & having done a cost comparison i can personally recommend HiSpec 4 pot's as a much better alternative to 288's the 4 pot's are the biggest brakes you can fit under the standard 15" alloy, one of the reasons i went for them IIRC i got everything needed from HiSpec with exception of the 10mm spacers, as the ones i got from them were not hub centric. i believe i put a cost break down on my build thread but there was not too much of a price difference i can vouch for them being a cracking set of brakes & massive improvement from standard here you go m8 so, for those interested i think ive now covered all the details with HiSpec - spoke to a very helpful guy called Alex who had lots of useful info other than just product related Alex got his designer to do the template drawings so as to confirm if their Billet4 solution will fit under the 15" speedline - they have calculated they will if use a 10mm spacer they also have more options on discs & pads which we discussed in some depth & tried to ball park the difference in actual braking performance. their kit price can be brought down by using plain discs rather than grooved - a £50 saving - as such the ex-vat price for Billet 4 (anodised) kit would be £453.50 to this would need to be added hoses, pads & the spacers spacers HiSpec can do for £5 each - winner! (edit - dont buy as need hub centric) hoses, again HiSpec can do their braded hoses with the necessary banjo connector for £20.37 a side pads - choice of - EBC ultimax @ £18 - EBC Green @ £45.30 - EBC Blue @ £60 or he said 'we cant supply but i can recommend' Brembo pads from a motor factors (they use a volvo 240 pad) thus if go with plain discs & Ultimax pads the cost is coming in at £523.04 ex vat this would be in comparison to putting 'as new' refurb'd calipers on with EBC green pads & Brembo plain discs at £350 or £390 if EBC USR discs Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dox 22 Posted June 12, 2020 5 hours ago, fendervg said: There's a thread on here with the part numbers, there's a number of options. MkIV rears with original disks are the ones to go for, and the front 288mm discs will be off a late-ish Mk3 Golf VR6 - hoses can be got from Goodridge and othrs in the braided version, and the callipers come on a number of different cars, VR6 Golf, Passat, 4Motion etc. Be aware that some 15" wheels will not clear the larger callipers on the front, and you won't get a space saver spare on either, so will need to move the rims around if you have a blow-out on the front. Interesting about the spacesaver, do MK3s have a larger one? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fendervg 30 Posted June 12, 2020 That's great info there - I might look at this option myself. Did you change the master cylinder or anything else? Was there a really noticeable improvement? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fendervg 30 Posted June 12, 2020 2 minutes ago, Dox said: Interesting about the spacesaver, do MK3s have a larger one? Not sure - maybe they came with a full size spare? I know some have gone for a 16" space saver off a later car, and I've seen some cool collapsible space save wheels where the tyre just folds up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dox 22 Posted June 12, 2020 1 minute ago, fendervg said: Not sure - maybe they came with a full size spare? I know some have gone for a 16" space saver off a later car, and I've seen some cool collapsible space save wheels where the tyre just folds up. I just thought that would be a cheap route to an upgrade, my old late VR6 Golf had a spacesaver for sure Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
g0ldf1ng3r 13 Posted June 12, 2020 3 minutes ago, fendervg said: That's great info there - I might look at this option myself. Did you change the master cylinder or anything else? Was there a really noticeable improvement? no m8 i didnt change the master cylinder - apart from the braking parts themselves it was just the spacers & braided hoses needed in addition the pedal feel under foot changed a little & got a touch longer as they say but the actual retardation is night & day above the factory brakes, hit them hard & they really do throw you forwards if you're not holding on tight lol plus i love the bright yellow colour of them, it really pops against the blackberry body! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dox 22 Posted June 12, 2020 I just thought that would be a cheap route to an upgrade, my old late VR6 Golf had a spacesaver for sureDownloaded all my photobucket pics and closed my account afterwards Pics taken the day I partexd itSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fendervg 30 Posted June 12, 2020 2 minutes ago, Dox said: Downloaded all my photobucket pics and closed my account afterwards Pics taken the day I partexd it Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk They're the wheels i have on my Corrado at the moment.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fendervg 30 Posted June 12, 2020 9 minutes ago, g0ldf1ng3r said: no m8 i didnt change the master cylinder - apart from the braking parts themselves it was just the spacers & braided hoses needed in addition the pedal feel under foot changed a little & got a touch longer as they say but the actual retardation is night & day above the factory brakes, hit them hard & they really do throw you forwards if you're not holding on tight lol plus i love the bright yellow colour of them, it really pops against the blackberry body! Interesting - what size discs did you go for? You don't happen to know which calliper variant you went for in the end? They mention 280/Girling M16 etc and "classic" and "recessed" on the site: http://www.hispeccalipers.co.uk//billet4-range.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dox 22 Posted June 12, 2020 (edited) 11 minutes ago, fendervg said: They're the wheels i have on my Corrado at the moment.... They were filthy when I bought the car to the point the auction house sprayed over the brake dust with silver paint... The wheels had been tightened by an animal in a bad mood and the locking wheel bolt key was missing, took a whole day fannying around to get them off, front tyres bald and its first mot due in 2 days........ 45K miles and never been cleaned would be my guess, they did clean up very nicely, so quite rewarding in the end Edited June 12, 2020 by Dox Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
g0ldf1ng3r 13 Posted June 12, 2020 22 minutes ago, fendervg said: Interesting - what size discs did you go for? You don't happen to know which calliper variant you went for in the end? They mention 280/Girling M16 etc and "classic" and "recessed" on the site: http://www.hispeccalipers.co.uk//billet4-range.html i just phoned them fendervg & the guy sorted it all out. i do recall them saying the discs were off a volvo 240 but not sure of size when sat under the 15" speedline they fill them completely - seriously i reckon there is about the thickness of a finger nail clearance between caliper edge & inner wheel give them a call m8, they were very helpful oh & ive just remembered how i heard of HiSpec - it was down to wheeler dealers program using them for new calipers for a porsche they did Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JH79 10 Posted June 12, 2020 This is some great info thanks guys. Did you go with a rear calliper setup from hispec to match up? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JH79 10 Posted June 19, 2020 Spoke to HiSpec. Sadly they want 800 quid for the billet 4 front kit without pads so I’ll be going down the route of the MKIV upgrade front and back for the time being. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
g0ldf1ng3r 13 Posted June 19, 2020 25 minutes ago, JH79 said: Spoke to HiSpec. Sadly they want 800 quid for the billet 4 front kit without pads so I’ll be going down the route of the MKIV upgrade front and back for the time being. shit!! thats some price increase from when i brought mine - did you tell them the price i paid? i missed your other post sorry but no i still have standard rear calipers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JH79 10 Posted June 19, 2020 Ye I was pretty shocked to be fair. They wanted the same money for the rears as well so all in with their recommendation on pads would have been 2k!!! I did mention your pricing and the guy never came back to me. Bit of a shame. If they had matched your pricing I’d have gone for it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
g0ldf1ng3r 13 Posted June 19, 2020 52 minutes ago, JH79 said: Ye I was pretty shocked to be fair. They wanted the same money for the rears as well so all in with their recommendation on pads would have been 2k!!! I did mention your pricing and the guy never came back to me. Bit of a shame. If they had matched your pricing I’d have gone for it. that is a shame, personally i would call them back & ask for a manager to check the price again against what i paid in Nov 2016 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JH79 10 Posted June 19, 2020 Ye I’ll do that next week and see what they come up with. Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
g0ldf1ng3r 13 Posted June 20, 2020 17 hours ago, JH79 said: Ye I’ll do that next week and see what they come up with. Cheers ahhhh - ive just remembered why my price was more reasonable - i was able to get my mechanic to make the actual purchase so as HiSpec gave me trade prices it doesnt explain the huge increase but does part of it i suppose Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
