Front Pads ?

[PastyBoy]

my tupenth worth....

Recent 40k service has highlighted nearly dead pads and badly lipped discs on all corners.

Having only had 1 or 2 occasions during a cross country strop that i've thought "oh dear! i could do with slowing down a little more than i am" I thought like for like replacements would be fine.

As an exercise in pricing though i looked at all the options

- straight OEM 288 replacements

- OEM 288 discs with uprated pads

- 288 uprated discs and pads

- OEM 312

- OEM 312 discs and uprated pads

- uprated 312 discs and uprated pads

All the uprated pads and discs were way out of my price range in either size but 312's were only a bit more expensive that replacing the 288's - so increased performance balanced against a increased cost - simple equation in my mind.

I wouldn't have uprated them if my existing brakes weren't sh*gged as, as Yegnold says, they are prefectly adequate 99% of the time.

[Gez]

Coming as a recomendation straight from Jabbasport, they recomended using the existing 288mm setup and buy new Discs with Uprated pads, as it keeps the costs down and improves you braking performance and gives more bite, it would also be a good idea to change your brake fluid to and use an uprated high performance fluid that has a higher boiling point, as once brake fluid has boiled its performance properies are greatly reduced so its a good idea to get fluid with the highest boiling point you can find.

[Lofty86]

Lofty - you're kind of making the assumption that people who think their VRS brakes are fine have no experience of better setups or faster vehicles.

Sorry it sounds like that, thats not what I ment.

Thanks to my wide selection af mates, and places ive worked, ive driven a big selection of cars, and fully understand that others have good experiance or great brakes, but thats not what its all about.

I was just refering to the Fabia, and Fabia only. The standard brakes are ok, but Skoda should have put 312's on standard.

The cost of my 312's where nowhere near the £400 some people have been paying.

Look on ebay 312mm Brake Set Up MK4 GTI TDI VW Golf Seat Fabia vRS on eBay, also Brake Components, Performance Tuning Parts, Car Tuning Styling, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 03-Apr-09 11:37:42 BST)

Or look at private sales. Cant remember what I paid, but for the full setup, I dont think I paid £250.

Also, 312's last longer, as because there is a bigger disc (think of pivots here), you dont need as much force to stop in the same distance, which means the pads dont have to press as hard.

Also, OEM discs and pads are usually harder than aftermarket, to make them last longer, but dont brake to there full potential because of this hardness.

The way most aftermarket ones work is to use softer, more abrasive materials to make them. Meaning the pads can grip the discs harder, but wear faster.

312's with OEM discs and pads is a compromise between long lasting brakes, and great braking ability.

HTH your choice.

Dave

[cjb]

Considering the OP doesn't want to spend a large amount of money I don't see why it's being deemed 'unsafe' to stick with OEM brake equipment. It's not.

Someone help me!

Indeed. The standard brakes are plenty good enough for the performance, and better than many cars I've driven. This doesn't mean that 312s or a set of Brembo 4-pots or whatever won't be better- more that given the weight and performance there is nothing wrong with the OEM brakes. If you want to experience crap brakes, try an old Land Rover, Mk1 escort or Mini with 4 drums.

One comment worth making is that if you replace worn-out OE brakes with new upgraded ones, some of the improvement will be just the use of new parts.

The one comment about spending money on brakes I will make is 'don't use cheap parts'. Use OEM parts or upgraded parts.

[TokyoPhil]

It all comes down tothe partcular car and your driving style at the end of the day.

For example - if you've had your car modified performance wise to 170bhp (for arguements sake). That is a 32.5% increase in power therefore you may want to increase your brakes performance by at least the same amount.

However if your car is more or less standard then a fresh OEM set-up or marginally uprated would probably be upto the job in 9 out of 10 cases.

[yegnold]

It all comes down tothe partcular car and your driving style at the end of the day.

For example - if you've had your car modified performance wise to 170bhp (for arguements sake). That is a 32.5% increase in power therefore you may want to increase your brakes performance by at least the same amount.

However if your car is more or less standard then a fresh OEM set-up or marginally uprated would probably be upto the job in 9 out of 10 cases.

You could also argue that even though your power has increased by 32.5%, you shouldn't be driving 32.5% faster so why would you need to increase your braking power, aside from if you had increased the weight of your car or are driving literally foot to the floor between several tight corners and will need to scrub more speed off - ie reduce speed from 60 instead of 50

[geordie_21]

There were 3 reasons for uprating mine: when things need replacing I have a policy of using uprated parts as it makes the whole process of modifying cheaper, secondly it brings my insurance down a bit as TokyoPhil mentions above - more power means higher premiums. Thirdly it's the only way I can sneak mods past SWMBO else she'll be kicking off again about me spending money

[ap0gee1978]

I have 288mm ZeroSixty discs and Mintex Extreme pads, and they're definitely an improvement over OEM, but then as my commute occasionally included:

...and now occasionally includes:

...I occasionally felt the OEM discs and pads in particular were sometimes found wanting when driving, er, progressively.

Neither on the track nor on the road have I ever felt I needed more than what I've got now, though, and the only time I've suffered any fade has been when I've been deliberately cooking the brakes to deglaze them. Even then, when braking from 60, I can get the ABS to engage around 30, so they're coping pretty well.

And as for brakes saving lives, they only do that if you maintain a safe braking distance. If your brakes are less powerful, leave more space. The false sense of security that high performance brings is a contributing factor in why the emergency services regularly have to scrape the drivers of performance cars and bikes off the carriageway...

Further to the deglazing point, if you have big brakes but never 'challenge' them, they will glaze and eventually corrode badly - especially the rears on the Fabia. And the point about tyres shouldn't be underestimated. If you can engage the ABS at medium to low speeds, your brakes are powerful enough - your tyres are what ultimately define your braking potential, so it's no good having uprated brakes if you fit some cheapo ditchfinder tyres...

[geordie_21]

I have 288mm ZeroSixty discs and Mintex Extreme pads, and they're definitely an improvement over OEM, but then as my commute occasionally included:

...and now occasionally includes:

...I occasionally felt the OEM discs and pads in particular were sometimes found wanting when driving, er, progressively.

...

You lucky ba@%ard.. I have 15 miles into London hence why I have to roast them on a weekend

[Ecomatt]

I have standard discs with Mintex Extreme pads fitted front and rear. My car is modded to about 170 -180bhp ish and this set up is more than adequate to stop the vehicle.

[BRUN]

with regards to the tyres, ive got Michelins all round, and always will, i love the Michelin hehe

[rb320]

having 312's fitted tomorrow godspeed grooved discs and textar pads

get shot of the 288 set up they're ****

[BRUN]

im gonna see how much some Brembo discs are for the 312 setup, if they are a fair bit cheaper than OE 312 discs i might be tempted

[Irvtheswerv]

Bo**ocks. The brakes really are fine for this car. The more I read on here the more I realise it it's not just about what is acceptable though. All this talk of modding, I knew it would happen, I've been beguiled - I want some bigger brakes to go with a remap and some leather seats. RARB, sort the suspension out, lower it a little, some decent 17 inchers and then maybe a stronger turbo..................... AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH bloody car's gonna cost a fortune.

[BRUN]

lol, last night i *tested* the brakes a little, most of the time they are fine, however i went down the slip road id had problems with in the past, and they faded pretty quickly but then seemed to bite again

ive priced up some Brembo 312mm discs at the factors, and OE 312mm discs are not much more expensive

also, brakes and lowering are the only mods ill be doing

[BRUN]

hmmmm as of Monday TPS are doing an extra 10% off brake discs and pads, soooo tempting !

[BRUN]

well, im sticking with standard, after a C2 tried to pass me on a motorway slip road i think its the handling that needs to be sorted first !

[PastyBoy]

well, im sticking with standard, after a C2 tried to pass me on a motorway slip road i think its the handling that needs to be sorted first !

why does being overtaken by a C2 indicate poor handling? :confused:

[ap0gee1978]

Yeah, how? :confused:

If you said a C2 passed you on a hairpin, I'd point to the handling, but there aren't any sliproads I can think of that would challenge even the wobbliest of cart-sprung 4x4s, let alone a Fabia on standard springs, or even the slightly lower vRS ones...

[BRUN]

because i wasnt going as fast as i could do on the same bit of road in my Clio, and frankly it was quite scary lol..........the car is a boat when it comes to body roll

[yegnold]

You got body roll on a motorway sliproad? What were you doing?

Or was it one of those ones that goes in a complete circle before going back on itself?

Jabbasport or Whiteline rear anti roll bar would make the body roll quite a lot better by the way

[BRUN]

yup its a twisty one, in my Clio i didnt really have to slow down off the motorway unless there was traffic on the roundabout at the bottom

[PastyBoy]

^^^^ what Yegnold said!

I coudn't believe the difference after my Jabba RARB was fitted.

Even on the stupidly flat roads around their work shop ) everything felt so much tighter and more controlled

Although not sure that exiting a motorway at full speed towards a roundabout and not slowing down is a good idea

[BRUN]

was never a problem in my Clio hehe