i have 312 setup and greenstuff pads, i boil my brake fluid regulary i don't do track days, just fast on the windy roads about northern ireland.

i have 312 setup and greenstuff pads, i boil my brake fluid regulary i don't do track days, just fast on the windy roads about northern ireland.

**** you must be going some :eek: last year before I got my 312s I did 15 laps of the Nurburgring on standard 288mm OE discs and pads and although experienced a little bit of fade near the end of a lap, I was impressed with how well they stood up! And thats over 170 corners of pure punishment

:fence3d: All I can say now is upgrade them and tell me what they are like.

:fence3d: All I can say now is upgrade them and tell me what they are like.

You have to be much more gentle on the pedal for certain. They certainly feel MUCH more powerful.

This is the longest and probably most technical post I have been involved with. The amazing thing about Briskoda (generally) is that the folk on here listen to the replies and don't start shooting off at everyone who posts things they don't always agree with.

This really is a great forum with some very helpful people.

Big thumbsup for us all on Briskoda.

This is the longest and probably most technical post I have been involved with. The amazing thing about Briskoda (generally) is that the folk on here listen to the replies and don't start shooting off at everyone who posts things they don't always agree with.

This really is a great forum with some very helpful people.

Big thumbsup for us all on Briskoda.

I agree wholeheartedly. I appreciate that you have background in this area, but what you are saying is counter-intuitive and in some cases goes counter to Roadcraft, Rally Car Sourcebook and other driving and motorsports texts I have read so it may take me some time to fully appreciate your argumentation, what I do appreciate is that the position you are arguing is made with clarity and authority.

You have to be much more gentle on the pedal for certain. They certainly feel MUCH more powerful.

I agree, I'd say this is the first thing I noticed after having the 288s or stepping out of my C-Max into my vRS, even rolling out the drive and tapping the brakes lightly it really does 'grab' the disc. Of course there's plenty variables the fact they were new with new fluid, uprated pads and discs etc but overall its having the feeling of confidence to scrub off speed quickly. You see the word 'confidence' used quite a bit on this subject but until you have experimented or driven with the upgrade this does seem to describe the general feeling well.

Personally I wouldn't mind trying the 288mm setup now to see just how different they are having had the 312s fitted for 4 months or so

So just to confirm... I was right

I got my 312mm brake set up for less than £250 to quote the OP thats not "crazy" money.

£3,000 on some for a weird Renault that ive never seen on the road ever like on Top Gear would have been crazy money fella

Im hoping to get a liquid display which will allow me to time 60-0 and 100-0 times in the near future, so will post up my results

Where's mr wobblytickle when you need him.....................?

I've just had another read through all the new posts and there seems to be a lot of commonly held mistakes about brake performance.

Here's a quick outline of brake performance :-

• Bigger brakes will not stop stop a car quicker. They will allow the car to do more repeated stops without overheating the brakes. They will give a more responsive brake (better feel) due to the braking surface being centred further out.

Incorrect, a larger disc will give more leverage therefore less pedal pressure and will stop the car faster at a higher speed.

• The tyres are the limiting factor on braking performance on road cars. Without ABS you can lock the wheels at any speed. Tyres that have more grip will allow you to stop quicker. An easy way to think of this is when it is wet you can't stop as quick as there is less grip. Racing cars can stop really quickly in the dry because they have grippy slick tyres but they can't stop at all using slick tyres in the wet but they are using the same brakes!

You cannot lock the wheels at any speed, the pad material on a standard vrs is simply not soft/grippy enough, although it is true that better tyres will allow the car to stop sooner.

• ABS brakes do NOT shorten your stopping distance. All they do is allow you to steer the car with the brakes fully on as the wheels will not be locked. A really good driver can often out-perform an ABS system and reduce the stopping distance through skillful application of the brakes. But I do mean a really good drivers (test drivers and racing drivers). I have seen test drivers in action and believe me that they are the top 0.000001% of skill level. Often they are better than racing drivers at brake testing because they do it all the time and often under all sorts of controlled conditions.

True, apart from the fact that nissan uk use their appretices as test drivers.

• Bigger brakes allow more energy to be absorbed and converted to heat. Bigger cars have bigger brakes because they weigh more and can usually go faster. Automatic cars often have bigger brakes than an identical manual car as they have greattly reduced engine braking and the brakes are worked harder and more often.

partially true, bigger brakes dont get as hot.

• My wife drives an Octavia VRS diesel and I have a Fabia VRS. The Octavia has the bigger brakes and feels like it will stop quicker. However, this is an illusion as the Octy has really grabby brakes due to either having a higher friction brake material or a larger servo so it needs less brake pedal pressure. It is very easy on the Octy to get the ABS working compared to the Fabia. The Octy feels a bit like the old Citroens with the brakes working from the high pressure suspension pump and the brakes being really on or off.

I have seen a formula one car up close on a few occasions and the amazing thing about them is not how quick they are but how quick they stop. They literally seem to beat the laws of physics and stop like they have hit a brick wall. This is becasue they have incredibly grippy tyes and huge ammounts of downforce to allow the tyres to grip and put the lareg braking forces down onto the road.

not because of the brakes they use?? so if they had fabia 288s and standard pads theyd still stop the same?? lol

I got my 312mm brake set up for less than £250 to quote the OP thats not "crazy" money.

must have used factors discs and pads to get everything for that price, well done though thats cheap !

still over 2.5x what i paid though, if you dont include fitting its probs 3x

Well i took a trip in my mum's 106 yesterday because i had cleaned the seats in my vRS and they were still damp. First junction i came to was a shock, I was surprised how i used to cope with the 106 brakes!

Where's mr wobblytickle when you need him.....................?

You called?

It seems to me that the superior braking torque afforded by the 312s (courtesy of the braking force being applied closer to the circumference of the wheel) could be exactly matched on the 288s simply by using pads with an appropriately higher friction co-efficient.

Oooh, but which pads?

You called?

It seems to me that the superior braking torque afforded by the 312s (courtesy of the braking force being applied closer to the circumference of the wheel) could be exactly matched on the 288s simply by using pads with an appropriately higher friction co-efficient.

Oooh, but which pads?

and 312's with the same pad compound would be better again? I'm thinknig I'll probably just get something like DS2500 pads and leave everything else factory

Edited 1 May, 200917 yr by andypandypoos

must have used factors discs and pads to get everything for that price, well done though thats cheap !

still over 2.5x what i paid though, if you dont include fitting its probs 3x

Yup that is super cheap T.Spark got he 312s for, I wasnt't really going out to achieve a OEM setup but I think I paid about:

£180 calipers / carriers as I was forced to buy them from different donor cars

£150 Zero60 discs

£80 Tarox Strada Pads

£20 Folitech caliper paint kit

£20 Brake Fluid

Plus a couple hours labour £120? to get them fitted

Admittedly I bought all the parts over a couple of months so I could spread the cost and make it more affordable, my 288s were also an MOT advisory so that made it cheaper as I had to change them.

In hindsight I wish I had just bought a kit off VRStu and taken it from there with uprated pads, it's far less hassle but then again I guess thats all part of the fun!

I did get a rather good set of 312mm I have to admit, recently upgraded the standard discs and pads too.

Infact the discs & pads again nearly cost £250 thinking about it. But I got the lot last time, as for fitting, fit them yourselves

[quote name=T. Spark;1692601

...as for fitting' date=' fit them yourselves [/quote]

I only wish I had the skills to do so, I'll attempt most things but since they were brakes I needed them to work

I only wish I had the skills to do so, I'll attempt most things but since they were brakes I needed them to work

You do indeed have a point! Ive not done everything on my car in regards to fitting, but seem to be doing more and more, engine mount went last time I was down at pod, the part itself cost enough so didnt want to fork out any more on fitting, so just did it myself! Its still on now, so must have done something rights.