Brake Disc / Pad Query

[adambaz]

Hi all.

All 4 discs need replacing on my 52 Plate Fabia Elegance 1.9 TDI.

I'm looking to buy the new discs/pads online and fit them with the help of a capable friend.

A few websites have options for with or without wear indicators, do I need with or without?

Should I buy vented discs or not?

If anyone's got this car or are familiar with it, I'd appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.

I can't see the difference between for example:

this and this

Is my car 256 or 288?

ATE or Eicher? - which is better?

I've read a couple of posts regarding discs - will I need a calliper rewind tool?

Thanks in advance, sorry about all the questions.

Adam

Edited 3 August, 2009 by adambaz

[yegnold]

Vented discs - yes, I believe all of the front brakes fitted to fabias were vented.

Without wear indicators is I believe the correct option.

Your car I believe has 256mm brakes, 288mm brakes were as I understand it standard on the Fabia vRS but no other cars..

[adambaz]

Thanks yegnold.

Managed to pick discs (i think)

rear and front

Also happy with rear pads

I'm still stuck with front pads though.

ATE Skoda Fabia TDi PD (2000-2008) Brake Pads (Front) - Euro Car Parts UK?s No.1 Car Parts Retailer

ATE Skoda Fabia TDi PD (2000-2008) Brake Pads (Front) - Euro Car Parts UK?s No.1 Car Parts Retailer

They seem the same.

Thanks again.

[yegnold]

Are you certain your car has rear discs and not drums?

[rum4mo]

ATE discs from ECP are fine, you will need a piston retracter tool, but only to change the rear pads - get one in Halfords, the original pads fitted will have been Pagid in the front and Textar at the rear - GSF are best for both these pads.

[adambaz]

Are you certain your car has rear discs and not drums?

Yup, discs all round.

[yegnold]

Oh ATE equipment is decent, it's original equipment on BMWs anyway and we fitted ATE discs and pads to the 328i last week and they've been very good indeed even through track day use They were sourced from Euro Car Parts as well!

[adambaz]

You will need a piston retracter tool, but only to change the rear pads.

Such as this one?

[rum4mo]

Yes, that is the one - I don't know Halford's price off hand - but you might find it on their website. Actually, if you reverse the circular end part and stick a piece of plywood in, you can use that tool to quietly force back the front piston as well - might save getting brutal with big screwdrivers or a big set of waterpump pliers. ECR are always the best place to go for ATE parts as they are the sole official importers of ATE aftermarket brake parts to UK - oh, and there is always their Power Disc option - although I'd doubt that these cars need them. One thing that I've always found with ECP and/or GSF is that to save a lot of "to-ing and fro-ing", get on the websites of the manufacture's parts that you are going to buy and identify the bits for your car - on these sites there will be some manufacturer's kit or other part numbers and some of these numbers WILL end up on the boxes that you buy - if they are wrong then find out why before leaving ECP and/or GSF - I trusted ECP and spend a lot of time and petrol money while they refused to hand over first the correct parts as they said they were wrong, then twice messed up and got the wrong parts - GSF online, I asked all the right questions and got "yes" to them all then got the wrong parts delivered, front pads were not what I asked for and confirmed that they were what they were sending, rear pads - well their goods incoming place that sticks their stock numbers on the kits messed up - maybe I'm just unlucky - local(ish) GSF took back all the wrong parts a year later (!) and swopped them for oil though - so that was okay! In the end I preyed on the good nature of the UK sales guy for TMD Friction and he sorted it all out for me as he reconed it was in TMD's best interest to make sure the end user was changing "like" for "like" - 10/10 to them, pity their agents parts outlets don't work like that! Sounds like a pretty simple set of bits to try to buy "like" for "like" - but its a challenge achieving that.

Edited 4 August, 2009 by rum4mo