Hey guys, so, I got my new alloys fitted on Tuesday (pictures soon) and got a call from the guys doing it (kwik fit for convenience, sorry) telling me my front brakes were on their way out and below the maximum wear markers on the pads and discs. Naturally, kwik fit being kwik fit they quoted me £250 to sort them, naturally, me not being a retard I told them to shove it and started thinkng about my options of parts which I will fit myself. I haven't had chance to check the wear yet but I do want to get then changed pretty soon cause they're feelng a bit limp. Obviously me being 19 I immediately thought 'yeah, drilled/grooved discs would be amazing' but I'm told that I'd go through pads like nobody business unless I used better compound pads. And because I won't be able to get much temperature into those they probably wouldn't perform as well stock parts. I thought maybe changing it all out for vRS bits or even an Octavia (I figure, heavier car = more stopping power needed = fabia stops quicker, am I right?) what does everyone think will be the best road for me to go down? I don't want to spend a huge load of money if it's gonna make little or no difference, but I've always said when I have a car the first thing I'll do is make it stop and go round corners before I do much performancey.

So, what should I get? Anddd,when I come to going round corners, is lowering springs a typical poor teenagers place to start? Or should I think about strut bracing?

Thanks for taking the time! Much appreciated. Pete

I looked into this when I had my Fabia, albeit a 16v one. In short, the vRS brakes will need a different hub in order to be fitted, as will the Octavia vRS brakes (or so I was told).

Has the fluid been changed recently? When I got my Polo the brakes were awful, foot to the floor before they bit. Changed the fluid in them, and straight away they're much better, although still not as good as my Fabia (odd, considering it's a faster car).

Don't forget, insurance firms can charge extra for brake upgrades, although I don't know what counts as an upgrade, weather it's different compounds, or sizes etc.

Suspension is again beyond me, purely as the insurers would kill me (19 too). But I think springs are cheaper, and meant to give a better ride than coilovers, but can reduce the life of the shocks.

I have the same fabia as you and im 17 , I fitted EBC Green stuff pads and theyve made a whole load of difference , standard discs and a bleed should sort your brakes

Also check if your rear drums are auto correcting (Guide is on here)

Cheers for the quick reply trigg! That really sucks about needing different hubs. I checked the fluid when I got the car and it looked brand new.

Insurance was something I was worried about but if it's a direct replacement part I think I'm sound. That remains to be seen though.

Maybe I'll be better going for just standard ones. Could groove them myself though

I'll look into those pads, I've heard good things. That possibly sounds like my best way to go.

Yeah, think the hubs are quite hard to come by second hand, no-one with a vRS needs to remove them, so they never come up. There was a post by someone else looking a while ago, don't think it went anywhere. Might be able to find a breakers yard though?

Could groove them myself though

Fit some of these while you're at it!

http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1

Gah, I can't spend that money on brake lines. I can see myself already spending a lot on my car in the next few months. The ebc pads look like they may be helpful

Have a look at them properly

They arent what you think , and The EBCs difference really was night and day

Gah, I can't spend that money on brake lines. I can see myself already spending a lot on my car in the next few months.

Are you sure you read the advert correctly. They are also limited stock at a bargain price, you can only buy them tomorrow morning.

Ah no way. Either way, I would still need to replace my brakes so I can't afford atm.

Right, so, number one. The first thing I though was cross drilled? Seems a bit crazy but I'll go with it aha. I can't even begin to explain how I thought they were made. That was pretty damn funny though guys I would have been proud if I'd done it :p as if I fell for that hook, line, sinker, little fisherman stool, umbrella, bait, wellingtons and all!

So, standard brakes with ebc green stuff pads?

A lot of vRS owners on here don't like Greens stuff. However I've fitted them to mine and can't see the problem. Your car being a 1.4 will be lighter so should be perfectly OK to fit them.

I think we all got you with the Cross Drilled Brake Pipes. However I have read that stainless steel normal ones don't make much difference anyway. If you explore that site you will find other useful things like that as well. They sell, special grease for your elbow, Hooks that attach to the sky, Powerbands, left handed screwdrivers, hollow spark plug wires etc.

Edited 1 April, 201016 yr by Jim H

Could groove them myself though

Sorry, from this I assumed you knew it was a bad thing to do, (drilling the disks yourself I mean) and figured you'd get the brake line one straight away, didn't mean to embarrass you!

If only I had done it later in the day, could of got at least one person with an April fool joke.

I know man. I didn't get anyone either! Bad times.

So, my sisters boyfriend is gettingthe discs for me tomorrow. I was given a choice of okay ones at 28 squid and better ones at 37 by him. £37. I'm gonna get some green stuff pads off eBay at 52 ish. Is that a good price? Can I get the pads any cheaper? Hopefully fitting on Sunday if the weather holds up. If it's nice I'll snap some pictures and whore my alloys.

...With their VW centre caps.