Hi folks

Just got myself a VRS and pretty happy so far except for braking performance which

surprisingly is inferior to my other car (2003 1.6 Octavia, drum rears). Now I wasn't

expecting mind blowing braking but to lag behind a much heavier car with rear drums

seems a bit naff. Am I exoecting too much, whats the perceived wisdom on Fabia brakes ?

Hi folks

Just got myself a VRS and pretty happy so far except for braking performance which

surprisingly is inferior to my other car (2003 1.6 Octavia, drum rears). Now I wasn't

expecting mind blowing braking but to lag behind a much heavier car with rear drums

seems a bit naff. Am I exoecting too much, whats the perceived wisdom on Fabia brakes ?

Percieved wisdom?

They're crap. Case closed, lol.

Upgrade to 312mm brakes (TT, A4, MK4 golfs I think) and you'll be on to a winner.

i feel nothing wrong with them, though i did come from a 1.2 corsa with no abs, so might just be the difference between the two

i feel nothing wrong with them, though i did come from a 1.2 corsa with no abs, so might just be the difference between the two

I came from a 1.2 with ABS. Though I did upgrade the brakes on that too lol..it stopped on a six pence!

They're not too bad if you're standard, but when mapped, bigger brakes are a must

This has pretty much been done to death elsewhere. The brakes are fine, they just don't feel very good. If you want to buy bigger brakes then 312mm brakes from a Mk1 Octavia vRS or Mk1 Audi TT are a straight swap and do feel much better.

Coming from a 306 with GTI-6 brakes, I find the vRS brakes on par. just dont have much feel in them.

I came from a Fiesta Zetec S, and when I first got my vRS the brakes felt quite strange, but now they feel fine. They take some getting used to, but I have every confidence that'll stop me when I need them too!!

I think the thing to do is see how you get on with them, and if you still don't feel confident after a while of driving it then upgrade them. You do need to have every faith in your brakes, so if you're not happy then make them better!

Edited 29 June, 201016 yr by Bezzy

Thanks for all the advice folks

Just had the car checked out by garage who've looked after my Octavia for years ie I trust

them. Seems discs are f******d so would be good time to upgrade if I decided to.

Any ideas on sourcing 312mm kits, apart from fabia-vrs.com that I know about ?

Also I assume that theoretically Insurers should be told and they'll take opportunity to hike

premium, anyone experienced ?

Ended up sticking with standard, new discs / pads all round & fluid change. Insurers not keen at all on anything

non standard and I'm in enough car related trouble without invalidating insurance.

As others have said standard brakes are adequate just don't feel great

Thanks again for advice folks

Ended up sticking with standard, new discs / pads all round & fluid change. Insurers not keen at all on anything

non standard and I'm in enough car related trouble without invalidating insurance.

As others have said standard brakes are adequate just don't feel great

Thanks again for advice folks

Crazy that insures will penilize you for making your can safer and stop better. BS rly

I suppose they think you will go faster and drive more "on the limit" with the confidence and added braking performance better brakes provide.

but at the end of the day better brakes can save you from a crash/accident so really its wrong that raise your premium and not lower it

I don't have any problem with my brakes - the slow me down when I depress the middle pedal and stop me if I press it a bit harder... but then I did own a Corsa, a Bora and a Focus before I saw the light and switched to Skoda (and I'm now on my third), so I haven't exactly had a varied driving experience. But still, they seem OK to me.

I find the standard brakes quite good tbh although maybe not the best but they do the job.

If brakes off a peugeot would fit then I'd have some from a gti180 as that was my previous car and they were fantastic with a sharp bite and barely having to press the pedal !

I find the standard brakes quite good tbh although maybe not the best but they do the job.

I do too as it happens, they just need a good prod if you have to stop in a hurry.

TBH I prefer a bit of feeling in my brake pedal, and if I need a bit more braking effect I just

employ a little cadence braking and the pedal seems to firm up nicely.

And if it's an ABS assisted emergency stop, surely once the ABS has kicked in you have reached

maximum braking effect anyway regardless of brake size/power???

Surely at this point how quickly you stop is entirely down to tyre choice???

It seems logical to me... But this is just my theory and I'm sure I'm probably wrong.

If so then I'd like to know how the brake/tyre combination effect each other as I'd like to

understand more about this topic.

I'm sure theres more to it than my basic understanding.

my brakes are fine they firm up when you brake hard if you understand me its more noticable when you've had to brake hard and then come to brake again softly. other things affect how fast the car stops e.g tyre condition, weather, shockers etc i'm certainly no mechanic but i know that for a fact!