Do Skoda garages recognise the 312mm front brake upgrade for the Fabia vRS??

I've dropped my car in today at a Skoda garage for repairs and to have the 312mm upgrade of which i supplied the parts and told them at the time of booking it that it was a brake upgrade but just received a call to say the calipers are the wrong sort for a Fabia vRS.

So far i've ended up spending over £300 on this upgrade after someone on here failed to supply, so i had to spend out again for more but now to be told this just makes me wish i hadn't bothered and just left it as they are!!

I don't get what you mean?? As far as the standard spec is concerned 312's are not the right 'sort' for a fabia vRS which for me explains the call.

A genuine skoda garage fitting non standard parts supplied or not I'm surprised they agreed to carry pit the works

What parts did you buy for a start?

I bought the complete front brake set off an Octavia vRS Mk1 from a guy on eBay and originally the garage said they would do it but now they're saying the calipers aren't correct.

It could be the eBay guy has sold me the wrong parts.

The dealer will not fit parts not designed for the car - and rightly so.

Yeah they might fit and yeah deluded people on forums might think its some sort of 'upgrade' but its still not right.

In terms of it being an upgrade it will 100% not stop you any better. A larger disk may allow better cooling, therefore better fade resistance but the whole "wow the car stops shorter" its a no go I'm afraid. If you can trigger the ABS on standard brakes (which you can unless there is a fault) then the limitation is tyre grip. The 0.1% before the wheel locks is optimum braking. You could have brakes off a Veyron and they will not stop you faster, they just mean its way easier to trigger the ABS.

The biggest factor for braking is the tyres. Buy some Toyos (not 888) or other budget tyre and you are not stopping as quick as a premium brand such as a Michelien Pilot Sport PS3. This is a fact and something people miss when modifying their car. Better tyres also mean better handling and safety too.

Pet hate of mine is the whole brake 'upgrade' so just feel free to ignore thsi post :-)

Apparently they've now been able to fit the calipers after messing about with the nipple?? No idea myself but hopefully means they'll be fitted now.

I've got Toyo T1-R's and don't have a problem with them. Of course they're not as good as some 'Premium' brands but they still do the job rather well in my opinion.

Pet hate of mine is the whole brake 'upgrade' so just feel free to ignore thsi post :-)

Not saying you are wrong but why would manufcaturers fit bigger brakes if it was just a cooling issue?

There MUST be more benefits than that (at least what i tell myself)

Apparently they've now been able to fit the calipers after messing about with the nipple?? No idea myself but hopefully means they'll be fitted now.

Sounds like they were potentially trying to fit them upside-down.

I've seem plenty of threads going "which way up do the calipers go? nipples at the top or bottom?"

The dealer will not fit parts not designed for the car - and rightly so.

Yeah they might fit and yeah deluded people on forums might think its some sort of 'upgrade' but its still not right.

In terms of it being an upgrade it will 100% not stop you any better. A larger disk may allow better cooling, therefore better fade resistance but the whole "wow the car stops shorter" its a no go I'm afraid. If you can trigger the ABS on standard brakes (which you can unless there is a fault) then the limitation is tyre grip. The 0.1% before the wheel locks is optimum braking. You could have brakes off a Veyron and they will not stop you faster, they just mean its way easier to trigger the ABS.

The biggest factor for braking is the tyres. Buy some Toyos (not 888) or other budget tyre and you are not stopping as quick as a premium brand such as a Michelien Pilot Sport PS3. This is a fact and something people miss when modifying their car. Better tyres also mean better handling and safety too.

Pet hate of mine is the whole brake 'upgrade' so just feel free to ignore thsi post :-)

why did my mk4 Golf with it's standard 288mm brakes stop worse than my mk1 Leon does with it's standard 312mm brakes?

my mk4 Ibiza has 312s as standard, same platform as the mk1 Fabia vRS that has 288s

Bigger discs do more than cooling. It's leverage. The further away the caliper is from the centre of the drive line the greater it's effect is.

The faster models in the range have bigger brakes because they are faster and usually heavier.

Either of them, of both combined = higher temps = more cooling needed.

The GTI 150 had 288 (or whatever it was) and the octavia VRS and Leon had the bigger brakes - but they had 180 BHP. The golfs with 180 (like the anni) haad the bigger brakes as standard.

Bigger discs do more than cooling. It's leverage. The further away the caliper is from the centre of the drive line the greater it's effect is.

I agree. But if you can already lock on a standard diameter then the bigger is only an advantage for cooling.

I'm not sure if its still there, but Brembo had a document on their website basically saying what I am now; that it wont stop you faster etc etc

The faster models in the range have bigger brakes because they are faster and usually heavier.

Either of them, of both combined = higher temps = more cooling needed.

The GTI 150 had 288 (or whatever it was) and the octavia VRS and Leon had the bigger brakes - but they had 180 BHP. The golfs with 180 (like the anni) haad the bigger brakes as standard.

225bhp TT has the same 312mm brakes as a 180bhp Leon. it's more powerful and heavier?

The TT 225 was probably borderline needing the bigger brakes of the R32/TT 3.2

Cost will have been a primary factor but as the car is around 100kg less than it's V6 friends they could have justified not using them and saving money.

They will also take into account the predicted market for the car. For example the 225 Leon Cuprea R had bigger brakes and was about 30kg lighter than the TT 225 but in reality was a much more focused car, it was always going to be driven harder (on average).

The LCR also had uprated hubs and other bits, further evidence of its target market.

The dealer will not fit parts not designed for the car - and rightly so.

Yeah they might fit and yeah deluded people on forums might think its some sort of 'upgrade' but its still not right.

In terms of it being an upgrade it will 100% not stop you any better. A larger disk may allow better cooling, therefore better fade resistance but the whole "wow the car stops shorter" its a no go I'm afraid. If you can trigger the ABS on standard brakes (which you can unless there is a fault) then the limitation is tyre grip. The 0.1% before the wheel locks is optimum braking. You could have brakes off a Veyron and they will not stop you faster, they just mean its way easier to trigger the ABS.

The biggest factor for braking is the tyres. Buy some Toyos (not 888) or other budget tyre and you are not stopping as quick as a premium brand such as a Michelien Pilot Sport PS3. This is a fact and something people miss when modifying their car. Better tyres also mean better handling and safety too.

Pet hate of mine is the whole brake 'upgrade' so just feel free to ignore thsi post :-)

All depends what the cars going to be used for,

I agree on the road my 312's on my octy vrs are fine even with 220bhp and i can out brake the tyres if i push them hard enough

but i recently did a trackday and and after 5 laps i had no brakes, i literly had to stand on the pedal to stop the thing and when i came off they were bellowing smoke as they where that hot, i then decided that maybe bigger better brakes might be an idea,

Also I work at volvo and the special vehicles, ie police cars all have bigger brakes that the same spec cars that get sold to the public so there must be a reason for it been done

but the LCR wouldn't have stopped any quicker because it had the width tyres, so how did bigger brakes make it a more focused car? the hubs, wishbones and rack were the same as fitted to the R32 and TT, the 1.8T TT managed with off the shelf 312mm brakes

Sorry, I should have been a bit more clear....

For track work or heavy road use yes the bigger brakes are an advantage.

Its for the cooling though, not stopping distances etc.

In reality even people who think they drive hard on the road dont and dont even get near the limit of standard brakes.

For extreme road use, I mean if your the sort of person that on a country lane will get fade within 5 minutes just get yourselves some Ferodo DS2500 pads. You will never fade these and will have just saved yourself a load of money and hassle changing disks, calipers etc.

Edited 23 July, 201213 yr by Fred44

The LCR wont stop quciker than a TT225 on equal tyres (and with an extra 30kg or whatever it was in the LCR).

But it resistance to fade will be a fair bit better. It also had nicer pads as well, rather than just a different shape of esentially the same as a 1.6 Golf etc.

The LCR mid life had a hub upgrade and a few other bits. I'm quite sure the TT didnt get these, but could be wrong.

If it did though then its still not the same market. The LCR is a hot hatch, the TT is more of a small GT car. In my opinion of course, but if you took a selection of owners from each car I think it would be quite well backed up.

Sounds like they were potentially trying to fit them upside-down.

I've seem plenty of threads going "which way up do the calipers go? nipples at the top or bottom?"

Maybe i need to point out a few threads on here and the Fabia-vRS website that shows how to do the brake change over. If i had more confidence in myself, i could have done it.

Arn't the 288 and 312 calipers nearly idenital anyway, am sure even a novice could work out which way round they go

My 312 upgrade was totally worth it.

Before purchasing the 312 setup I replaced the discs and pads on the 288s

as well as having a fluid change and whilst yes there was an improvement

I still found the standard brakes lacking on mine.

Sure they stopped the car and sure they could lock the wheels.

But there wasn't much feel there. I had a few brown trouser moments with the 288s.

Next stop ebay for some reconditioned calipers and carriers plus new discs and pads (again..)

After having the 312's fitted (Pagid discs and pads) it takes less pedal effort to stop the car from

speed and I feel more confident driving it briskly. They have performed well enough on a couple of

trackdays to suit me. I think it's money well spent personally.

Sorry, I should have been a bit more clear....

For track work or heavy road use yes the bigger brakes are an advantage.

Its for the cooling though, not stopping distances etc.

In reality even people who think they drive hard on the road dont and dont even get near the limit of standard brakes.

For extreme road use, I mean if your the sort of person that on a country lane will get fade within 5 minutes just get yourselves some Ferodo DS2500 pads. You will never fade these and will have just saved yourself a load of money and hassle changing disks, calipers etc.

So I'm alright then having fitted 312's with DS2500 pads.

Ah, the Placebo effect is alive & well here!

Fred44 is entirely correct; bigger brakes = more heat dissipated = less fade = more efficient retardation.

grr666 is also entirely correct for the same reasons.

It's simple physics; friction causing loss of momentum, kinetic energy converted to heat.

Ah, the Placebo effect is alive & well here!

Fred44 is entirely correct; bigger brakes = more heat dissipated = less fade = more efficient retardation.

grr666 is also entirely correct for the same reasons.

It's simple physics; friction causing loss of momentum, kinetic energy converted to heat.

bigger brakes = more heat dissipated = less fade = more efficient retardation implies bigger brakes slow you down better?

The faster models in the range have bigger brakes because they are faster and usually heavier.

Either of them, of both combined = higher temps = more cooling needed.

The GTI 150 had 288 (or whatever it was) and the octavia VRS and Leon had the bigger brakes - but they had 180 BHP. The golfs with 180 (like the anni) haad the bigger brakes as standard.

I don't get your point? You're disputing the 312mm upgrade yet also saying faster heavier cars require larger brakes? therefore what is wrong with fitting them to a vRS, with the fact that a lot of owners will have increased the performance of their car also?

bigger brakes = more heat dissipated = less fade = more efficient retardation implies bigger brakes slow you down better?

They will slow you down better, yes but only in certain circumstances where the OEM disks would be passed their best, for example after 5 laps on a track. Up to that point the larger discs will stop you no quicker than the factory setup, anyone saying otherwise is suffering from the placebo effect.