OK, instead of waiting for Skoda to look at my brakes, I stripped them down today, started with the fronts and when I got the pads out they were dry, no grease or oil just a really shiny melted pad! it had a lot of surface cracking too, so out with the really rough sanding pad and rub like mad! I took about 10k miles off the pads but no more cracks or glazing.

I did this on all four wheels and then cleaned everything with brake cleaner, smells lovely! Now the brakes are as good as new BUT for safety I have ordered some new pads to put in, disc look good and no issues with callipers or hub seals etc.

I will use the Yellow stuff pads for How Fast and put the new pads in when I come home.

There you go, glazed pads it was! Still don't fully understand why the back of the discs was "greasy" ...?

Normaly with glzaed brakes the symptoms are squeking and juddering under braking, I can't remember you mentioning it.

The only way I know to prevent glazing is to brake short but very hard. If they are cracked replace them asap as they might disintegrate any time and you will have diminished braking potential ( or no brakes if unlucky) when they do. When you take the material off the pads do the same with discs - 80 grit paper is fine for both. With discs all you need to do is to take the "shine off". If they are badly groved but still thick enough (all discs have min thickness stamped on them) find a local machine shop and ask them to be turned on a lathe, should take no more than 20 mins and will be cheaper (and more environmentaly friendly) than buying new ones.

I think the greasy stuff was a combination of brake dust and TFR, anyway onward and upward, Yellow pads on next for How Fast, lets see what happens there.

I looked at DS2500 but not willing to spend £170 just to have possible better pads for an hour of driving. If I make it a habit and find OEM pads are crap then I will reconsider . Only few weeks left!

I got the yellow's off lark speed, £75, they were great at Oulton Park and they will be going on again for Bedford. OR you could just buy a new set off standard pads to put on after the event.

You know what, I have not thought about that! Cheers mate:) If the pads are to go kaput I need something to replace them with there and then at the Autodrom. My problem is the sports pads have higher fricton coefficient and use the discs up more so if OEM are not going to glaze then I do not want to use the sports ones. The only way of knowing is to try. I think I will buy myself a set of standard fronts as I will use then anyways at some point due to normal wear. If I find OEM are rubbish for my style of driving then for the next track day I will buy performance pads.

I will already have the performance brake fluid in. There is a bit of a problem with that. Opieoils have no stock of Motul but have Gulf RF1000, which acc to spec has even higher dry boiling point (but lower by few degrees wet boiling point) and is cheaper than Motul.

Another thing for the track is to find some sort of mounting system for my regular Panasonic HD camcorder. Anybody knows a place with camcorder car mounts by any chance?

Another purchase needs to be ODBII Bluetooth or WiFi sender and Torque appfor my iPhone to log the car while on track and normal driving before hand.

This blooming track day turns to be expensive

When i was on stock brakes/pads i tried braking earlier and braking short and sharp at the last moment. Both had problems Braking earlier, and they get too hot, brake too late and you find the car struggles to stop because ultimately the braking performance isnt exactly amazing. Also bear in mind the XDS works by applying the brakes so that will also add heat to the situation.

I found in the end the easiest thing was not to go flat out down the straights meaning the brakes didnt have to work as hard. And lets be fair, anyone can drive fast in a straightline so its not a loss of fun to go slower on the straights, the fun is in the corners. Once you have cooling and brakes sorted then you can have fun on the brakes as well. Looks to me like Bedford isnt going to be too hard on the brakes anyway, so it might actually be fine.

IMO the DS2500 are a MUCH better road pad than the OEM and you will feel that in everyday driving everytime you hit the brakes, it just so happens that they are also OK for a little light track work, but they are not track pads, you can still make them fade, it just takes a little longer. Ferrodo DS3000 are the trackpads and wouldn't perform that well on the road from cold.

Found this on another forum, which might be of use to you choosing brake fluids.

make..........DOT Rating......dry- / wet boiling point

(higher wet boiling points recommended)

AP Racing 551 - DOT3 - 527° F (275° C) / 302º F (145º C)

AP Racing 600 - DOT3 - 590° F (310° C) / 410° F (210° C)

AP PRF Racing - DOT4 - 608° F (320º C) / 311° F (155º C)

Ate SL6 - DOT4 + ISO6 - 509° F (265° C) / 347° F (175° C)

Ate Super Blue - DOT4 - 536º F (280º C) / 390º F (194º C)

Ate Super 200 - DOT4 - 536º F (280º C) / 390º F (194º C)

BMW OEM - DOT4 - 446° F (224° C) / 311° F (156° C)

Bosch - DOT3 - 491º F (255º C) / 288º F (142º C)

Bosch - DOT4 - 509º F (265º C) / 329º F (165º C)

Bosch - DOT4+ - 536º F (280º C) / 356º F (180º C)

Brembo LCF 600+ - DOT4 - 601º F (316º C) / 399º F (204º C)

Brembo EVO 500+ - DOT4 - 520º F (271º C) / 336º F (169º C)

Castrol GT LMA - DOT4 - 509º F (265º C) / 311º F (155º C)

Castrol SRF - DOT4 - 590º F (310º C) / 518º F (270º C)

EBC BF 307+ - DOT4 - 589° F (307° C) / 386° F (196° C)

Endless RF-650 - DOT4 - 612° F (323° C) / 425° F (218° C)

Endless S-Four High-Perf. - DOT4 - 567° F (297º C) / 366º F (187º C)

Ferodo Racing DOT5.1 - DOT5.1 - 500° F (260° C) / XXXX (XXXX)

Ferodo Racing Formula - DOT4 - 572° F (300° C) / XXXX (XXXX)

Ferodo Racing Super Formula - DOT4 - 625° F (330° C) / XXXX (XXXX)

GS610 - DOT4 - 610° F (321° C) / 421° F (216° C)

Gunk HD - DOT4 - 510º F (266º C) / 311º F (155º C)

Millers Racing 300 Plus - DOT4 - 590° F (310° C) / XXXX (XXXX)

Motul DOT 5.1 - DOT5.1 - 509º F (265º C) / 365º F (185º C)

Motul RBF 600 - DOT4 - 594º F (312º C) / 402º F (205º C)

Motul RBF 660 - DOT4 - 617º F (325º C) / 400º F (204º C)

Neo Super DOT16 - DOT4 - 610° F (322° C) / 421° F (216° C)

Pentosin Super - DOT4 - 500° F (260° C) / 338° F (170° C)

Pentosin RBF - DOT4 - 572° F (300° C) / 392º F (200° C)

Performance Friction RH665 - DOT4 - 617° F (325° C) / 395° F (195° C)

Project µ G-four 335 - DOT4 - 634° F (335° C) / 429° F (221° C)

Prospeed RS683 - DOT4 - 683° F (360° C) / 439° F (224° C)

Tarox Roadrace - DOT4 - 583° F (314° C) / 402° F (205° C)

TRW Grand Prix 600 - DOT5.1 - 594º F (312º C) / 400º F (204º C)

ValvolineProSyn - DOT3/4 - 527º F (275º C) / 347º F (175º C)

Wilwood Hi-Temp 570 - DOT3 - 570º F (299º C) / 284º F (140º C)

Wilwood EXP600 Plus - DOT4 - 633º F (330º C) / 417º F (213º C)

For trackday mounts i kncked one of thse up.

Parts required

1 x length of 20mm square ali bar stock

2 x M15 'U' bolts

4 x M6 wing nuts to suit U bolts

1 x M6 40mm bolt

1 x small length of 6mm poly pipe

2 x 20mm square rubber end bungs

1 x mini camera tripod ball mount

First step was to cut the bar stock to length, i got the bar from B&Q and it comes as a 1 metre length and handily i found that 500mm seems to be the perfect length for the mount so it was cut in half (leaves enough over to make another mount too!)

Then got all the other bits and bobs ready...

M15 U bolts and wingnuts..

20mm end bungs..

Mini tripod ball mount (removeable type required that has screw thread fixing in base)..

Length of 6mm Poly pipe

Once the bar was cut to length i offered it up to the headrest tubes to mark the position of the 'U' bolts mounting holes, the final position of the camera mount was marked on the end of the bar by halfing the distance between the 2 headrests so that the camera will sit as central as possible..

Bar was then drilled for the 'U' bolts and for the camera mount (7mm drill for clearance on the U bolts and M6 bolt for ball head hole - my particular mount had a square base so needed a 10mm hole on the top side of the bar)

Quick lick of paint with some black matt plasticote i had lying around leaves this...

Small lengths of poly pipe cut to size and slipped onto U bolts to help them grip the headrest tubes and cut down on vibration...

Then all the bits assembled ready for fitment into the car..

http://img.photobuck...die/mount11.jpg[/img]

For camera duties on the mount i chose a Flip Ultra HD cam: full HD recording and super simple to use, very light and the new 3rd gen version shoots in 60fps and has image stabilisation, £95 on ebay :happy2:

http://img.photobuck...die/mount12.jpg[/img]

And finally mounted in the car :happy2:

http://img.photobuck...die/mount14.jpg[/img]

Total cost for the mount was just over £12

All the parts are readily available in B&Q and on EBAY

Jabo, the brake fluid my neighbour got for me was Castrol response, super response is what it should have been! That has gone back and I ordered the Gulf stuff off Opie, it is in transit now so not bad £29.26 delivered for 1.5 litres this is with a £2.78 discount for associating with Brisky!

My set up will be Yellow pads and new brake fluid, the idea is go as fast as you can on the straights and carry plenty of speed through the corners, I think it will be difficult to keep heat out of the pads to be honest, I don't think Bedford will allow the scandinavian flick on track lol

I used a CCTV bracket on my Evo , bolted through the rear shelf , solid as a rock and cost less than £5 on eBay

Will have a look, cheers mate!

The mounts I bought were crap and no matter what I did to them they were vibrating like creazy so I gave up.

I did a similar mount as Sy's but slightly different, will post piccies when Iget it working. I need some better, much more solid and vibration resistant camcorder ball mount.

As for the brakes, I did the fluid now I need some proper pads.

Which of those are the correct ones/ better ones for MK2 Fabia vRS?

http://www.ferodoracing.com/catalogue/detail_car_tuning.php?cat=brake_pads&code=FDS1419

http://www.ferodoracing.com/catalogue/detail_car_racing.php?code=FCP1419&cat=brake_pads

Be wary of which pads you get. Looking at the Ferodo website they arent showing the latest model Ibiza/Polo Fabia so the pads might not be correct. Ferodo do an "OEM equivalent" pad called DS Performance which is not worth wasting your money on as its going to be no better than stock. You need the DS2500.

Id advise speaking to someone like Alex from AKS Performance as he has lots of top contacts to get you what you need. Alternatively, find out the part number for the caliper as it will have been used on previous VAG vehicles. VAG never design new, they just reallocate ready designed products from their parts bins.

Here you go. This would be an awesome improvment.

334mm Twin pot brakes from a Mk4 R32. Direct fit, but may need a small spacer on stock wheels. Keeps it looking OEM and keeps condumable costs down as well. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-VW-GOLF-MK4-R32-334MM-FRONT-BRAKE-CONVERSION-KIT-CALIPERS-DISCS-/161022297785?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Model%3AOctavia%7CCars+Type%3ARS+1.8+T&hash=item257dad46b9

SWMBO just came in and caught me red handed looking on those brakes, thanks Sy, I am in trouble because of you now!

Tell her brakes make a car safer and your merely thinking about keeping her and the kids safe

With Nurburgring trip next weekend there's no way I can spend any more dough this month :(

Just learned that I will actually be getting race team pass and will be race crew member and staying at Dorint track hotel!

I hope they do not start practicing at the break of dawn

Last two photos :love:

http://hotel-eifel-nuerburgring.dorint.com/en/pictures-videos/picture-gallery/

Tell her brakes make a car safer and your merely thinking about keeping her and the kids safe

I tried that with the wheels and tyres I just bought and she did not buy it in the slightest - where did she learn so much about the cars ?!?