288's and 312's use on the mk4 platform the same calipers and the same pads.

The only difference is the carrier holds the caliper further out so you can fit the bigger disc

I uprated from 288's to 312's on my leon (changed carrier only and new discs and pads)

And in all honesty the difference was negligable. If someone had fitted them without my know how i doubt i would have been able to tell

My brembos with crappy discs and pads were awful, the bite was still there but they didnt stop you very well past that, until you know what discs and pads were in the AP setup I dont think it's possible to comment either way tbh. 

 

Car manufacturer fitted Brembos are a lot different to AP's.

You can't buy cheap/standard pads for AP's,they are all performance materials.

If the AP set up was alloy bells and rotors all the rotors available are good quality too.

Bit daft fitting Brembos with crappy disks and pads,the calipers will give more clamping force but you still need a good bite between pads and disk

 

he drove my car I drove his, both couldn't believe the difference in the brakes, I expected the AP's to be 10x as good but mine were better. Weather his discs and pads were about shot or it had never had a fluid change I don't know, but that's what we BOTH agreed on. Not rubbish at all, whatever I post you disagree with me anyways.

 

The only thing that would have felt better would be initial bite/pedal feel with your standard calipers,four/six pots etc make the pedal harder to press and don't give as good a feel initially.

 

The AP's better points would be: bigger pad area contacting disk,thicker disks,bigger radius disk,more clamping pressure,better heat dissipation.

 

The AP's probably had performance pads fitted which would need a fair bit of heat putting into them before they bite properly?

 

A couple of laps round a track and you would notice a massive difference

Mine need a bit of heat into them before they start working hard. We went on the same road so the braking points would have been exactly the same. I have no doubt that the AP's are better but my point is, on the day we tested, mine were the better out of the two

Edited 6 June, 201412 yr by tommccabevRS