The biggest problem with the brakes is not the brakes themselves, but the suspension dive, which gives the (false) impression you're slowing down whilst actually you're not doing that (as much).

The Octavia with the same front brakes is heaver at the back so it prevents much of that extreme diving.

I had exactly the same experience as Philip - seriously rubbish brakes until they were worked in a bit (which took 1k miles or thereabouts of 'normal' driving). In hindsight doing a bit of burning in would have been a lot better & safer.

Plenty of braking power available, still going for the uprated brakes though.

I don't find any problems with the standard brakes either stopping power or feel.

Although 312 mm brakes are on the possible things to do, they are not on the top list.

I do hopefully want to do some track days next year, so higher up on the priority list is a brake fluid upgrade to DOT 5.1 maybe and also some Ferodo DS 2500 pads to use with std. discs.

How times change... I remember saying I thought they were ok, and I seem to rememeber not many people agreeing with me....

Anyway, as for comparison with other VAG cars with the 288 brake setup, with the exception of the "Polo" class, I'm sure other cars (bigger ones) with the 288 discss have bigger calipers?

Anyway, as for comparison with other VAG cars with the 288 brake setup, with the exception of the "Polo" class, I'm sure other cars (bigger ones) with the 288 discss have bigger calipers?

I thought the 288mm brakes would be a "package" so they would just be fitted as is with no variations across the ranges.... :confused:

Chris

The calipers for 288 and 312's on the Octavia are the same

I can't really say if the 312's are technically better, I'm useless with the mechanical stuff. But the one thing that they have given me is peace of mind.

On more than one occasion with the standard brakes I've been pushing on the pedal and thing "Oh ****, I'm not going to stop" even going reasonably slowly in traffic. And the fact that it seemed (in my head at least) that pushing the pedal as hard as I pushed it the last time I braked didn't have anywhere near the same effect it did the first time. There seemed to me that there was little correlation between pedal and actual braking performance.

With the 312's none of that happens. The only time I get the "uh, i'm not going to stop in time" feeling is just before I hit the brakes and throw my head into the dash.

Nothing in the Fabia has ever scared me as much as the feeling of pushing the brakes and not knowing if it's going to stop. Except maybe the 'beep' from the ice warning, which still makes me brown my pants.

In my opinion the upgrade was worth it just for the peace of mind that I have knowing how what I do with the pedal affects how the car brakes. I never had that (ever) with the original brakes. I'm sure other people did/do though, so I can't say if it's a worthwhile mod. And I don't do trackdays or anything - so I just like the extra feeling of control (whether it's a placebo or not).

Only downer is that it does show up the softness of the suspension a lot more than the standard brakes.

Opinion of the man who knows very little about cars.:confused:

I can't really say if the 312's are technically better' date=' I'm useless with the mechanical stuff. But the one thing that they have given me is peace of mind.

On more than one occasion with the standard brakes I've been pushing on the pedal and thing "Oh ****, I'm not going to stop" even going reasonably slowly in traffic. And the fact that it seemed (in my head at least) that pushing the pedal as hard as I pushed it the last time I braked didn't have anywhere near the same effect it did the first time. There seemed to me that there was little correlation between pedal and actual braking performance.

With the 312's none of that happens. The only time I get the "uh, i'm not going to stop in time" feeling is just before I hit the brakes and throw my head into the dash.

Nothing in the Fabia has ever scared me as much as the feeling of pushing the brakes and not knowing if it's going to stop. Except maybe the 'beep' from the ice warning, which still makes me brown my pants.

In my opinion the upgrade was worth it just for the peace of mind that I have knowing how what I do with the pedal affects how the car brakes. I never had that (ever) with the original brakes. I'm sure other people did/do though, so I can't say if it's a worthwhile mod. And I don't do trackdays or anything - so I just like the extra feeling of control (whether it's a placebo or not).

Only downer is that it does show up the softness of the suspension a lot more than the standard brakes.

Opinion of the man who knows very little about cars.:confused:[/quote']

Good round-up there mate, its given me the picture now.

Thanks for all of your comments guys, now i just need to find a Fabia and flog this Lotus!

After there's a few miles on the clock I've found the original brakes to be fantastic and unless you're driving badly they're fine.

If you're the type who turns off the ASR as soon as you've started the engine, get better brakes. If you're an adult who likes to drive quickly and safely don't bother.

Can't speak for remapped cars though.

The consistency of the standard brakes is not great - not rubbish either - but the diving that the standard suspension on the vRS has is worse than my Rover 100 - and that's pretty pants both on the braking & suspension front IMHO

If you have to choose between upgrading brakes and suspension, go for suspension any day, as it may sort out the confidence in the brakes too - I'm doing both though

I've found the original brakes to be fantastic and unless you're driving badly they're fine.

Define 'badly'?

Definitions of badly on the Web:

to a severe or serious degree; "fingers so badly frozen they had to be amputated"; "badly injured"; "a severely impaired heart"; "is gravely ill"; "was seriously ill"

ill: (`ill' is often used as a combining form) in a poor or improper or unsatisfactory manner; not well; "he was ill prepared"; "it ill befits a man to betray old friends"; "the car runs badly"; "he performed badly on the exam"; "the team played poorly"; "ill-fitting clothes"; "an ill-conceived plan"

evilly or wickedly; "treated his parents badly"; "to steal is to act badly"

in a disobedient or naughty way; "he behaved badly in school"; "he mischievously looked for a chance to embarrass his sister"; "behaved naughtily when they had guests and was sent to his room"

with great intensity (`bad' is a nonstandard variant for `badly'); "the injury hurt badly"; "the buildings were badly shaken"; "it hurts bad"; "we need water bad"

very much; strongly; "I wanted it badly enough to work hard for it"; "the cables had sagged badly"; "they were badly in need of help"; "he wants a bicycle so bad he can taste it"

without skill or in a displeasing manner; "she writes badly"; "I think he paints very badly"

in a disadvantageous way; to someone's disadvantage; "the venture turned out badly for the investors"; "angry that the case was settled disadvantageously for them"

ill: unfavorably or with disapproval; "tried not to speak ill of the dead"; "thought badly of him for his lack of concern"

with unusual distress or resentment or regret or emotional display; "they took their defeat badly"; "took her father's death badly"; "conducted himself very badly at the time of the earthquake"

Sorry, i'll get my coat

I'll go with 'in a disobedient or naughty way'.

Or more appropriately 'without skill or in a displeasing manner'.

In that case I'd argue the standard brakes operate 'badly'. Not the people who use them.

i know chris, but it always bemuses me that drums are still fitted, discs are better and easier to change, surely to cost of fitting them as standard can't be more.

i agree that diving is a problem and i'd choose to upgrade the the suspension before thinking about the brakes.

once again tho the heavy diesel engine causes difficulties, if the set up is stiffened to a point to reduce diving them the ride would be intolerable for most, and proberbly rattle to car to bits.

maybe a solution to many problems would be to put the engine in the middle, a mid engined diesel car? now there's a thought lol

Does make me laugh, we drive sometimes standard, sometimes chipped fab vRS's. What we DONT drive are McLaren F1's and we ain't ever gonna break the land speed record. The standard setup is fine, well mine are anyway.