The 288mm brakes manage to stop my Octavia estate with no problems from anything up to 130mph (airfield strip wasnt long enough for more speed) and they're fine for everyday driving.

I dont think the problem is with the brakes at all - it is the suspension.

If that's true though' date=' how come most people with the 312mm upgrade say that it's much better? The suspension has stayed the same, so pitch and dive must be the same under breaking?

The one and only reason I upgraded my brakes to the TT setup was because I hated the feel of the standard brakes. They worked fine, but never how I wanted them to work. It seemed I needed to start stopping so far before I wanted to stop it's untrue, or I needed to kick the pedal almost to the point of bringing in ABS just to stop reasonably quickly. I had a lot of times where (although it was probably stopping fine) I was in wet pants territory wondering if I would stop moving before the car in front. And this wasn't while pushing the car or breaking late, just standard driving.

The 312's just feel a lot more comfortable and predictable, a little more analogue than the on/off standard brakes. And now the only times I can say I have worried about stopping are most definitely [i']my[/i] fault. With the standard setup I was just thinking "If I hit the car infront now, I really don't think I have done anything wrong. The car should have stopped".

I prefer the Peace of mind I have with the 312's. But I wouldn't say the standard brakes are bad, or unable to stop you.

If that's true though, how come most people with the 312mm upgrade say that it's much better? The suspension has stayed the same, so pitch and dive must be the same under breaking?

Because the bigger brakes give you more leverage and therefore more controlled braking force..... Wait till you get the Eibachs on and see how much better they are

Chris

I also think the comment by Chris with regards when the servo-assist really 'kicks in' is a very valid one, effectively making the effect a lot worse than it should be. If the servo assist kicked in at a different point (i.e. only when I REALLY hammer that pedal down) rather than where I brake firmly but IMHO in a pretty normal manner, it wouldn't feel so bad either.

The thing is, whatever the reasons, both the suspension and the 312mm upgrade/change will be taking place at the same time so I will have a hard time giving good feedback on the improvements purely from the braking angle. I do expect a big improvement though as the 1.4 MPI Fabia had far easier-to-control brakes, much more analogue in their feel. Doubt they're up to the same braking capacity etc though, but they were fine for the job as well

If you're getting it remapped, I'd certainly get them uprated before then. In fact I'd do brakes and springs before map, but that might just be me :)Steve

I think Steve is spot on there. Trouble with a map is that the long slippery slope starts here.

No comment (hides sig from view :P )

If that's true though' date=' how come most people with the 312mm upgrade say that it's much better? The suspension has stayed the same, so pitch and dive must be the same under breaking?

The one and only reason I upgraded my brakes to the TT setup was because I hated the feel of the standard brakes. They worked fine, but never how I wanted them to work. It seemed I needed to start stopping so far before I wanted to stop it's untrue, or I needed to kick the pedal almost to the point of bringing in ABS just to stop reasonably quickly. I had a lot of times where (although it was probably stopping fine) I was in wet pants territory wondering if I would stop moving before the car in front. And this wasn't while pushing the car or breaking late, just standard driving.

The 312's just feel a lot more comfortable and predictable, a little more analogue than the on/off standard brakes. And now the only times I can say I have worried about stopping are most definitely [i']my[/i] fault. With the standard setup I was just thinking "If I hit the car infront now, I really don't think I have done anything wrong. The car should have stopped".

I prefer the Peace of mind I have with the 312's. But I wouldn't say the standard brakes are bad, or unable to stop you.

Nail on head. will look into upgrade.

Sharkrider's brakes get a lot more (ab)use than most [from his students]. Maybe the problem is that unless they get hammered regularly the pads are glazing. Mine were awful from new until the day I washed the car and put it straight back in the garage. Next day the surface rust from the discs cleared off whatever other crud there was on the discs and from then on they were fine.

I've only had the 312s on for about 800 miles, but they are much more reassuring and consistent than the originals ever were.

I'm not quiet sure what everyone's going on about. I've owned some real dog's dinners of cars over the years and the Fabia Vrs is the BEST for breaking i've ever had. Did an emergency stop from 60 mph yesterday when a lorry ahead of me parked on a blind corner over a hiil crest and, yes it was hairy, but my Furby stopped in time when i really thought that there wasn't enough time to stop, and the ABS worked perfectly, as the emergency stop was on a corner!

I'm not quiet sure what everyone's going on about. I've owned some real dog's dinners of cars over the years and the Fabia Vrs is the BEST for breaking i've ever had. Did an emergency stop from 60 mph yesterday when a lorry ahead of me parked on a blind corner over a hiil crest and, yes it was hairy, but my Furby stopped in time when i really thought that there wasn't enough time to stop, and the ABS worked perfectly, as the emergency stop was on a corner!

It was never emergency stops that worried me. If I slammed the brakes on it stopped very nicely. But if I pressed the pedal gently, and then gradually pressed harder to brake more, it never fely like any difference was happening. I always felt I needed to brake gently or very hard. There was never any gradual control, or any consistent analogue control over the braking. Which is fine if you break late or brake early, but the way I drive I want more responsive control over all degrees of braking, and the standard setup just didn't make me feel I had that control.

There was never any gradual control, or any consistent[/i'] analogue control over the braking. Which is fine if you break late or brake early, but the way I drive I want more responsive control over all degrees of braking, and the standard setup just didn't make me feel I had that control.

Lowering alters the braking characteristics. The standards feel okay to me, as tested on Monday when some tw4t in a 'barryboys' Felicia cut me up on a 3 lane roundabout. Hard ABS braking avoided a potentially nasty accident. I'd got my Mum with me, otherwise I'd have gone after him and shoved his Burberry baseball cap where the sun don't shine!

By the way:

'analogue is the new digital'

'white is the new black'

well, the official skoda verdict is:

The brakes are working perfectly - but shoewd signs of getting very hot. that'll have been me trying to get them to stop the car properly then.

Have to say, i love everything about the car; apart from the brakes. I don't trust them. They're not progressive and i have no faith in them. I do around 30,000 miles driving a year, a lot in cities and the prospect of living with the current setup doesn't thrill me.

Change the disks and pads, or off to badger 5 then?....

Lowering alters the braking characteristics. The standards feel okay to me' date=' as tested on Monday when some tw4t in a 'barryboys' Felicia cut me up on a 3 lane roundabout. Hard ABS braking avoided a potentially nasty accident. I'd got my Mum with me, otherwise I'd have gone after him and shoved his Burberry baseball cap where the sun don't shine!

By the way:

[i']'analogue is the new digital'

'white is the new black' [/i]

Well, I plan to be saving and put on the Rear ARB, Strut Brace and Eibach Springs/Dampers all together. So hopefully that'll sort out my braking, and perhaps my cornering too

Will keep the big brakes on though, even if the small'uns would work

I got my VRS new and the brakes were/are nothing like what you are describing.

IMO they react too aggressively initially, not helped by pitching forwards on the standard springs. I found the pitching meant I instinctively underbraked, then had to put in more effort for the last 10-15 yards. This is one reason I got the Eibachs, now the car merely seems to squat or compress, proportionally to the braking effort.

Given how trends seem to be going regarding brakes (lighter effort, quicker response) , I can't help but feel that there's a bit of a problem with the brakes on your car.

Good luck with sorting it out.

J.

having said all that' date=' a friend of mine has a vRS, and he recently drove mine, and says the brakes on my car are far better than his! And I can't for the life of me figure out why there should be a noticable difference, unless its tyres. (I have goodyear F1's on the front of mine)

[/quote']

It's suprising how we always seem to get the same answers to this question re. brakes.

I personally think that the brakes are fine and I don't have any problems with them. Maybe 312's are better but I just wonder if the bedding in period plays a significant part in how the brakes behave in the short/medium term.

I was very gentle on the brakes for many 1000's of miles before using them in anger. I wonder if this is what makes the difference?

I'm with Chris, they're pretty good standard.

Do all you guys tailgate excessively or something? :confused:

If your going to 312's then don't forget pagid are offering us a good rate on pads.

I run some ceramic based RS19's and they are fab...not quite enough bite, but stop a 1tonne BM well enough to move your insides on harnesses, about .47 coefficient I think and mega low heat.

The problem for std fabia brakes, especially for anybody used to a harder set up is the pitch. I suffered from this with the 4x4, I never ever trusted them, despite changing to a DS2500 pad setup. IT stopped but got I shat it everytime I had to lean on them.

The RS (Octy) similar setup, different discs and fractionally larger pads, I'll wait till after the 100 yard marker from 80ish and stamp and stop*...

Fade and feel will be pad, temp and fluid. With the 312 you are physically on a bigger pad, so you will stop better. For any spirited drive, life of braking is vital. There are a few roads in the UK which if you drive them you can bake your brakes; I did on the 4x4 with oem fluid only 9months old, four corners approx 7 seconds apart with suregrip on...the old drovers gift to modern day man and his toys.

*suregrip should be present and run grippy *** tyres or you get scared quickly...

I think if I can get a new job soon that I'll be looking at some stupid brakes, because I want to see the whites of there eyes... that said it's scary on motorways how quickly other cars catch you up when braking.

Change the disks and pads, or off to badger 5 then?....

Take note of the 3rd option - 312mm upgrade kit from GolfTurbo on here....

Steve

On the subject, does anyone know what the difference is between the vRS brakes and the PD100 brakes?

On the subject, does anyone know what the difference is between the vRS brakes and the PD100 brakes?

I think the PD100 brakes are 256mm discs & the vRS are 288mm.

My brakes are very powerful but a bit to in your face, a bit all or nothing and not progressive like previous sport hatches that I have owned, but I have got used to them over time, I think the vRS brakes vary from car to car as I have heard of complaints of stopping power! If anything mine are to sharp.

the difference on the road between my brakes and the PD100 seems fairly insignificant - as i said above, i actually slightly favoured the PD100s setup to the VRS'.

With my brakes i think i may have got the poor end of an average setup on a slightly over average car (performance wise). Does that make sense???

Yeah - mine are powerful, although there can be a little fade if I brake hard repeatedly from high speeds (the A34 from Alderley Edge to Cheadle, as has been mentioned, is a good example!).

tbh i think the std vrs brakes are fine tbh.... ive never come close to backending sum1 and when ive needed them to stop sharp they have.i can see how they would be no good for trackdays as there is basically no feel to them. they arent always consistent as to how hard they bite and how far u push. but just for everyday use i think there pretty useful and has more than enough stopping power

personal opnion obvs

kiss kiss

-ho

I just find they don't inspire much confidence. Maybe that's the best way of putting it.

I've found in the past' date=' with reasonably extreme breaking, they'll eventually work, but for the majority of the time, in those situations, you feel it's more by fluke that anything else!

Maybe that's why the 312mm upgrade is such a popular one?? Or maybe people put them on for a variety of reasons, I don't know.

Steve[/quote']

That just about sums my opinion as well .:thumbdwn: ...... this has without doubt

been my biggest dissapointment with the car........ the brakes on my little diesel

Peugot van are far superior

Seems odd that people have such polar experiences - maybe a mix of different expectations and different cars? Either way, my brakes make me uneasy, i wouldn't have any confidence in them if i were doing 70 on a duel carriageway with 4 in the car and some fool stepped out. At the end of the day its a safety issue.

I've driven a colleagues Megane today (older style) and took the opportunity to test the brakes - the 1.6 Megane stopps way quicker, and with more composure - its got drum brakes on the back!

The VRS is a great little car, and i can't fault it elsewhere (aside from a squeaky seat), but i think the brakes are the weakpoint of an otherwise very well balanced package.