Our '14 Octavia 1.4 TSI DSG is bound for a new MOT here in Norway shortly.

 

Preparing for that, I think it's time to swap all the rotors and pads just to avoid any simple hold-back for getting the approval (it's time after 8 years/86000km).

Looking into the online world, I see there are the drilled Brembo options available to just give that little extra.

 

I believe my 1.4 TSI was the 288 x 22~25 discs, and suspect it was at 1.8T there was the 312 mm discs. vRS probably are the 340mms.
Could anyone in here confirm this?

 

It probably means some caliper carriers would allow a 312 OEM setup on 1.4TSI struts normally carrying 288mm discs. Then again, maybe the 288 Brembos are just as simple...

Larger rotors won't help you stop any quicker as the stock brakes are more than capable of locking the wheels...

 

If you're doing repeated, high energy stops (like on a track) then yes, larger rotors will help with heat management.

 

For normal street use, unless there are signs you're overheating the brake system, I'd stick to the stock size

What front brakes are fitted depends on the car's build codes.

 

Build code 1ZE is for the 288x25 front brake discs.

 

Build code 1ZA is for the 312mm front brake discs.

 

Although both these are TRW brake systems, the 288mm and 312mm brake systems have different OEM part numbers listed for the front brake calipers. However, the front brake pads are interchangeable between the 288mm and 312mm brake calipers which would suggest the 288mm and 312mm brake calipers are very similar.

 

TRW BHX583E left brake caliper for 288mm brake system

 

 

TRW BHX585E left brake caliper for 312mm brake system

 

 

TRW 288x25 front discs 1ZE

Left brake caliper 8V0615123

1

8V0 615 123

brake caliper housing

left

1

Right brake caliper 8V0615124

(1)

8V0 615 124

brake caliper housing

right

1

Left brake carrier 8V0615125

6

8V0 615 125

brake carrier with pad retaining pin

left

1

Right brake carrier 8V0615126

(6)

8V0 615 126

brake carrier with pad retaining pin

right

1

Brake pads 8V0698151

10

8V0 698 151

1 set: brake pads with wear indicator for disc brake

1

PR-1ZE

Brake disc 1K0615301T

12

1K0 615 301 T

brake disc (vented)

288X25 5/112

2

https://skoda.7zap.com/en/cz/octavia/oct/2016-753/6/615-615020/

 

TRW 312x25 front discs 1ZA

Left brake caliper 8V0615123A

1

8V0 615 123 A

brake caliper housing

left

1

Right brake caliper 8V0615124A

(1)

8V0 615 124 A

brake caliper housing

right

1

Left brake carrier 8V0615125A

6

8V0 615 125 A

brake carrier with pad retaining pin

left

1

Right brake carrier 8V0615126A

(6)

8V0 615 126 A

brake carrier with pad retaining pin

right

1

Brake pads 8V0698151B

10

8V0 698 151 B

1 set: brake pads with wear indicator for disc brake

1

PR-1ZA

Brake disc 1K0615301AA

12

1K0 615 301 AA

brake disc (vented)

312X25 5/112

2

PR-1ZA

https://skoda.7zap.com/en/cz/octavia/oct/2016-753/6/615-615025/

 

Edited 15 June, 20223 yr by Carlston

@WAUOla I'd save my money unless Norwegian law requires you to leave a failed vehicle to be rectified by the testing station.

6 hours ago, WAUOla said:

Our '14 Octavia 1.4 TSI DSG is bound for a new MOT here in Norway shortly.

 

Preparing for that, I think it's time to swap all the rotors and pads just to avoid any simple hold-back for getting the approval (it's time after 8 years/86000km).

Looking into the online world, I see there are the drilled Brembo options available to just give that little extra.

 

I believe my 1.4 TSI was the 288 x 22~25 discs, and suspect it was at 1.8T there was the 312 mm discs. vRS probably are the 340mms.
Could anyone in here confirm this?

 

It probably means some caliper carriers would allow a 312 OEM setup on 1.4TSI struts normally carrying 288mm discs. Then again, maybe the 288 Brembos are just as simple...

 

You may be correct in your assumption of the 1.4TSI having 288mm front discs, and the 1.8T having 312mm front discs, although I would check the build codes or measure them to be sure of what is fitted.

 

Pre-facelift, both the petrol and diesel RS models used 340mm front discs and 272mm solid rear discs.

 

Post-facelift, the diesel RS dropped down to 312mm front discs, and the 245HP petrol RS went up to 310mm ventilated rear brake discs.

 

Edited 15 June, 20223 yr by Carlston

On 15/06/2022 at 10:49, WAUOla said:

Our '14 Octavia 1.4 TSI DSG is bound for a new MOT here in Norway shortly.

 

Preparing for that, I think it's time to swap all the rotors and pads just to avoid any simple hold-back for getting the approval (it's time after 8 years/86000km).

Looking into the online world, I see there are the drilled Brembo options available to just give that little extra.

 

I believe my 1.4 TSI was the 288 x 22~25 discs, and suspect it was at 1.8T there was the 312 mm discs. vRS probably are the 340mms.
Could anyone in here confirm this?

 

It probably means some caliper carriers would allow a 312 OEM setup on 1.4TSI struts normally carrying 288mm discs. Then again, maybe the 288 Brembos are just as simple...

 

 

MQB platform cars have various possibilities.....but only 2 main designs, the 312mm & the 340mm.

 

However the most common for your engine spec EU car is the 288mm or 312mm set up...312mm would only be fitted if your car had optional DCC dampers & thus the aluminium steering knuckles for the 55mmm dampers..

 

 

You might have the 288mm set up which uses the same basic setup as the 312mm setup & only requires different front caliper brackets as the pads/calipers are the same, ......However you have to check the stamping on the back of the caliper...if it has "57" on it you are ok...if it has "55" on it you need new calipers. This is because VAG originally only made 57mm piston calipers & used them for both 288mm & 312mm setups....Then later on they drilled the caliper for 55mm pistons for the 288mm discs.

 

 

The 288mm setup was a re-hash of the 312mm setup...312mm & 57mm pistons is what the whole systems was designed for & works great...the 288mm set up is rubbish for the size/weight of the car... 

 

 

So check caliper stamping....if "57" on it you only need new brackets,...now the brackets are handed..only because the pins are different, the actual bracket is the same casting, only because the unit comes pre-assembled does it become left & right handed...so find the cheapest bracket & order two of them & then swap the pins around on the "wrong" bracket.

 

 

All info in the first five posts in my guide here:-

 

How to retro-fit the 312mm front brakes to a Mk7 Golf | GOLFMK7 - VW GTI MKVII Forum / VW Golf R Forum / VW Golf MKVII Forum

 

 

& stay away from drilled discs...I used the Brembo "Max" grooved discs..or the ATE Power discs....

1 hour ago, fabdavrav said:

You might have the 288mm set up which uses the same basic setup as the 312mm setup & only requires different front caliper brackets as the pads/calipers are the same, ......However you have to check the stamping on the back of the caliper...if it has "57" on it you are ok...if it has "55" on it you need new calipers. This is because VAG originally only made 57mm piston calipers & used them for both 288mm & 312mm setups....Then later on they drilled the caliper for 55mm pistons for the 288mm discs.

 

The 288mm setup was a re-hash of the 312mm setup...312mm & 57mm pistons is what the whole systems was designed for & works great...the 288mm set up is rubbish for the size/weight of the car... 

 

 

So check caliper stamping....if "57" on it you only need new brackets,...now the brackets are handed..only because the pins are different, the actual bracket is the same casting, only because the unit comes pre-assembled does it become left & right handed...so find the cheapest bracket & order two of them & then swap the pins around on the "wrong" bracket.

 

All info in the first five posts in my guide here:-

 

How to retro-fit the 312mm front brakes to a Mk7 Golf | GOLFMK7 - VW GTI MKVII Forum / VW Golf R Forum / VW Golf MKVII Forum

 

& stay away from drilled discs...I used the Brembo "Max" grooved discs..or the ATE Power discs....

 

The Skoda online parts catalogues only show one pair of front brake calipers for the 288mm discs on the Octavia MK3, whether it's an early 2013 car or a late 2021 car.

 

2013 Octavia MK3 with 288mm front brake discs

Left caliper 8V0615123 Right caliper 8V0615124 

1	8V0 615 123	brake caliper housing	left	1
(1)	8V0 615 124	brake caliper housing	right	1

https://skoda.7zap.com/en/cz/octavia/oct/2013-753/6/615-615020/

 

2021 Octavia MK3 with 288mm front brake discs

1	8V0615123	Brake caliper housing	left	1
1	8V0615124	Brake caliper housing	right	1

https://www.lllparts.co.uk/catalogs/skoda/CZ/OCT/805/6/615/615020

 

TRW may have used different OEM part numbers for the front brake calipers on the 288mm and 312mm discs because that enables TRW to charge more for the 312mm version, even though they appear to be the same. This is due to market forces, where there's a price premium for calipers that fit bigger discs. Put the same calipers (except for the OEM part number) in different boxes, one marked 288mm and one marked 312mm. Then charge about 28% more for the 312mm versions. It makes great business sense for TRW. I haven't noticed ATE doing similar underhand tactics. They put the same OEM part number on their 288mm and 312mm calipers, and charge the same price.

 

The Octavia MK3 1.6 110PS uses the smallest 276mm front discs and 253mm rear discs. Some of the other lower powered models also use these size brakes.

 

Edited 22 June, 20223 yr by Carlston

1 hour ago, Carlston said:

 

The Skoda online parts catalogues only show one pair of front brake calipers for the 288mm discs on the Octavia MK3, whether it's an early 2013 car or a late 2021 car.

 

2013 Octavia MK3 with 288mm front brake discs

Left caliper 8V0615123 Right caliper 8V0615124 

1	8V0 615 123	brake caliper housing	left	1
(1)	8V0 615 124	brake caliper housing	right	1

https://skoda.7zap.com/en/cz/octavia/oct/2013-753/6/615-615020/

 

2021 Octavia MK3 with 288mm front brake discs

1	8V0615123	Brake caliper housing	left	1
1	8V0615124	Brake caliper housing	right	1

https://www.lllparts.co.uk/catalogs/skoda/CZ/OCT/805/6/615/615020

 

TRW may have used different OEM part numbers for the front brake calipers on the 288mm and 312mm discs because that enables TRW to charge more for the 312mm version, even though they appear to be the same. This is due to market forces, where there's a price premium for calipers that fit bigger discs. Put the same calipers (except for the OEM part number) in different boxes, one marked 288mm and one marked 312mm. Then charge about 28% more for the 312mm versions. It makes great business sense for TRW. I haven't noticed ATE doing similar underhand tactics. They put the same OEM part number on their 288mm and 312mm calipers, and charge the same price.

 

The Octavia MK3 1.6 110PS uses the smallest 276mm front discs and 253mm rear discs. Some of the other lower powered models also use these size brakes.

 

 

 

I ignored the smaller caliper type as the OP said they have the 288mm & a 1.4lt engine...which is at least 122PS

 

 

With this in mind, for the MQB platform cars:- The 340mm disc has a single 60mm piston, the 312mm disc has a 57mm piston, & originally the 288mm disc had the 57mm piston caliper. As you can see the piston area was too great for the disc diameter & caused the 288mm set to be to grabby....so they then re-drilled the 57mm piston caliper casting to take a smaller 55mm diameter piston.

 

On a side note:-The 340mm VRS/GTI/R set requires different calipers, & is too heavy & you'd be better off fitting the 340mm Audi 4 pot set up for the MQB platform...straight bolt on & lighter.

 

I have seen pictures of several MQB platform MK7 Golfs with 288mm discs & the same calipers as mine...however they have 55mm diameter pistons which don't work very well with 312mm discs...only way to tell is the stamping on the back as otherwise they look the same...this is why I advise doing this....as the OP is not in UK  & there is no 100% guarantee that the parts lists are 100% correct...

 

My car, MK7 Golf had 288mm discs & 57mm piston calipers, 

 

The 312mm disc setups use my calipers, so I only had to swap the brackets to space the caliper further out to fit 312mm discs.

 

The 57mm caliper is made in zinc, grey, red & blue colours...zinc for DCC damper options on low spec cars, grey for GTD, red for GTI, & blue for GTE.....312mm discs always come fitted to aluminium steering knuckles/hubs for the 55mm dampers...

 

Edited 22 June, 20223 yr by fabdavrav

So what I take from this, is that 312mm discs are highly likely to be a direct fitment if/when a set of new calipper carriers for the 57mm items are fitted for a reposition of calipers.

 

All in all I've been quite pleased with the Octavia brakes, they do have sufficient daily bite.

And this probably puts me towards going for the Brembo Max discs for that little extra without reconfiguring much.

My preference is ATE over Brembo discs. The wavy line on the ATE discs look like a better design. If you follow the wavy line on the ATE disc, you will see that there is no break in the line. Surely kinder to the brake pads than the broken Brembo design. Also, ATE is now owned by Continental tyres and for me German brakes over Italian brakes is an easy choice. 

 

288mm ATE front disc

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/ate/958238

 

288mm Brembo front disc

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/brembo/1657443

 

Edited 24 June, 20223 yr by Carlston

6 hours ago, WAUOla said:

So what I take from this, is that 312mm discs are highly likely to be a direct fitment if/when a set of new calipper carriers for the 57mm items are fitted for a reposition of calipers.

 

All in all I've been quite pleased with the Octavia brakes, they do have sufficient daily bite.

And this probably puts me towards going for the Brembo Max discs for that little extra without reconfiguring much.

 

Correct...if you have the 57mm piston calipers...just new 312mm brackets required to place the caliper further out...(besides new discs...you could reuse your old pads but its best if fitting new discs to fit new pads)..

 

3 hours ago, Carlston said:

My preference is ATE over Brembo discs. The wavy line on the ATE discs look like a better design. If you follow the wavy line on the ATE disc, you will see that there is no break in the line. Surely kinder to the brake pads than the broken Brembo design. Also, ATE is now owned by Continental tyres and for me German brakes over Italian brakes is an easy choice. 

 

288mm ATE front disc

 

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/ate/958238

 

288mm Brembo front disc

 

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/brembo/1657443

 

 

 

I've had the ATE Power groove previously on this car as it was the first set I had when I did the conversion from 288mm to 312mm......... both sets as you post above are made to similar high tolerances & quality...but so far the anti-corrosion coating on the non-swept areas is holding up far better on the Brembo Max discs than the ATEs did for the same period of time...& we get it tough up here in Scotland...grit central, plus sand/sea air where I am!!

 

TBH get what ever you can find easy & cheaply....both are very good.....but get the plain pads & not the ceramics/low dust as they (both companies) state those are for plain discs as otherwise they squeal like mad with grooved discs.

 

In fact if you want the best design of groove you actually want a "J" hook......but those are custom done ...

Edited 24 June, 20223 yr by fabdavrav