Upgrade advice please

[Telf 222 2 Cars]

Hi all,

 

I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to upgrade my brakes for a reasonable cost.

 

I'm having the front calliper's and carriers refurbished for my project but its got me thinking that maybe I should upgrade the whole system

 

If anybody could give me a steer on how I could improve the whole system I'd be grateful- I'm thinking replace the servo and master cylinder- larger calipers etc but I don't know where to start.

 

Within reason cost isn't a major barrier, Id like to be able to stop on a motorway at the same rate as the modern stuff (or as near as possible) which might stop me wrecking my investment.

 

 

Edited October 12, 2018 by Telf

[jackherer 543]

There is nothing wrong with the standard brakes when they are working well. Just fit decent pads on the front and it'll stop brilliantly.

 

You can fit GTI6 discs and calipers but on a standard 1.9 GTI and normal road use there really isn't any point.

[Telf 222 2 Cars]

hmm you think Kieran?

 

maybe mine will be better when they have been serviced and refreshed- I have been caught out loads on the A14 trying to stop when everything has slammed on infront of me

 

[welshpug 1,621]

have to agree, a good brand standard road pad in either 1.6 or 1.9 caliper has sufficient bite to lock up the wheels, the only reason to 'upgrade' is if you need more capacity for coping with excess heat from competitive of particularly spirited driving, and even then some performance oriented pads will get you a long way.

[jackherer 543]

27 minutes ago, Telf said:

I have been caught out loads on the A14 trying to stop when everything has slammed on infront of me

What were your suspension and tyres like then? They're more likely to be increasing your stopping distance than the brakes themselves IMO. Were your dampers the original ones? They do hold up well but 247k miles is a lot!

 

I've got GTI6 brakes on mine but only because they were already on it when I got it, I'd happily run standard 1.9 calipers with decent pads and I've got a load more power than you'll have.

[Batfink 201]

Suspension refresh will sort the dive under braking. Something like Mintex M1144 will sort the brakes for a road car. Make sure the tyres are in good condion and things like brake fluid are fresh enough.

[DamirGTI 323]

Agreed , standard brakes are fine .. i always try to explain to the people that bigger brakes are "more harm than good/benefit" , that's if you not going to the looks/optic factor of having bigger brakes ..

 

By fitting bigger brakes , you're also increasing the unsprung weight , which is never a good thing for the suspension/geometry/wheel bearings etc :

 

https://www.eeuroparts.com/blog/5594/unsprung-weight/

 

... i'd always go for better friction material than the bigger/heavier brakes .. unless you have some serious power engine .

 

 

D

[petert 549]

Don't forget some new braided hoses. It makes a huge difference to the pedal feel.

[Tom Fenton 1,524]

Well I’ll throw a different opinion in. 

The standard brakes are good enough for the car on its own. But with all the modern cars out there with 300mm+ brakes and abs/esp etc etc, I agree that occasionally it can be a bit of a heart stopper when traffic suddenly stops.

 

As a upgrade without going mad, 206 GTI brakes at 266mm are a useful upgrade without being massively heavy like the 283mm 306 GTI stuff. Agree that a good pad is also an improvement, but my 206 GT stops great with standard Mintex replacement pads in it.

[sp_en_ny 14 1 Cars]

I personally hated the standard brakes on my cti, there were a number of times I thought it just weren't going to stop in time or lock up. Having put the GTI6 lump in I also put in the gti6 brakes and the difference is unbelievable. Now when you hit the brakes the car stops as you would expect and want it to. Even without the gti6 lump knowing what I know now I would still upgrade the brakes.

[Telf 222 2 Cars]

thanks all, Im torn as to what to do. As the car is having a complete refurb and pretty much everything is being replaced I think I will fit standard calipers and a decent set of pads/discs. I'm replacing all the hoses etc  so maybe that will be enough.

[DamirGTI 323]

Lots of people complain on kinda poor braking efficiency , squeaky brakes , uneven wear ... after replacing the pads/discs . One thing is a must here - to bed in the brakes as soon as you fit them on . There's special procedure for this :

 

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/bed-in-theory-definitions-and-procedures/stock-brake-system-bed-in

 

... once that's done , the braking efficiency will be better by up to 20% , they will not squeak (at least if they're not some hard race pads with high iron/steel content) , and will wear out properly/evenly (again if there's no mechanical problem with the callipers) .

 

D

[wicked 103 3 Cars]

Imho refurbing 205 gti calipers is a waste of money. You can pickup fresh 266mm calipers (54mm piston) from C2/C3/206/low spec 207/208 for reasonable money at breakers. These are not much heavier, but far better than the old 205 gti stuff. (I doubt if most people will notice the difference in weight of their brakes anyway.... )

Forget about 283mm calipers (54mm piston) unless they are from 306gti (57mm piston).  

 

Using decent pads does make sense. Decent pads for 266mm calipers might be cheaper than uprated pads for 205gti, since they are used on more cars.  

 

 

 

[wicked 103 3 Cars]

Example: 208 caliper