BrAKE Discs

[Izzy1]

I need to replace my disc. any recomendations on what i should get. Car is Stock TDI. I bought some front Pagid pads and Brembo Rears from GSF over the weekend. realised i need to change my discs also.
Is it worth fitting brembo ones or should i just get normal discs?

please advise.

 

[Nitro]

On a TDI i would think standard discs and good pads will be OK, but if you have them already

 

[Izzy1]

i've asked a few people and they all saying pretty much the same thing. GSF have quoted £130 for brembo discs. will see how much the pagid ones are.

 

[Izzy1]

Budget discs from GSF all round £74. does anyone know if these will cause the new pads to have that annoying squeak?

 

[Jason.s]

Not at all. On my yaris i had cheap ebay discs on the front with decent pads and it didnt cause any issues at all. Infact the breaking was better than the expensive 3G discs i had on previously.

Theres not much point putting nice discs with basic pads. If anything if should be the other way around. Decent pads with standard discs.

 

[Izzy1]

I've managed to get some Pagid discs from Euro car parts at trade price (just a few quid more then GSF budget discs). so I'll be fitting those tomorrow after work, weather permitting.

thanks for your help guys.

 

[Izzy1]

update - picked up my discs but noticed they are not vented like the ones already on the car. will this make any difference? looking to fit later today.

 

[aragorn]

If they're not vented they wont fit.

Take them back and get the correct disks.

Early low-spec cars had 280x14mm solid disks, which got upgraded to 280x22mm at some point around '97.

Higher spec cars (1.8T and the V6 models afaik) got 288x24mm disks.

 

[Izzy1]

great. looks like i have to go and change them over and fit on another day now. glad i asked before fitting.

cheers mate.

 

[Izzy1]

Back to GSF and the budget discs i go. Euro car parts don't stock the vented rear discs i need. so will be nipping down to GSF later.
thanks aragorn for the heads up on the discs.

 

[aragorn]

vented rear disks?

the rear disks are solid... and are the same on all FWD A4's

 

[Broken Byzan]

Don't forget to either get rear discs with ABS rings fitted or to swap the old rings over . You will also need new rear wheel bearings as its a 50/50 chance of getting the old bearing out and it still being useable

 

[Izzy1]

cool. i'll go swap the front for the vented ones. i assumed the rears needed to be vented just like the front. no wonder they didn't stock them.
do i need a special tool for the wheel bearings?

 

[aragorn]

i usually use a big screwdriver and hammer to carefully chap the races in.

Make sure your familiar with the tightening procedure, or you'll wreck the bearings and quite possibly the stub axle.

 

[Izzy1]

never changed discs in my life.
front shouldn't be a problem. worried about the rear now.

 

[aragorn]

A Useful tip: Knock the races out of the old disk, then cut thru them with the grinder and a skinny disk on one side.

You can then use this as a drift to knock the new race into place, and the slot will ensure it doesnt get stuck and can be easily removed.

 

[Izzy1]

is this necessary? all i'm trying to do is change the discs. your confusing the hell out of me lol.

what are races? is there a DIY doc that i could maybe follow?

 

[aragorn]

Ok, on the front, the disk is just a disk, which slides over the hub like normal and is clamped on by the wheel.

On the rear, the disk and hub are one and the same. Which means to change the disk, you also are in effect replacing the hub, along with the bearings. The new disk/hub assembly wont come with bearings fitted, so you need to install them into the disk before fitting it to the stub axle.

The races are the tapered cone seats that the bearings run against. They are supplied with the bearings, and need pressed into the disk/hub before the bearings can be fitted and the whole lot fitted to the stub axle.

You need to get yourself a haynes manual if you dont already, its detailed in there.

 

[Jason.s]

Or just buy discs that come with them. I bought my rear discs from bennets motorfactor and they came with them and cost me about 60-70quid inc vat for the pair.

 

[aragorn]

disks that come with bearings?

 

[Izzy1]

small problem - i managed to get the caliper bracket off the drivers side but the passenger side bolts don't want to budge.
i've used WD40 but no luck. what else can i use to get the bolts off?