Staying with Standard 288mm Front Brakes. Upgrade Options?

mixmaster

Registered User
Joined
May 10, 2010
Messages
84
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Val d'Isere
I'm running 15" wheels in the winter so have to stay with the standard 288mm front discs (2.5tdi Quattro)

They seem pretty lifeless...

What are my options to optimise the standard front (and rear) brakes. Can they be good?

Thanks
 
Its all down to pad choice.

However they're never going to be great, your car weighs 1.6 Tonnes and has the same brakes that are fitted to a 1.2 Ton FWD A4 1.8T.

The problem is that pads which operate well at the high temps your inevitably going to generate trying to stop a heavy car, are typically a bit wooden when cold.

I have some generic standard pads in my 1.8TQ, on the stock 288 disks, and i find that they bite well around town and even at 50-60mph they still have a sharp positive feel, but stand on them at 80mph on the motorway and they "go off" pretty quickly and you can feel fade beginning to build even before one "stop". Certainly not confidence inspiring.

I'd suggest trying some Mintex 1144's or DS2500's as they're "fast road" pads, you may find they will be a bit wooden from stone cold though.

I plan to change to 320mm S4 spec disks at some point. My winters are on 17" alloys as a result.
 
I scared the absolute cr@p out of myself trying to stop from 70 [cough] on a slip road with a load of stuff in the boot
brakes just disappeared about 100yds before I wanted to stop!

pads, lines and fluid.
ditch your fluid as a matter of course. if it is old it is probably full of water (its hydrophyllic and soaks the stuff up, which them boils when hot causing steam as a gas to form and make the brakes even crapper!)
 
Been thinking of similar question as my discs seem to be on the way out...

is it best to stick to genuine discs or
would discs from ECP be any good? [Pagid / Eicher]
 
For the most part, disks are disks.

I've run generic motorfactors disks for years without any problems.
 
Been thinking of similar question as my discs seem to be on the way out...

is it best to stick to genuine discs or
would discs from ECP be any good? [Pagid / Eicher]

only use pagid mate i work there and dont recomend eicher, pagid are damn good thou :)