Brake Discs & Pads - recommendations please

AvantMike

AvantMike

Registered User
Joined
Sep 10, 2018
Messages
318
Reaction score
176
Points
43
Location
Way Out West
Hi Gang,

Looking at a 'starter' upgrade to OEM discs/pads. I'm currently looking at the EBC yellowstuff pads/EBC Ultimax discs.

Being a relative newbie (and also wanting to avoid big brake kits/£££ - because, Kids & Family) does anyone have any suggestions that will give an increase on OEM perfromance, look the business & not break the bank.

Thanks muchly
 
Day to day mate you wont notice any improvement upgrading discs and pads realistically performance pads are there to handle heat better and on the road your never get them hot enough to start to yave brake fade but if you want a better feel your notice day to day just stick with oem discs and pads and get some braided hoses all round.

If your looking at fast road car or track then its a completely different set up and at a minimum the ebc discs are great, never rated there pads though id stick with ferrodo.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AvantMike
I got mtec drilled front discs and pads wouldn't call them an upgrade at all just an equivalent to oem, unless you upgraded to the special edition brakes? May be a cheaper option 320mm discs, i imagine they would he cheap to pick up.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AvantMike
Ricky Burrows said:
Day to day mate you wont notice any improvement upgrading discs and pads realistically performance pads are there to handle heat better and on the road your never get them hot enough to start to yave brake fade but if you want a better feel your notice day to day just stick with oem discs and pads and get some braided hoses all round.

If your looking at fast road car or track then its a completely different set up and at a minimum the ebc discs are great, never rated there pads though id stick with ferrodo.
Click to expand...
Thanks mate - will bear this in mind
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ricky Burrows
I bought a full set of drilled/grooved fronts and rears off ebay, they came with mintex pads.
Have to say that my mates all took the p1%* saying that they would warp e.t.c. but had them on a mk1 VRS with no issues and they were a definite improvement. Only £200 for the lot!
 
Usually fit Brembo, pagid or mintex. Just fitted a full set of Brembo discs and pads. Im avoiding mintex now as i find the discs warp easily.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AvantMike
Ricky Burrows said:
Day to day mate you wont notice any improvement upgrading discs and pads realistically performance pads are there to handle heat better and on the road your never get them hot enough to start to yave brake fade but if you want a better feel your notice day to day just stick with oem discs and pads and get some braided hoses all round.

If your looking at fast road car or track then its a completely different set up and at a minimum the ebc discs are great, never rated there pads though id stick with ferrodo.
Click to expand...
Shhhh... makes me feel better
Braided hoses are a good shout too
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ricky Burrows
Agree with waht Ricky says, also personally never bothered with grooved or drilled discs. Plain discs have always been ok.
 
Lol Mike im saving you money my friend lol, yeah braided hoses are great and sharpen up the feel.

As for being drilled or grooved same applies really not something your notice in day to day life but the way i look at it is if your spending money its nice to have something that looks good and in theory will perform better, plus if your cars got drilled discs standard it makes sense to change with the same.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AvantMike
Don't know if this helps or not, 3 litre TDIs have bigger front brakes and I am sure there must be a way of fitting to your car. The big disc are teh heaviest I have ever encountered and calipers big but still just single piston. This stated me thinking along the lines of something Brembos or similar to get teh 4/6 pot calipers and if possible I would like ti get discs with separate bells, ah la race car. I did look into Brembos form Porsches etc but most are really big e.g. Cayennne discs and calipers and I was advised the extra weight would really negate the additional braking benefits, so not really worth the bother.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AvantMike
Your best bet without spending big bucks would be a nice set of braided lines and a brake fluid change. As all oils/fluids do, your brake fluid will degrade over time, so a change will help
 
  • Like
Reactions: AvantMike
Physics is the biggest player here with leverage .

Go larger !
 
  • Like
Reactions: Charlie Farley
Only one real option here chaps, and we all know what it is, the difference is night & day .:yes:
 
  • Like
Reactions: AvantMike and Gazwould
He asked for opinions within a budget remember Rob not sure a £600 set of calipers (2nd hand) and some £200 discs then another £50-100 brake pads then you might as well top it off with braided hoses another £80 are exactly within budget lol braided hoses and special edition brake set up would be a cheap and easy upgrade without having to sell yourself for a few weekends :)
 
Ricky Burrows said:
He asked for opinions within a budget remember Rob not sure a £600 set of calipers (2nd hand) and some £200 discs then another £50-100 brake pads then you might as well top it off with braided hoses another £80 are exactly within budget lol braided hoses and special edition brake set up would be a cheap and easy upgrade without having to sell yourself for a few weekends :)
Click to expand...
Not sure I'd get that much Ricky... I am pushing my mid-30's these days mate
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ricky Burrows
In fairness... when compared to a big brake kit £1,000 is far more cost effective... still pricey though *sigh*
 
Oh and as for brembos 4 or 6 pots or for any other “big brake kit” for that matter being “to heavy” to justify getting them thats the worst bit of advice I've seen on this forum lol no disrespect but you’re completely wrong, the way big brake kits are made there actually lighter most of the time and why would you not want a lighter bigger more powerful brake set up.
 
Last edited:
AvantMike said:
In fairness... when compared to a big brake kit £1,000 is far more cost effective... still pricey though *sigh*
Click to expand...
I think thats why the q5 brake set up is so popular big brake kit performance for easily half the price of aftermarket kits, but like you said its still pricey, worth doing though if you can afford it, i would if i could.
 
audi upgrades
Ricky Burrows said:
Oh and as for brembos 4 or 6 pots or for any other “big brake kit” for that matter being “to heavy” to justify getting them thats the worst bit of advice I've seen on this forum lol no disrespect but you’re completely wrong, the way big brake kits are made there actually lighter most of the time and why would you not want a lighter bigger more powerful brake set up.
Click to expand...

It's just the advice I got, my take on it is it's the discs that kill it, single piece 323mm vented disc are hell of a weight (technical measurement) much bigger and I probably wouldn't be able to lift them on to the car, multiplied by 2 discs on the front. Why do we go for light alloy wheels, to reduce the rolling resistance, which in my experience you can feel, when you change to decent light wheels, surely you would ruin that by then adding weight to the brakes. I might be wrong but that's my interpretation of the advice given.
 
Its like adding a rollcage yes you add weight but the stiffness to the chassis and safety over power the negatives, i think that applies to brakes as well, proper big brake kits all use lightweight components and floating discs which all end up saving a decent amount of weight and as long as you counter balance the front brake size with the rears your have massively improved braking overall and definitely outweighs some negatives, its all about balance to be fair.
 
As a b7 owner that has changed from the 320mm special edition fitments to the Brembo 18z setup , do you want to know the real answer.:whistle2:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dan_Avant and Ricky Burrows
My old golf was treated to brembo discs and pads all round and they were brilliant, bought from ECP.
 
If your going to go something crazy like 8 pot 380-400mm and above brakes you wont benefit much unless you upgrade the rear as well to balance it out in some cases you can have a worse braking distance but something like the Brembo 18z is not an issue as a lot of other people on here can give you there personal experience, as for weight its minor and i still think that information is poor when looking at all the plus sides.
 
As a side note if you cant lift a 323mm vented disc onto the car you have bigger issues to worry about lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: Charlie Farley
Ive seen a few people upgrade to A5 or S5 calipers, can't remember which. Not sure what the gains are though over stock
 
Ricky Burrows said:
As a side note if you cant lift a 323mm vented disc onto the car you have bigger issues to worry about lol
Click to expand...
I thought you would pick up on that, truth is I have been chucking disc in cars for years but when you do get to this size you really notice the difference in weight and I am knocking on a bit now but not so bad I can't lift a disc. Otherwise we are now in full agreement, balance needed and not just any old scrapyard discs an calipers off a Chelsea tractor, proper big brake kit similar to what you would want on a track/race car :icon thumright:
Still wondering what the answer was about the 18zs, suspense is killing me.
 
I went for S4 345mm items as a budget upgrade.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dan_Avant, Ricky Burrows and Charlie Farley
Sidrick said:
I went for S4 345mm items as a budget upgrade.
Click to expand...

This is actually a very good option , you get the bigger 345 discs and calipers with a bit more bite, also very low profile in the looks dept but that's all down to personal preference.

I was originally going the s4 b7 345 discs and s4 carrier route but the 18Z's came up at a price I couldn't pass up so went with them, glad I did in the end , but hey whatever works really.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sidrick
To address the other replies on the subject matter of weight.

On our B7 road cars I really don't think it makes a massive difference which kits one uses , if you are a trackday God on a track then maybe , but daily /weekend driving on our roads you wont really notice the weight differences.

Given the B7 S4 uses 345 discs and heavy old metal calipers etc as standard fitting them on another B7 wont make any difference from a weight standpoint, but you'll will get more stopping power , and they look oem aswell, well they are really .
Don't forget the s4 uses the same calipers as on the dtm /special eds etc but with just different carriers to accommodate the 345 discs.

Going with the Brembo 4 or 6 pots the caliper being alloy are much lighter even though they are bigger items, so fitting some 345 discs with larger alloy calipers the setup will actually be lighter overall, but not that you'll really notice it.

Braking performance is something else as the 6 pots Brembo's are far superior to the s4 calipers, really nice and progressive around town but epic when you need the stopping power without having stamp on the pedal and almost putting your foot to the floor.
They look great and fill out the wheel void very well.

Its a simple situation really, if you want more stopping power/braking performance then you need to go bigger, how you achieve it is all personal choice, but it will be at cost and that's where one has to make another hard choice.

I love my 18z's , of all the mods on my old bus they are probably the best value / performance upgrade fitted , they get used everyday and sometimes very hard aswell but are great , streets ahead of the oem items.

just my input chaps.​
 
So my two pence I've owned a B8 and B8.5 3.0 TDI Quattro, bought Mtec dippled and grooved disc's and they were fantastic. I would get them again as they're cheaper than OEM but perform better! I accompanied them with red stuff pads, which were good, but after 10k started to fade a little.



Kind regards in SC.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Charlie Farley
All comes down to cost and preference.
There is only so far the oem setup can be improved on before uprated setups etc are required and with that increased expense.
changing pads will help on the friction side of things , new braided lines will help improve the feel and increase pedal power over the stock items, changing discs wont add much all the time they are the same size as already fitted.
Pads and lines , these are easy mods and not that expensive , after this , well its only one way really.
 
I would be interested in people's views in back-plates, sorry, don't mean to hyjack but it is relevent if you are rebuilding your brakes.
I have always gone down the if it's meant to have it you should fit it route but I have been doubting that recently. Discs always seem to corrode more on the inside, sometimes they can trap all kinds of nonsense that is hard to get out and just bloomin annoying and they must tend to keep more moisture on the back of the disc than if it was open to wind and natural drying. Audi back-plates have a tendency to corrode around the retaining bolts, into a big hole which then allows them to come over the bolt head, rattle around and rub on the disc. Not sure abut MOT regs right enough but I have noticed some of the car shows on TV don't seem to fit them
 
never refitted them when doing my 18z upgrade, don't miss them either and no apparent downside to them being left off for almost 3 years now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
Brake pad recommendations?
Replies
5
Views
646
Gazwould
Gazwould
Nathan Russell
Brake Discs and Pads
Replies
1
Views
579
jamiewatkins2004
J
Wozski
Brake pads and discs
Replies
2
Views
587
Wozski
Wozski
READER84
Brake Discs and Pads
Replies
14
Views
1K
READER84
READER84
Bobbytea
Brake pads - opinions please
Replies
10
Views
946
Pedrödelabongo
P
Top
Back