GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

Brake Pad/Rotor Replacement/Upgrade

bfreiman92

New member
I'm anxious to hear about this! I'm wanting new brakes but can't justify the money to do it prior to needing them. My plan is some blanks with Carbotech 1521.

I had EBC Redstuff on a 3 series and a c class and both did well with them but the Carbotech's have been so well spoken of here I'm planning on that route.

I've read and heard from several sources that short of track driving/hard stuff the difference isn't a big deal. That said, if you're doing a flush it's easy enough to do.



How much better are the EBC Red's? What's your review on them? Better feel? Notable better stopping? Elaborate?
Sorry to reply so late haha. my main reasons for upgrading the stock pads was to achieve a bit better stopping power and less dust build up. I am no brake expert, but the red stuff pads did reduce dust and they bite a bit harder than stock. I changed the brake lines to stainless steel at the same time. My understanding of the stainless steel brake lines is that they are supposed to make for more consistent pedal feel because the stainless steel lines maintain pressure more evenly than regular lines. I'm happy with the stopping power I have for the street. Never tracked the car so I don't know about performance in that environment.

Hope that helps ya :)
 

zrickety

The Fixer
Timely thread. I just put on centric rotors, hawk pads and tyrolsport caliper bushings at 108k. The original pads and rotors were still looking very good, I was surprised. Probably could have gone another 50k but I was looking for better feel.
 

bebersol

Ready to race!
Hey all,

I was recently told by a marginally reliable source that if i want to replace my stock brake pads i should also be replacing my rotors.

I have a few questions in regards to this:
1. Do i really need to replace the rotors if I'm replacing pads, as I'm replacing pads for brake dust reasons not for wear.
2. If i do need to replace them any suggestions on upgrading rotors, drilled/dimpled/slotted?

Side note* i bought red-stuff pads for both front and rear.

Any information would be great.

Thanks,

#madrussian

One of the problems with the stock rotor/ pad set up is that the rotors are a soft mild steel, not a bad thing by itself, and the pads are of an inconsistent hardness across the pad face. The result is generally a very grooved rotor after 20 – 30K.
When you change the pads you should always turn the rotors. The shop that turns the rotors will let you know if your rotors are warped or too thin after turning to continue using.
I like the EBC rotor and pad combinations.
Drilled rotors are more prone to surface grazing and cracking, and you lose surface area, but they look cool.
Slotted and dimpled rotors remove gases just as well as drilled, and don’t suffer the surface grazing.
A rule of thumb is the higher the friction coefficient of the pad rotor combo, the more dust, so dust isn’t necessary a bad thing unless you’re just wanting a boulevard beauty. The hard dust free pads wear out or groove your rotors faster.
I tend to lean towards the yellow pads because I like the breaking improvement.
Some people prefer the 2 piece rotors because they are each a few pounds lighter. Ecs tuning has nice 2 piece rotors for the R. I once read that each LB of unsprung weight you reduce at the wheel equates to a 20lb reduction on overall weight. I think what really happens is that the suspension can react faster (less inertia).
 

khangoc

Ready to race!
I'm all bout them DBA rotors. I had them on my STi (stock Brembos) that were mated to some EBC yellow stuff pads--great combo; kind of dusty but great combo nonetheless. I'll likely be putting in DBAs again on the R with some Hawk HPS pads since i'm no longer tracking my daily car like I was with the STi
 

#madrussian

Passed Driver's Ed
Pads Swapped Rotors Turned

Sorry for the late response; life got in the way of updating this.

So i turned the rotors and swapped the pads; also bought a second set of rotors for the next set of pads. the new rotors are OEM, figure the germans know what they're up to.

As i mentioned previously, the pad swap was mostly for the dust, so yeah a "boulevard beauty" if you will. The braking feel is significantly improved with the red stuff pads. Also l like the bits of red you can see through the grey calipers.

The job itself was really easy to do. two screws on the back of the calipers got the necessary parts off. took maybe 1:30hr to do.

I'll post a few pics once i get her washed so you guys can see as well.

Overall pretty happy with the turn out. Unfortunately i only did the fronts ( i ordered two sets of fronts by accident) and as the bulk of the dust was on the front rims I'm okay with that for now.

thanks for all the comments.

~#madrussian
 
Top