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Thumper's 2012 Stg 3 Golf R - The Defiant

Thumper

Autocross Champion
What are the specs in the CHRs you'll be selling?

They are 19s, I need to get the old tires off them and get some photos to post the sale thread, probably be a couple weeks. I'll have to look at the castings and see exactly what the full specs are.
 

Thumper

Autocross Champion
BRAKE UPGRADE!!!!!!!!!


It took 6 weeks to get them, apparently the mess up in the Suez jammed up their supply lines. Totally worth the wait though for pretty much the only true 2-piece slotted only rotors for the MK6 R. Plus, custom color hats.





They aren't just sexy though, these things bring real performance to the table. Check out these weight savings.

First the existing ridiculous over-drilled rotors, 26lbs.




And the Ceika front rotor weight. Almost 5.5lbs lighter!!!!!







The existing rear rotors, 15 lbs each.






The Ceika rears weigh in at 13.6lbs, not as large of a change but weight shaved is weight shaved.







I went with EBC Yellows for the pads for now as I will still be using it on the street for a bit, although I just got offered a work at home job so I will no longer be making my 100-mile each way commute. So I could have gone with a more aggressive G-Loc compound afterall but no matter. I did the bed in on the pads and then took them for a short test drive and can say my initial impressions confirm what EBC says about them. They bite firmly just driving around, but get them hot and they really grab hard.

I also had the fluid flushed out and replaced with Motul R600. I had to have them installed by a local shop since they took so long I had no time to install myself before this weekend when I'm back at the track, and still can't find my bleeder after the move.
 

uglybastard

Autocross Champion
BRAKE UPGRADE!!!!!!!!!


It took 6 weeks to get them, apparently the mess up in the Suez jammed up their supply lines. Totally worth the wait though for pretty much the only true 2-piece slotted only rotors for the MK6 R. Plus, custom color hats.





They aren't just sexy though, these things bring real performance to the table. Check out these weight savings.

First the existing ridiculous over-drilled rotors, 26lbs.




And the Ceika front rotor weight. Almost 5.5lbs lighter!!!!!







The existing rear rotors, 15 lbs each.






The Ceika rears weigh in at 13.6lbs, not as large of a change but weight shaved is weight shaved.







I went with EBC Yellows for the pads for now as I will still be using it on the street for a bit, although I just got offered a work at home job so I will no longer be making my 100-mile each way commute. So I could have gone with a more aggressive G-Loc compound afterall but no matter. I did the bed in on the pads and then took them for a short test drive and can say my initial impressions confirm what EBC says about them. They bite firmly just driving around, but get them hot and they really grab hard.

I also had the fluid flushed out and replaced with Motul R600. I had to have them installed by a local shop since they took so long I had no time to install myself before this weekend when I'm back at the track, and still can't find my bleeder after the move.
Don't stop now




😏
 

Thumper

Autocross Champion
Don't stop now




😏


Never! Trust me, my wife is constantly teasing me about "You always want something more, will you ever be done?" LMAO


So finally remembered to do the oil filler mod, remove that silly looking pipe that lifts the oil cap to the engine cover. Since I'm not running the cover it just looks stupid.

So, some channel locks, a lint free cloth, and some prayers and popped it off.

BEFORE




AFTER







Going to have a little gap between track weekends after this weekend so I need to finally get the engine bay cleaned up and install the USP drain tube for the catch can.
 

Thumper

Autocross Champion
Here's a shot of the brakes installed, painting the calipers is on my list but might have to wait until end of the season. I was taking a before and after shot cleaning the wheels after the track. Didn't dawn on me until after the first session when I was checking pressures that brake dust and Plasti-Dip might be an issue. lol So yeah, that's about as clean as they will come.






This is what they looked like BEFORE

 

SoWalGTI

Autocross Champion
BRAKE UPGRADE!!!!!!!!!
The Ceika rears weigh in at 13.6lbs, not as large of a change but weight shaved is weight shaved.

Where did you source your from? They look great and I'd love to shave 12 lbs up front too.
 

Thumper

Autocross Champion
Where did you source your from? They look great and I'd love to shave 12 lbs up front too.

Ordered direct from Ceika. They were great to deal with, very responsive and even let me change the color I had picked since there was a longer delay.


BTW, I am way too tired right now, just got home from a 2 day event at Hallett Raceway and the 5 hour drive home, but I will have a scathing review of the EBC Yellows sometime later this week. lol They are coming off for sure.
 

uglybastard

Autocross Champion
Ordered direct from Ceika. They were great to deal with, very responsive and even let me change the color I had picked since there was a longer delay.


BTW, I am way too tired right now, just got home from a 2 day event at Hallett Raceway and the 5 hour drive home, but I will have a scathing review of the EBC Yellows sometime later this week. lol They are coming off for sure.
Gonna go with the blue stuff pads then?
 

Thumper

Autocross Champion

torga

Autocross Champion
Ordered direct from Ceika. They were great to deal with, very responsive and even let me change the color I had picked since there was a longer delay.


BTW, I am way too tired right now, just got home from a 2 day event at Hallett Raceway and the 5 hour drive home, but I will have a scathing review of the EBC Yellows sometime later this week. lol They are coming off for sure.
What kind of racing were you doing? Would you still say that Yellows are good for street and maybe AutoX and just not circuit racing? Or trash, in general?
 

Thumper

Autocross Champion
What kind of racing were you doing? Would you still say that Yellows are good for street and maybe AutoX and just not circuit racing? Or trash, in general?

Road course, 20-25 minute sessions. I will get my full review up tonight, I'm not sure I would say they are trash I actually think the idea behind their two levels of grip is interesting and can be useful. They are definitely a good pad for the street as they are very responsive and in a panic stop situation the extra grip will really shorten the distance. I'm not sure they belong anywhere near any sort of tracking though.
 

Phur

Autocross Champion
Never! Trust me, my wife is constantly teasing me about "You always want something more, will you ever be done?" LMAO
😄

After I my car back from getting the suspension installed, lady phur said, "So, you're done now... right?"

🤨 Done? What are you talking about? Done doesn't exist.
 

Thumper

Autocross Champion
Ok....EBC Yellows.

Pads and the new 2-piece rotors were installed together and bedded in (mostly, they recommend 100 mile break in and I got in about 50 miles or so) on the road per EBCs guidelines. Final bed in was hard stops from 50-60mph and grip at this time was very, very good I mentioned to the wife they felt almost as strong as the G12s on the TTRS. There were some minor squeaks near the end of bed in but rotors had good coverage of bed in on the fronts and nearly solid on the rear. There are no squeaks now. Car was then loaded on the trailer and went out to Heartland Park in KS for a weekend at the track.

First session was mostly shakedown laps as car had new tires, new brakes, and I had only driven the car on track once before last year with the old tires and brakes that were trash. Not to mention it had rained overnight and was still raining on and off. Brakes were noticeably better than old brakes but that was obvious but something was odd, chalked it up to the rain and finished the session. Next session was starting to dry and started pushing harder as I got a feel for the car. Now I started to feel the oddity and felt it out in braking zones and different parts of the track. Braking after the longer straights it felt like the brakes took a short delay before grabbing hard, not a long delay mind you maybe 10ft or so travelled and it wasn't like they were spongy. I could feel them grab but they wouldn't bite hard at first, then suddenly they would and the car would slow rapidly. This continued throughout the day in the rest of my sessions but so did on again and off again rain. Still, it was a consistent change that was most noticeable at the end of long straights, in the closer corners with limited straights in between (T5, T6, and T7 as well as T11-T14) brake grip was instantaneous and strong. I decided it was because of the superior cooling of the full floating 2-piece rotors cooling the pads back into the street zone.

The next day was dryer and we were running a different track configuration, they call it NASCAR Mod A (cause NASCAR drivers can't do corners). In this configuration T5, T6, and T7 are cut off and T8 is run straight to the left without going through the chicane. Now the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde behaviors of the Yellows was extremely noticeable without a lot of corners to heat the pads. The start of my braking zone in the same corners from the day before were no where near soon enough. Without the brake zone at the chicane at T8 the brakes were too cool and out of the track zone compound when I went into T10, I started to have to stand on the brakes and assume the grip would show up everytime.

I had to leave early due to work the next day so only got two sessions in the second day. Car was put back on the trailer and brought home, it stayed on the trailer for two weeks until this last weekend when we went down to OK and the Hallett Raceway. The Texan's there said the track was so good it justified the existence of OK as a state, and you know what they were right, a 2D track map does not do it justice, this thing is a roller coaster and just amazing. I will be going through my footage this weekend and posting up the good.......and the bad, I money shifted coming out of a corner on the second day but does not appear to have caused any damage.

So never been to this track at all before so first session was 100% sight in, I actually meant to tape a track map to my dash and as I approached the blind uphill corner that is called "The Bad" and I forgot which way the track went on the other side I really regretted it. LMAO Luckily I was at 7/10ths and sorted it out. Brakes seemed to behave similarly to what I had experienced before, at the end of the two long straights brake bite arrived in two stages. That first day as I learned the track I shaved 6 seconds off my first session lap times, and I started to notice some braking issues with the long straights having the lag between normal bite and full bite taking longer and now there was lag in bite even in tighter corner sections..

Now Day 2, I have a great feel for the track but still searching for the best way around a few corners I set myself a goal to get to a 1:30 flat. Our lead instructor said competitive Time Trial cars were doing around the 1:25s, since I was on street tires and my first time at the track I figured that was a good goal. Needless to say after the first two laps to warm up the tires, brakes, and my brain I was in full push mode and instantly became concerned about my brakes for two reasons.

First there were now two transitions in brake grip not just one. Initial brake in would give the grip you would expect from normal street pads on the track, then grab would increase to something comparable to a dedicated track pad........sadly it would then transition to spongy fade feeling. Finding this out going 112 into a hard left was not what I would call fun.

Second the BRAKE WEAR warning light flashed up on the MFD halfway through the brake zone. I pulled back and brakes seemed to be normal again. I kept pushing because these pads were brand new, had only a day and a half on them, and the shop that installed them said something about the sensor wire being pinched on the pad but was not damaged. I blame this situation for my money shift this session, at the end of the session came in and inspected the breaks, there was plenty of pad left so clearly an error or issue with sensor.

Next session and I know this is my last session as I have a 5 hour drive home with the trailer so I once again set out to make my goal. Brakes give the same faded sponge under heavy breaking and warning light comes on again and stayed on, still illuminated when car was put on trailer an hour after the session. I was unable to reach my goal settling for a 1.31.8.

I understand the Yellows were designed to be a compromise pad, giving track levels of grab while being able to be driven on the street and this is a great idea and goal. While I can not say they are not a good pad for SOME situations I can say this based on my experience. They are NOT manufactured for a highly modified car, on a stock or lightly modified car they may perform better but my car with the power level it is at can attain much higher speeds on the straights. In addition I am sure they are sold with the expectation to be installed with stock or lightly upgraded rotors, full floating 2-piece rotors allow the pads to cool too much and change back. It is possible and likely that the rapid heating and cooling cycles caused early wear or damage to the pads. However there is another member here with a Stg1 Golf R and non-2-piece rotors who has noticed the same transition between track and street grab levels on track on longer straights. https://www.golfmk6.com/forums/index.php?threads/new-project-car-mk6-golf-r.382127/post-7650262

Ultimately I can not recommend these pads for track use of any kind. I will say that putting them on a street car would be fine as they are very nice grab at street speeds and responsive. In the case of an emergency stop the heat would kick in the track grip and drastically shorten your stopping space. This could definitely give you the chance to avoid an accident as the transition of grab does work well, but it can NOT handle multiple heat cycles or actual track use. The downside to using on a street car is they are VERY dusty, or they are at least when used on the track. LOL
 
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torga

Autocross Champion
Great review, man. Bummer that you experienced a lot of dust, as I recall reading that lowered dust was a feature of these pads.
 
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