somerset91
Ready to race!
Hi. Besides rotor, carrier, and calipers (going with stock GTI ones), do I need anything else to upgrade my front brakes?
I'll be damned. That takes care of a lot of things.
Does the larger GTI rotors help with anything besides better heat dissipation?
sure it's the same? I have a rabbit and a gti. The 15" steelies from the rabbit won't clear my gti brakes.
I'll be damned. That takes care of a lot of things.
Does the larger GTI rotors help with anything besides better heat dissipation?
The larger rotor will allow for greater stopping force because like a long handled wrench you can a apply more torque. If you want to really improve your brakes as you put these on ... go with something like an Hawk HPS 5.0 brake pad and you will notice a BIG difference. Street driving - regular OEM fluid is fine. If you track your car absolutely get hi-temp fluid.
One other mod a lot of us have used with GTI or R brakes is the Tyrolsport stiffening kit. I put in the braided lines just because but I personally didn't notice much difference.
GTI rotors and Hawk HPS pads and you will feel a big change.
From what I understand, there shouldn't be any rotational force involved in braking. The calipers seem to be a set of pistons powered by hydraulics pushing the pad up against the rotors.
He is actually right, I forgot about that.
Ah I see where he's coming from. Since the rotors are larger and the calipers are placed at the edge, the rotational force along the axis would result in higher braking power.
Hi. Besides rotor, carrier, and calipers (going with stock GTI ones), do I need anything else to upgrade my front brakes?
I have thought about that before as well. But if you are able to lock the wheels up with the Golf brakes, then it doesn't NEED any more force to stop the car, right? Which would mean going to GTI brakes is only beneficial by gives you more consistent stopping power when you are on the track. (if you are panic stopping repeatedly on the street, you are doing something wrong... if you are frequently going down big hills, you need to consider engine braking).
The reason I have GTI brakes on my car is because I tow with the car, and the extra weight could potentially overcome the stock brakes. As a result, I upgraded to the GTI brakes to give myself more stopping force. I have yet to put it to the test though, and am hoping I never have to. I have also installed much wider tires to allow for more traction (both to accelerate and decelerate, and for anyone thinking that wider tires = heavier tires, and would only slow me down: my car is turbo'd, so I have more than enough power to overcome the extra weight from the tires).
Here's what I think makes the most sense:
http://www.autos.com/aftermarket-parts/why-a-big-brake-kit-wont-make-your-car-stop-faster
and i quote:
"Big brake systems were not designed to stop your car sooner, but rather, stop it more efficiently and consistently. The larger calipers, vented discs, and exotic-compound pads increase heat capacity and heat dissipation. These upgraded braking systems not only perform well under extreme temperatures, but in most cases perform better when hot as opposed to average street driving temperatures. This is definitely something to consider when deciding on rotor and pad compounds. Because these brakes dissipate heat more effectively, they reduce brake fade. Brake fade occurs under high temperatures, can be caused by boiled brake fluid, and results in a soft pedal and elongated stopping distances. Big brake systems don’t decrease your car’s stopping distance over stock. Instead, they are designed to perform consistently under extreme conditions so that your car will stop just as well the first time as the N’th time. "
Peter