VW Golf R OEM Versus Aftermarket Brakes - rotors and pads, braided lines

[petemac110]

You probably want OEM again/semi-metallics which should have a sharper initial bite than ceramics judging by online feedback.

They sure do - after running the ATE rotors and ceramic pads for a while and developing some shudder, I went back to OEM-style TRW pads and the difference in bite and overall feel is very noticeable (sadly, so is the increase in black dust!). Bear in mind that I have a Passat 206TSI land-yacht with the Golf R brakes but a few hundred extra kilos, so this may not be an apples with apples comparison to the feel on the lighter Golf.

[minke]

thanks - i assume in your experience front change is enough?

I'm thinking about going with Brembo ceramic pads. Not sure which rotor yet. I do like the DBA 4000 T3 for the look...

[petemac110]

thanks - i assume in your experience front change is enough?

I'm thinking about going with Brembo ceramic pads. Not sure which rotor yet. I do like the DBA 4000 T3 for the look...

I've read that the metal backing plates on the Brembo ceramic pads don't fit all that well and can rattle, but I have no personal experience so this is hearsay only.

[GolfRWag]

Yes, I agree, bite is still good but less sharp and more progressive/bit less grabby; still with heaps of easy retardation available.

Update on my DBA Street Series T2 front rotors and Street Series ceramic pads.
Took approx. 1-2 weeks commuter driving to fully bed in.
Bite is excellent now, good progressive feel and no noise (not that the OE ones made any noise either).
Rotors are very smooth on the faces, indicating reduced wear, and the masses of black dust is gone.
Light grey dust which builds up much more slowly is the difference there. Much easier to clean off as well.
Very happy with the result - in a non-track application these are holding up as at least equal performance to the OE stuff but better in most areas.

[genebaby]

So you rate these pads as having the same bite/feel as the OEM pads?

Unlike others I prefer the very touchy nature, around town, of the OEM pads.

I don't need them yet but I've been casually looking into other TRW made pads but even the OEM price isn't the worst to get that OEM feel.

Not a fan of the dust but I live with it.

[GolfRWag]

So you rate these pads as having the same bite/feel as the OEM pads?

Unlike others I prefer the very touchy nature, around town, of the OEM pads.

I don't need them yet but I've been casually looking into other TRW made pads but even the OEM price isn't the worst to get that OEM feel.

Not a fan of the dust but I live with it.

Yes, initial bite seems the same as factory, hot cold or wet. Have had to wait until fully bedded in to get the true impression.
I mentioned the disc surfaces becoming very smooth, almost polished, which seems to be a characteristic of the way these ceramics work the surface and transfer brake material.
DBA make a Street Performance pad which is more semi-metallic which might suit someone after an even sharper bite and higher fade resistance at higher temps.

[genebaby]

I'll look into those too, thanks. If I can get OEM feel and bite around town with less dust that is a bonus for sure.

Strange about Street Performance, they sound like they would be ceramic not semi metallic.

[minke]

I've gone for a set of Pagid street+ and DBA 4000 T3 rotors.

I was going to get the standard pagid (Hella-pagid) but struggled to get anything other than the base pad. They offer an NAO but couldn't source. So started looking at Pagid Racing range and came acorss their somewhat (12 months ago) new 'street+' range. Aussie importer (vsport) hasn't imported/sold any. So I thought "what the hell.. pagid know a thing or two being OEM for Porsche, and some of the higher end Audi (RS) products...."

See how it goes....

[veew]

I've gone for a set of Pagid street+ and DBA 4000 T3 rotors.

I was going to get the standard pagid (Hella-pagid) but struggled to get anything other than the base pad. They offer an NAO but couldn't source. So started looking at Pagid Racing range and came acorss their somewhat (12 months ago) new 'street+' range. Aussie importer (vsport) hasn't imported/sold any. So I thought "what the hell.. pagid know a thing or two being OEM for Porsche, and some of the higher end Audi (RS) products...."

See how it goes....

How have you found the brake combination so far?

[minke]

Ended up with the Street+ pads and DBA 4000 T3 slotted rotors. Better feel. Stops on a dime. Ccouple of high speed to zero stops when the navigator says 'turn back there" when they've fallen off the notes or made a mapping error.

Pads clunk around in the carrier a little.

Brown dust. Not as bad as factory pads sending the wheels black within 5 km of driving post wash.

Would suggest pads alone with a standard rotor would be just fine. I just wanted wanker rotors

[veew]

Pads clunk around in the carrier a little.

Thanks for the feedback so far. How loud and when does this clunk occur?

[minke]

Thanks for the feedback so far. How loud and when does this clunk occur?

The clunk has disapated.

It occurs only on change of direction. (forward/reverse).

[Lucas_R]

The clunk has disapated.

It occurs only on change of direction. (forward/reverse).

It will be the pad moving ever so slightly in the caliper. If you put some brake grease on the contact points it should stop it (or at the very least quieten it down).

[Michael_B]

Hiya,

New hear and was searching for some last minute info to swap over from the std brakes to the Mk7 R PP setup on my Spanish Golf (Cupra Leon V).

....

All up $550 delivered and a few hours to do the lot - and remember why working off a concrete floor is a little difficult!
Undoing the front calliper mount bolts to get the disc off was the hardest bit requiring a fair size breaker, rest was easy as long as you have VCDS/OBD11 to retract the rear park-brake motors and remember to take fluid out of the reservoir as you push pistons back into the callipers.

...

Have all the brakes (ex Mk 7 R), new DBA T2 slotted rotors and DBA SS pads. I note that the red highlighted bit hasn't been mentioned anywhere, and doubt that my OBDII reader (cheapie) can do that, but is there another way of achieving this ? Haven't seen this mentioned anywhere before.

Luckily, car only has 320km on it, so don't have to worry about fluid !

Cheers

Michael

[Lucas_R]

Yes ideally you need a tool to retract the parking brake motors on the rear calipers. I use Carista (links below), but OBDEleven is a more popular option (and can do more than Carista) but also costs more. And VCDS is the most expensive option and also the hardest to use - but arguably better than both Carista and OBDEleven.

To use Carista you need the dongle and also the app on your phone. Access to the app can be purchased in time periods (eg 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 1 year).

I have an original Carista dongle which is now surplus to my needs as I recently purchased the new "Carista Evo" model if you were interested. $45 and ill put it the post tomorrow for you.

Original dongle: Carista OBD2 Diagnostic Scanner – Android and iOS | AutoInstruct

New faster dongle: Carista EVO OBD2 Diagnostic Scanner '-' Android and iOS | AutoInstruct

The Evo version is a bit faster to connect to the car and a bit faster to save changes etc.