Spongy Brakes

[Allegiance]

Hi Guys,

I notice with the Polo in the wet that the brakes feel quite spongy. Anyone else have this issue/feeling?

Thanks

[Billecartz]

Hi Guys,

I notice with the Polo in the wet that the brakes feel quite spongy. Anyone else have this issue/feeling?

Thanks

I must admit that I am not 100% happy with the brakes, they have very little feel almost dead at first and then when you push a little harder they pull up reasonably well. The ball and chain noticed it too, I hope taht they improve once fully bedded in and the tyres have a settled in also.

[Allegiance]

Anyone know the dimensions of the discs?

[Buller_Scott]

i'd confirm this with your dealer, but if the polo comes standard with 14 inch steel wheels i'd be inclined to think that they're 256mm brakes.

being newer, however, it's also possible that they might be 280mm brakes.

if you want to upgrade your brakes, guys, check out gsl rally sport in the vendors section of this site.

i got my 256mm front slotted rotors, QFM HPX rear pads and QFM A1RM front pads put on, had the lines bled and replaced with TRW race fluid, bedded them in, and went for a drive up around black spur the other day. 350km's round trip, LOTS of corners. it was my b'day, and i went to play.

frigging amazing. i kept on punishing my brakes, the pads bit MUCH better than standard, time and time again, and even when i could smell the acrid smell of hot brakes, i had ZERO brake fade, ZERO compromised pedal feel, and as a system, they worked perfectly.

pretty awesome piece of mind for under $500. oh, and the track pads [front] have good cold bite, too, for running around the city.

cheers,

scotty

[Jun]

Might need to bleed the brakes?

[Transporter]

i'd confirm this with your dealer, but if the polo comes standard with 14 inch steel wheels i'd be inclined to think that they're 256mm brakes.

being newer, however, it's also possible that they might be 280mm brakes.

if you want to upgrade your brakes, guys, check out gsl rally sport in the vendors section of this site.

i got my 256mm front slotted rotors, QFM HPX rear pads and QFM A1RM front pads put on, had the lines bled and replaced with TRW race fluid, bedded them in, and went for a drive up around black spur the other day. 350km's round trip, LOTS of corners. it was my b'day, and i went to play.

frigging amazing. i kept on punishing my brakes, the pads bit MUCH better than standard, time and time again, and even when i could smell the acrid smell of hot brakes, i had ZERO brake fade, ZERO compromised pedal feel, and as a system, they worked perfectly.

pretty awesome piece of mind for under $500. oh, and the track pads [front] have good cold bite, too, for running around the city.

cheers,

scotty

That's the advantage of the sloted discs, that the slots shave the surface of the pads, so they never fade and amazingly they don't reduce the life of the pads.

[noone]

That's the advantage of the sloted discs, that the slots shave the surface of the pads, so they never fade and amazingly they don't reduce the life of the pads.

Isn't the point of the slots to help remove the surface of the pad?

I don't think the Polo is built to a budget and spongy brakes was definately included in the last model. I'm not a fan of braided lines and there should not be anything wrong with the stock pad / rotor, they are designed to be comfortable and quiet.

Hey Scott, are they the GTI brakes? Hope you've got all that running now, make the toy pull up a little harder...

[Transporter]

Isn't the point of the slots to help remove the surface of the pad?

I don't think the Polo is built to a budget and spongy brakes was definately included in the last model. I'm not a fan of braided lines and there should not be anything wrong with the stock pad / rotor, they are designed to be comfortable and quiet.

Hey Scott, are they the GTI brakes? Hope you've got all that running now, make the toy pull up a little harder...

I just quietly crawl back under the rock, then.

[Buller_Scott]

That's the advantage of the sloted discs, that the slots shave the surface of the pads, so they never fade and amazingly they don't reduce the life of the pads.

i tell you, the difference is night and day, compared with the stock tdi setup- im a very, very happy camper. stock rotor size slotted + good pads all round + good fluid- a mod i will be doing to ANY car i own from now on!

[Buller_Scott]

Hey Scott, are they the GTI brakes? Hope you've got all that running now, make the toy pull up a little harder...

hey mate, how's it going?

lol- nah, these are the stock brake setup, haha. i dont know what came over me, but i have your 288mm brake setup sitting in the shed, and i had made an appointment at volkspower to get them on, but then for some reason at the last second i decided to go in a different direction [because im peculiar like that].

no biggy, though- come time for a new turbo [which, from what i have seen, a bigger turbo costs like $200 LESS than the stock replacement!], it'll be 16inch wheels and the brakes are DEFINITELY going on then!

[Transporter]

Hi Guys,

I notice with the Polo in the wet that the brakes feel quite spongy. Anyone else have this issue/feeling?

Thanks

Just take it to the VW workshop to check it, but I guess if they are spongy only in wet conditions they will tell you that it is normal. If you're like some of us who want the perfect brakes in any conditions, fitting slotted rotors (assuming there is no fault in your new car brake system) will give you perfect brake pedal feel no matter if wet or dry and how hard you brake. There is not noticeable reduction in the brake pads life.

[gslrallysport]

That's the advantage of the sloted discs, that the slots shave the surface of the pads, so they never fade and amazingly they don't reduce the life of the pads.

Knowing exactly what parts he's got on the car I'd actually say most of the difference is coming from the front A1RM pads. Scotty's running the 256mm rotors, which will work the pads quite hard given their significantly lower thermal capacity and lesser leverage versus the 288mm rotors. In this particular case I don't think the slotted rotors would be making a massive difference when compared to the change of pad.

As Scotty said, on standard size 256mm rotors, with the right pads and fluid the difference is night and day. You're better off spending money on upgrading existing standard hardware, then getter lesser quality parts in upgraded hardware. As an example Evo 4-9 gravel rally cars with 550 odd nm, anti-lag, brutal accleration, and driven by hard-on-brakes left foot brakers only run 276mmx24mm front rotors, and with the right pads and fluid don't struggle for brakes....

[Transporter]

Knowing exactly what parts he's got on the car I'd actually say most of the difference is coming from the front A1RM pads. Scotty's running the 256mm rotors, which will work the pads quite hard given their significantly lower thermal capacity and lesser leverage versus the 288mm rotors. In this particular case I don't think the slotted rotors would be making a massive difference when compared to the change of pad.

As Scotty said, on standard size 256mm rotors, with the right pads and fluid the difference is night and day. You're better off spending money on upgrading existing standard hardware, then getter lesser quality parts in upgraded hardware. As an example Evo 4-9 gravel rally cars with 550 odd nm, anti-lag, brutal accleration, and driven by hard-on-brakes left foot brakers only run 276mmx24mm front rotors, and with the right pads and fluid don't struggle for brakes....

Hmm... and I thought that the sponginess felt in the brake pedal could be gas between the pad and the rotor, in which the slots would help in the gas being able to escape, hence not spongy pedal. But of course if you fit pads that will produce less gas during braking - problem solved.

[gslrallysport]

There isn't physically enough gas to do that... it's not something you'd ever be able to feel. As an example the Hyundai Max Attack Challenge rally cars have to run standard non-slotted factory rotors as part of their control package, and matched with A1RM pads have a great brake pedal, and they're probably the most under braked front running competition car getting around. We won the series in 2008*, and never had any brake dramas all year on standard (non-slotted) rotors/A1RM pads/TRW G600 Fluid.

* For those that are going to say, "yeah but it's only a Hyundai' we were taking outright stage wins against Evos in some stages, so we weren't exactly easy on the brakes...

[seangti]

So what is it exactly that causes that feeling of gas between the pad and rotor? As to thought it must be that too. I can't say I recall ever having felt that when I had the slotted rotors on the previous car.