performance brakes

[Roop]

i think a couple of you guys have drilled and slotted rotors. mine apparently are warped caused some rough breaking when i hit them hard.

i saw these on ebay:

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7985202430&category=33564

at the local stores it costs over $100 for a single stock rotor. the ones above are much cheaper. is there anything i should look out for? anything you guys would recommend? these also do look a lot cooler than sock!

i hear the back rotors require a special tool to remove them. apperntly it's usually the front ones that cause rough breaking (vibration) and not the back ones.

[JimW]

I'd be a little wary of that. The site states the brakes are good for 95-03 when in fact the diameter of the rotors increased in size between 96 and 97 (IIRC).

The front brakes are pretty easy ya, the backs can be a little more demanding. However you do need a tool called a Caliper Reset tool. Don't use a C-clamp on the back to reset. The caliper piston needs that reset tool. The piston on the back twists as it moves outwards. The reset tool looks like a multifaced cube piece.

I have something similar to those rotors on my car, however they are made by Rototech (x-drilled and slotted). My pads are Wagner quiet-stops.

So far I have had great performance from this combo.

[Letitroll98]

I've used www.raceconcepts.net/, another Ebay seller from CA with good results. All of these guys are using cheap OEM rotor blanks (my guy used Aimco) and then throwing on a quick coating of Zinc to make them shinny and offer a small amount of temporary rust resistance. You don't get the quality of EBC, Brembo, or Baer; or even Slotline or Powerstop. But if you season them carefully and you're not using them for autocross, they are worth the much lower price. You'll get a little less stopping power and way less wear, but how much do you really need.

Without a doubt call them up before buying to get specifics on what you are ordering and what you want. The stuff on Ebay is more like an ad, just ignore that and call them up, you'll get the same or better service and pricing that way, they can all get any rotor made in about 24 hours. I would suggest not getting the cross drilled, especially on cheaper rotors. It won't help anything and can only lead to premature failure. If you want that look, get slotted and dimpled like I did, same look with more strength, or if you insist on cross drilled, get a better quality rotor like JimW did.

For pads, ceramic is recommended for OEM, but you may want to go with a Ferro/Carbon for a bit better stopping power with only a little more dusting. I've got good results from Hawk HPS, other good mfg. are Performance Friction (best friction, lowest price, but more dust), EBC, a British company that was just reorganized and has a new Ceramic compound that is all the rage, and the old standby, Porterfield, makers of custom racing pads that also have street pad formulation. The absolute best online brake supply is www.raceshopper.com/ Best service, advice, products, prices by far. You owe it to yourself just to browse their site for the info you can get there.

[95mushroom]

letitroll98 said:

...and you're not using them for autocross...

Damn!

[stevensolds]

Wouldnt autocross stress your new tranny too? How is that running btw?

[95mushroom]

That was suppose to be sarcastic. Haven't gone WOT since I got it back. Running pretty good. Slight spuddering under very light accel w/o a/c running. But that's a different day's problems. Taking it for a/c Tues.

I would second Dan's raceshopper.com. When will be ordering my third set of pads/rotors in 20k miles from them shortly.

[erw38]

95mushroom said:

I would second Dan's raceshopper.com. When will be ordering my third set of pads/rotors in 20k miles from them shortly.

Are you sure you want to recommend them? If you only get 6-7k miles out of your pads/rotors then there is either something definately wrong, you brake to long or hard or you just have way to much money. If the third one is why you are buying another set of pads/rotors, PM me for my address and you can send me a check.

[bLACk AurOrA]

sounds like a deal roop. $130 for all 4.

[95mushroom]

erw38 said:

95mushroom said:

I would second Dan's raceshopper.com. When will be ordering my third set of pads/rotors in 20k miles from them shortly.

Are you sure you want to recommend them? If you only get 6-7k miles out of your pads/rotors then there is either something definately wrong, you brake to long or hard or you just have way to much money. If the third one is why you are buying another set of pads/rotors, PM me for my address and you can send me a check.

Sorry that did sound kinda funny. I haven't bought anything from them yet. I've "heard" good things about them. My brother has ordered from them for this GTI.

I replaced the first set shortly after I got my car with the cheapest ones I could find. Like 31 bux for "Wearever" rotors. They lasted most of the 20k. The second set (the ones I'm currently running) I damaged when I replaced my wheel hub. The rotors were frozen on and tried everything to get them off but only the trusty deadblow worked.

[erw38]

Hehehehehe

I don't know what a deadblow is, but I understand you now ;d

I need to do my brakes and am thinking of doing them this week. Has anyone had any sucess with the rotors and pads from a store like Autozone or similiar? I am not in a position to just dish out a few hundred dollars for brakes all around. Also, should I try bleeding the brakes too?

[95mushroom]

A deadblow is a large mallet that has beads in it so that when you hit something it transfers all the force to the object w/o recoil.

You shouldn't need to bleed the brakes just because or you'd have plowed into something by now. But you may want to consider putting in new fluid though.

[Roop]

thanks for the replies guys. i don't want stock rotors with a quick spray of zink that was done in some guys basement. i also don't want to spend racing part prices at the moment.

the vibration on breaking became much worse. i think all the driving/stopping i did caused the rotors to fail quicker. i had no choice but to pick up a new set locally right away. they are from canadian tire, nothing special at all. i installed them and they work really well. the vibration is gone and the break pedal is much softer when i press it. i was going to do the pads as well be these pads are almost knew. they are no more than 20% used.

the car feels much much better with the new breaks. a lot less noise and smoother operation. although they don't look cool, the breaks work very well.

[Letitroll98]

Make sure to season those new rotors correctly or you'll have the same old warping problem back asap. The Baer brake site has the best instructions for that, just google Baer and mine down to their instructions. You should be just fine with the OEM rotors you purchased. Modern brakes work mostly by adhesive braking, not friction as most people think. So a well seasoned rotor with a large surface area (i.e. no gaps from slots or drilled holes) combined with a well bedded in pad of good material can give you the best braking in normal conditions. Slots and drills are only for evacuating gasses under hard braking conditions (and they also do a good job of evacuating water in wet conditions).

[Roop]

that's a great site Letitroll98. i'll follow those steps on the highway after i wash my car again

[scottydl]

roop said:

i had no choice but to pick up a new set locally right away. they are from canadian tire, nothing special at all. i installed them and they work really well. the vibration is gone and the break pedal is much softer when i press it.

Glad to hear your problem was solved that easily... did you end up doing all 4 corners, or just the front? If you did the rear yourself, what did you think of the work involved for a driveway mechanic?

[Roop]

scottydl said:

roop said:

i had no choice but to pick up a new set locally right away. they are from canadian tire, nothing special at all. i installed them and they work really well. the vibration is gone and the break pedal is much softer when i press it.

Glad to hear your problem was solved that easily... did you end up doing all 4 corners, or just the front? If you did the rear yourself, what did you think of the work involved for a driveway mechanic?

i just did the front. apparently there's a special tool required for the back, however back breaks are not as critical as front in hard stops. no vibration was being caused by my back breaks.

the back is definatley something you can do on your driveway by yorself. all you need is that tool... since mine was working great after the front rotors, i din't ask my dad about it again.