Fit braided hoses, not better brakes!

[Junglist]

Was speaking to a mechanic today who's known for being very good, very knowledgeable and very experienced in the trade. He told me it's a total waste of time upgrading to G60 brakes, as changing to braided hoses will actually make MORE difference! The stadard brakes are good, the hoses are shit and go porous and expand and swell. Anyone on here know better? I was about to put my G60 setup on and he said "don't bother - sell it. Just do the hoses - the brakes will be almost as good as a modern VW and the girling brakes & uprated servo & master cylinder will only give a comparatively small improvement". I found this really surprising but I know he knows his stuff. What do you guys think?

[ianaudia4]

The brakes on Sciroccos and MK1 Golfs were okay in their day, now after 30 years of development, well they are dated.
The main problem is the servo is on the left of the car, we're on the right! I have owned and driven left hand drive cars and the brakes were
better or felt better because of less travel in the pedal. Me personally I think the brakes are fine, they stop my car.

Braided hoses are just one part of improving the brakes. If I remember back a few years to reading an article in VW Motoring or VW Audi Driver, somebody had done a coversion using Passat GL5 brake components.

You could spend the a fortune "uprating" the brakes, but then again if you want modern brakes buy a modern car.

[scalainj]

My experience was that bigger front brakes were a large improvement, braided hoses were a large improvement, bigger servo and MC helped my brake feel a lot and pedal travel a little and rear discs are an utter pain to balance and they make no real difference. My mods were in that order.

Good tyres help just as much too

[Mr Funk]

The brakes on Sciroccos and MK1 Golfs were okay in their day, now after 30 years of development, well they are dated.
The main problem is the servo is on the left of the car, we're on the right! I have owned and driven left hand drive cars and the brakes were
better or felt better because of less travel in the pedal. Me personally I think the brakes are fine, they stop my car.

Braided hoses are just one part of improving the brakes. If I remember back a few years to reading an article in VW Motoring or VW Audi Driver, somebody had done a coversion using Passat GL5 brake components.

You could spend the a fortune "uprating" the brakes, but then again if you want modern brakes buy a modern car.

I honestly didn't believe that whole "servo on the wrong side" thing until I experienced it myself. Much more responsive.
Having spent the aforementioned fortune I can happily say that it was worth every penny. It's ridiculous to say that if you want modern brakes you should buy a modern car. I live in a victorian house which I love but that doesn't mean I go to work in a horse and cart and come home to a period house with no electrics.
Tbh the master cylinder/hoses should get you what you want. You'll stop fine and it's a definite improvement. Me? I just wanted to make sure.

[skattrd]

My experience was that bigger front brakes were a large improvement, braided hoses were a large improvement, bigger servo and MC helped my brake feel a lot and pedal travel a little and rear discs are an utter pain to balance and they make no real difference. My mods were in that order.

Good tyres help just as much too

I totally agree with scalainj on this, and alot of people seem to forget that decent tyres make a big difference in braking as well.

I've always had braided hoses on my cars and always fit them if the car hasn't got them (I even fitted them to my Spitfire)
I had braided hoses, larger servo and master on blue and it stopped ok, but still noticed a big improvement going from 239mm discs to 270mm ...

[Junglist]

Can I fit bigger discs to a girling 54 (G60) setup without changing anything else? How big can I go? That's what I've got ready to fit but the discs are only 256 so from what I can gather, it might not be worth fitting them. But with 270 or 288 discs, I probably would fit them.

[batman]

Proper G60 discs should be 280mm shouldn't they? Mine are

[bluestreak56]

I have 285mm on the front..

[eamon1.3]

Found braided hoses on the front of mine today, happy days!! Bleed the brakes and the pedal seems prety good. Few bits to do until i get her on the ground and drive it though

[Andy_S_T]

As I'm in the process of putting my Rocco back on the road, and remembering the brakes were always a little soft, I think I'm gonna fit some braided hoses. Where's the best place to buy them from and as I have drums on the rear do I need a different kit?

Cheers,

Andy

[GTXTRA]

As I'm in the process of putting my Rocco back on the road, and remembering the brakes were always a little soft, I think I'm gonna fit some braided hoses. Where's the best place to buy them from and as I have drums on the rear do I need a different kit?

Cheers,

Andy

go here - http://www.candrenterprises.co.uk/selec ... ion=brakes

this is what you'll need to order - BHOSG1 GOODRIDGE Goodridge Brake Lines SC 4 Line £37.00