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280mm front brake upgrade

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 8:07 am
by Dazfx
Hi all
Bit of a noob question I'm afraid.
I want to upgrade the brakes, I know the parts I need mk2 brake servo and mc, 280mm calipers and carriers with adapters to suit ( I'm kicking myself a bit as I had the caliipers and carriers a few years back but sold then when I got rid of my golf)
I'm not upgrading for any particular reason just for the fun of learning.
But my question is can you use scirocco hoses or the braided equivalent or do I need the hoses to suit the 280mm calipers?
This is the part that's got me a bit confused.
Thanks in advance
Daz

Re: 280mm front brake upgrade

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 2:18 pm
by the edmundator
Can't help on the details, but do you know you will need at least 15" rims?

Re: 280mm front brake upgrade

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 5:03 pm
by Dazfx
No I didn't.
If I run 256mm can I run 14 inch rims?

Re: 280mm front brake upgrade

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 6:08 pm
by Little_bro
Dazfx wrote:No I didn't.
If I run 256mm can I run 14 inch rims?
256mm will work fine on 14's. On 280mm you will need 15's or bigger. You can use the rocco hoses on the g60 calipers. Mk3 golf gti calipers upto 1995 are the same as g60s.

Re: 280mm front brake upgrade

Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 1:52 pm
by Nate
And some 15s might be too tight. There's less than 2mm clearance between caliper and rim on my mk1

Re: 280mm front brake upgrade

Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 7:16 pm
by Little_bro
On my old 87 golf convertible I had 280mm discs with g60 calipers with 15 inch ats cups. The calipers would foul against the wheels so I had to fit 20mm spacers.

Re: 280mm front brake upgrade

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 9:58 am
by Dazfx
Thanks for the input guys.
I have rusted rear arches to deal with before I tackel the braking.

Re: 280mm front brake upgrade

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 10:23 am
by Little_bro
;-) unless your planing on a very fast car. The stock brakes are fine. When you do get around to your brakes after your bodywork. Stainless hoses and good sport pads,discs and a good service will get your brakes top notch. If your going to modify try a bigger servo and master cylinder first.

Good luck with your resto 8-)

Re: 280mm front brake upgrade

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 11:54 am
by the edmundator
The 256mm upgrade as on the 16v GTX is quite adequate. There's no real need for rear discs except for the appearance. Upgrades to master cylinder and servo can be helpful for brake feel/power as well.

There used to be a good section on brake upgrades in the FAQ on this website (website rather than forum).

Re: 280mm front brake upgrade

Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:32 pm
by sabre0699
On my 1990 scala injection I ran 256 mm discs ,the girling calipers were off a Corrado and the carriers were off an early mk2 Audi 80, I used the larger master cylinder off a mk2 golf .

For the rear I upgraded using larger drums from a mk3 Golf estate ( backplates ,drums and larger wheel cylinders went straight on ) as at the time in the early 90's the vw rear calipers could still be a bit problematical.

It ran fine on 14" rims and the brakes were as good as you would ever need in even hard use on the road going Scirocco plus it was different to what everyone else was doing.

My corrado ended up with 280mm G60 front brakes and mk4 golf 156 mm rears and to be honest was little better on the road

Re: 280mm front brake upgrade

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 2:02 pm
by Chaps
ake sure you get the early mk3 brake calipers and not the VR6 ones. completely different caliper and dont work with the G60 conversion.

Re: 280mm front brake upgrade

Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 9:56 pm
by Dazfx
Thanks for the input.
Found out my car already has larger servo and just got a rear disc set up so going to leave th front brakes,for now.