So, is anyone happy with standard brakes?

[Dutch GT]

Hello, I have been all over this great website over the last few weeks swatting up on sciroccos as my mrs has recently bought a 1.8 GT. She needs a fair bit of attention (the car I mean!) and my main worry is those **** brakes! I'm extra worried because it's my mr's car. Now, I know they are 'soft' at best, but these are really bad. My questions are:

Has anyone gone through the trouble of fitting new standard sized discs & pads, along with steel braided hoses and fluid change, and been happy ever since?
Or did you then try the other bits like master cylinders/servo (not sure about where these are and what they do - still learning!!) only to wish you had done an upgrade?
Also, those that have done an upgrade (nothing too big), was it worth it? I have a Mk2 Golf 16v and that feels fine but have 14" steels on the 'rocco so need a small ish size if upgrading.

I understand there are many factors on the car that might not be right, but have to start somewhere, and reading other peoples posts (I am sure there are many on this subject) can be confusing. I don't need a race/fast road set up, just something to help me sleep at nights!

Last thing - anyone going to Tatton Park VW ?

Cheers, Paul

[Nate]

Has anyone gone through the trouble of fitting new standard sized discs & pads, along with steel braided hoses and fluid change, and been happy ever since?

yes. mine got goodridge hoses all round, new discs and drums and pagid friction material all round. after a fluid change and adjusting everything up correctly the brakes were good.

[walkinginperu]

A lot of the issue with the brakes is the feel. Once you get used to them the standard brakes (in good condition) are actually very good. You just have to stand on them a bit!

[Nate]

You just have to stand on them a bit!

only if they're not set up right ;)

[the edmundator]

I've driven quite a few different sciroccos now, all with standard brakes. There can be quite a bit of variety in how good they feel, but a good set should give you a nice, firm pedal, with good stopping power. The problem these days is that the cars are all old, and many haven't been properly maintained due to their value. Further upgrades aren't really necessary unless you drive very hard.

However good they are, they won't feel like brakes of a modern car.

[Dutch GT]

Hmmm, promising feedback so far then. I have only driven the car twice, both motorway journeys in the rain at a slow pace, so not too much braking needed and therefore I'm not used to the feel of the car yet. I also have to get used to standard suspension dip when braking (both my cars are lowered, nothing silly, just uprated).

I definitely need to "step on them a bit" !

Any particular brands to avoid? I read that vented disc can go on with correct pads, haven't looked to see if mine are solid or vented (1989 GT Carb).

Thanks for the rapid feeback... Nate - you are always there with good info

[Nate]

avoid ebc greenstuff brakes. the pads are prone to glazing which leads to massive loss in braking effort and they can overheat very easily, leading to the friction material crumbling

go for decent branded stuff like pagid or mintex

if you decide to go for fast road pads, make sure you run them in gently or you are likely to warp your discs, particularly if you have vented and/or drilled discs

[eefy]

Must admit when i first drove my rocco a few years back now i thought the brakes were faulty!!!! had them check and told by my mate put some welly into it there 20 years old lol

since then no problems, especially once i changed the pads and discs :) have pagid pads, got them with ome vented discs from Europarts, for about £45 delivered, bargin, the reciept said they should have been nearer £90 :)

once you get used to them there actually very good, just dont have that instant bite modern brakes have :)

[Dutch GT]

Might just be me worrying too much. I have to admit, I took it to a garage to have gear linkage/selector sorted (don't have a clue how to sort that myself) and asked them to look at the brakes and do what was needed. They put pads on the rear and adjusted them and bled the fronts. They must have been happy enough at that... but they do play rugby... my matchstick legs might be the weak link here!!
I'll try to bed the new pads in (if that makes a difference) and look into sorting the fronts. Will let you know what happens.

Thanks again!

[GTXTRA]

welcome to our world mate - we spoke at length on the stand at Inters.

keeping the cross linkage adjusted with added bonus of fresh pads, fluid and the goodrich hoses should suffice - my GTL is in that spec and since also adding some new standard GSF supplied discs brakes well enough.

my scala has the 16v mk2 golf master cylinders upgrade - needs bottle from same and a later scirocco/mk2 16v golf servo to work properly and, personally, works well for me even on the ebc discs/pads (25k miles on both). It just gives you more pedal confidence on my car.

hope all is well.

Sean

[Dutch GT]

GTXTRA ! You must be the guy with the black (or was it grey?) rocco? Also spoke to the fella with a blue GTX with polished (and strange but cool & rare) wheels. T'was a good day.

[Chaps]

avoid ebc greenstuff brakes. the pads are prone to glazing

2nd that... Once they glaze over you might as well throw them away. Struggled to lock my brakes on with Greenstuffs fitted.

[GTXTRA]

GTXTRA ! You must be the guy with the black (or was it grey?) rocco? Also spoke to the fella with a blue GTX with polished (and strange but cool & rare) wheels. T'was a good day.

yep - the black 16v.
'Jongtx' had the low helios scala in the show/shine area with the lovely wheels on it too.

[Mr Funk]

The brakes are pretty bonk, they seem like they were thrown in at the last minute before the designers went to the pub. 280mm upgrades aren't all that expensive and there's always the servo/master cylinder. There's a lot to be said for just overhauling the original kit but I certainly noticed the difference going bigger

[DT1]

...they seem like they were thrown in at the last minute before the designers went to the pub...

Like everything else it would appear, I don't think the designers expected these cars to last this long.

I agree with the bigger brakes, I noticed slight improvements tweaking the standard setup but it was the bigger brake upgrade that made it feel like it was stopping.