Ah great info - thanks!
I wonder whether the increase in brake performance is worth the effort?
The non-1.2TDI A2s already have a significant increase in braking power over the 1.2TDI A2. Even the non-1.2TDI rear drum brakes are significantly more powerful than the 1.2TDI rear drum brakes, ie. 200x40mm vs 180x30mm.
It depends how you are going to drive the car and the other components that are on the car, such as tyres.
For someone who fits a sporty tyre size such as 185/55R15, then bigger 288mm front brake discs would make sense to complete the package although the braking performance might get worse in slippery conditions such as ice. This is because when you fit much more powerful front brakes than standard but keep the original rear brakes, there can be a mismatch in the performance of the front and rear brakes.
In icy conditions, if the front brakes are twice as powerful as the rear brakes, the front brakes will lock up when the rear brakes are only performing at 50% of their potential. On the Polo MK4 the 200x40mm rear drum brakes are used with both 239x18mm and 256x22mm front brake discs. So to use 288x25mm front discs with these modest rear 200x40mm drum brakes could make your stopping distances in icy condition longer, not shorter.
There's also 175/65R14, 185/65R14, 195/65R14 to consider. 175/65R14 being an economical size, 185/65R14 possibly being the ideal 14" tyre size for the A2, and 195/65R14 having a chunky look. However, 14" tyres do appear to be unpopular with most A2 owners, although one owner did admit to using 165/70R14 which was the entry level tyre size on the VW Polo MK4.
I usually fit good all-season tyres, so the below examples are used to illustrate these particular tyre sizes and not a recommendation for summer tyres to be used all year round due to their reduced winter performance when the temperature drops below about 7 degrees Centigrade.
Uniroyal RainSport 5 185/55R15 82H (Euro label C A 70dB)
Buy online cheap Uniroyal Tyres / Car / Uniroyal RainSport 5 185/55 R15 82H TL Fuel Eff.: C Wet Grip: A NoiseClass: B Noise: 70dB
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Uniroyal RainExpert 5 175/65R14 82T (Euro label C A 70dB)
Buy online cheap Uniroyal Tyres / Car / Uniroyal RainExpert 5 175/65 R14 82T TL Fuel Eff.: C Wet Grip: A NoiseClass: B Noise: 70dB
www.camskill.co.uk
Uniroyal RainExpert 5 185/65R14 82T (Euro label C A 70dB)
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Uniroyal RainExpert 5 195/65R14 89T (Euro label C A 71dB)
Buy online cheap Uniroyal Tyres / Car / Uniroyal RainExpert 5 195/65 R14 89T TL Fuel Eff.: C Wet Grip: A NoiseClass: B Noise: 71dB
www.camskill.co.uk