Brake upgrades.

ticnatz

ticnatz

Member
Is it possible to upgrade my brakes to ceramic pads and the brake lines to stainless steel? What about other brake or suspension upgrades? I don't want to mess too much with my A2's original integrity, but a springs and/or brake upgrade would not piss me off!
 
You can get steel braided brake lines by Hella for the A2

As for ceramic pads - no point. Get some Ferodo DS or EBC green stuff pads, or mintex pads. They all do the job.

John
 
don't forget you need TÜV approval for all parts, so get yourself into the German club and order the approved, coloured, braided stainless lines that way.

Ferodo DS2000s have been spoken about before, Mintex are praised in the UK, but whether they have an ABE or not is another story....

Bret
 
my personal experince of upgraded pads is that they fail to stop the car in all but the most extreme circumstances. And that was on a 160bhp R5turbo. Not good. Perhaps they have inproved now adays? this was back in the 90's and they needed extreamly heavy use to get up to termpreture or they did sod all.
 
I had EBC RedStuff ceramic pads on our other car and they were a total waste of money. Unless the brakes are used very hard (i.e. track use) they pads just glaze the discs and the brakes become much, much worse than stock. Ceramic pads don't work well at all until they reach a certain operating temperature and that won't happen with normal street driving. In 9 months the brakes on my car became dangerous to the point I had to replace all pads and discs and went back to stock.
 
I've had EBC GreenStuff pads on my former MGF ages ago.
I wasn't particularly impressed by their stopping power !
Their only advantage is that they produced significantly less dust : good to keep the rims cleaner.
 
I had a set of EBC Reds physically break apart on my S2 quattro - not good when you've got 300bhp for the front brakes to collapse. They were terrible pads when cold too, I was so glad to get rid of those.
 
ticnatz said:
Is it possible to upgrade my brakes to ceramic pads and the brake lines to stainless steel? What about other brake or suspension upgrades? I don't want to mess too much with my A2's original integrity, but a springs and/or brake upgrade would not piss me off!
Click to expand...

Probably the ultimate brake upgrade is to use TT components as fitted by Skipton - http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9368&highlight=brake+upgrade

Bret's post gives the German A2oc link for part nos - http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showpost.php?p=57183&postcount=5

Cheers Spike
 
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Only trouble with the kit is that it won't fit the A2 calipers!

You first need to change the steering knuckle to the type found on the Polo GTi and install carriers that do not have the prongs built in, such as those from the TT.

Only then can you attach the kit shown.

Cheers,

mike
 
Thats a tad silly then. Advertising it fits when it doesnt.

I looked at it and thought it would fit, as the calipers come with an adapter / spacer bracket which looks like it bolts into where the current guide pins screw into.

I must have been wrong.
 
Yes, if you've ever looked at the steering knuckle when you've changed pads, you'll see that there isn't a carrier as such on the A2 - what you have is a caliper and then the carrier is built into the steering knuckle (the big cast piece which takes the suspension leg, the tie rod, steering rod end etc). I suppose you might be able to cut off the lugs and modify it, but I would not recommend this.

Cheers,

Mike
 
I have had mintex pads and pagid discs put on my a2 and they feel rubbish, they dont do anything until the pedal is at least halfway down and i have done 400 miles on them now. Any thoughts?

Chris
 
Back in my S2 days when upgrading the woeful stock brakes was essential, 4 and 6 pot calipers were the upgrade route of choice, usually Brembo (sourced from 2nd hand Porsches mostly!). If people had money to burn, AP were the ultimate upgrade option. I know a few people tried Hi-Spec calipers as well and most people had problems with them - for some reason the pistons were did not have dust seals and this as you can imagine in a road car is not ideal for reliable braking as you're not really in the habit of stripping out the brakes every weekend. Also there were problems with calipers leaking fluid.

I know this was several years ago now and I'm sure there are no problems with them now, but that is the history that I'm aware of and I certainly would think twice about buying safety-critical equipment from them. Likewise my views on EBC Brake Pads are similarly tainted by a previous issue whereby the pad material sheared clean off the backing plate after just a few weeks use.

I think the brake upgrade path for the A2 is limited and always will be, but as much as anything, braking can be improved with better tyre choice (sticky rubber) and lighter alloys (less rotating mass to slow down).
 
EBC had a reputation for pads breaking apart a few years ago, but seemed to have sorted that now. The Saab guys used to rave about the new compound Yellowstuff pads, and also DS2500. Does an A2 really need such extreme brake upgrades though? With new fluid, and flexi hoses I've never considered mine to be under braked, I was under the impressed the front discs are from an A3.

That said, I wouldn't mind Boxster brembos, but only for looks, and I know the Seat and VW guys used to love that upgrade.
 
I fitted Pagid discs and pads to my A2 1'4 TDI 75 a couple of years ago. i'm a light user of brakes being of the old school using anticipation and engine braking on our fast quiet Welsh roads. Last winter we had salt and grit spread on them and we had corrosion that Was not removed by normal or increased usage. I started to get bad vibration that appeared to be caused by spots of rust on the discs, with no appreciable wear on the Pagid pads. I removed discs and cleaned them up with coarse wire wool which seemed to restore braking with no vibration for a while.
When it returned this spring I decided to dump the pagid discs and pads in favour of Brembo discs/Pads. These brembo pads had an initial smaller contact area which would result in increased pressure initially then decrease progressively as they wear brcoming larger in area. I have not had any issues since and the discs have remained shiny. I have not altered my driving style and am very pleased with braking performance. The pagid pads were full size and much larger in comparison. I bought my Brembo from GSF who usually give a good discount. In conclusion I guess the A2 is a light car which doesn't need the large pads supplied by Pagid. Braking with Brembo is much better. Will see what happens when the salt arrives.
I am not exaggerating when I say that at its worst last winter, braking downhill felt as though I had a lump of concrete on a disc. I have been driving for 53 years and built two cars and the above problems were outside my experience. I changed the brake fluid twice in case that was the cause. PS. the Brembo discs are the standard ones not the eliptically grooved ones.
I have have had Pagid Discs/Pads on my Passat TDi Sport Estate without problem but then it is a much heavier car.
Both cars have 'Tunit' chips fitted and are a delight to drive, The chips are declared to the insurers and do not attract any extra premium.
 
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