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front oem brake pads or cheap set?

DarkArrow

Drag Racing Champion
Location
OC
Car(s)
'18 R
so main concern now is the two bolts for the carrier that holds the caliper, are those two bolts tough to get off? ill be doing the job with two jack stands, and dap used a break bar,
im a big guy, i think i can crank them off just curious if its as hard to do as in the dap video
Shouldn't be that tough. Maybe hit it with some PB blaster first or some type of penetrating oil if you have it. This isn't recommended, but if you're having trouble, a last resort "trick" I've used before is to use the jack on the breaker bar to get the bolt starting to turn and break the initial torque. Please be safe if you use this method, if the car moves at all, stop.

Breaker bar is fine. It's a straight forward bolt, so a 6 point socket on a breaker bar is fine.

It's not like the rear, where you need to get triple square socket bits

Do you need to remove the carrier for the rear of the GTI? I know the parking brakes are different, but with the electronic brake on the R, I can change rotors w/o removing the carrier.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=10071824&cc=3354160&jsn=479

$133.79 for Centric High Carbon rotors (pair) with Centric Posi Quiet Ceramic

Don't forget it's really easy to find 5% coupons for RockAuto online!
 

tmw2442

Autocross Newbie
Location
Approved NPC storage contanier
Car(s)
Mk7 R
Avoid anything EBC....
 

geokilla

Go Kart Champion
Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Car(s)
2018 VW GTI DSG
Find rotors and pads from FCP Euro and call it a day. You can use their lifetime guarantee so that you have to play minimally for replacement brakes, making it cost effective to swap rotors and pads every time you're due for replacement without having to worry about turning them.

Avoid anything EBC....
I'm very happy with EBC YellowStuff and I track them with them. For about $150, they work well as a dual duty pad when paired with a tire like the Falken FK510. All this hate for EBC is undeserved. Now of course if you are pairing YellowStuff with a track tire like the Hankook Ventus RS4, then you're asking for trouble.
 

Agray

Go Kart Champion
Location
Washington
Find rotors and pads from FCP Euro and call it a day. You can use their lifetime guarantee so that you have to play minimally for replacement brakes, making it cost effective to swap rotors and pads every time you're due for replacement without having to worry about turning them.
Do you have a recommendation for an OEM+ replacement rotor and pad set from FCP? I found their selection to be limited with brands I’m unfamiliar with.
 

geokilla

Go Kart Champion
Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Car(s)
2018 VW GTI DSG
Do you have a recommendation for an OEM+ replacement rotor and pad set from FCP? I found their selection to be limited with brands I’m unfamiliar with.
Zimmermann and ATE are both OEM manufacturers and both are good. I purchased Zimmermann blanks and will be using them on the track as well once I get them installed. For pads, with regular street driving, again ATE and TRW are good OEM manufacturers. Basically FCP lists which are OE/OEM and which aren't, and you can take their word for it. I haven't tried Stoptech or EBC GreenStuff but both of them should be good OEM+ upgrades. RedStuff are definitely very popular as they're low dust.
 

theDoktor

Go Kart Champion
Location
Buffalo, NY area
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport
Zimmermann and ATE are both OEM manufacturers and both are good. I purchased Zimmermann blanks and will be using them on the track as well once I get them installed. For pads, with regular street driving, again ATE and TRW are good OEM manufacturers. Basically FCP lists which are OE/OEM and which aren't, and you can take their word for it. I haven't tried Stoptech or EBC GreenStuff but both of them should be good OEM+ upgrades. RedStuff are definitely very popular as they're low dust.

Some key factors to consider fall under your specific use needs and budget. Brake pads and rotors are consumables. What might be a better choice for a DD will not work for a track car. Assuming the OP's needs are oriented primarily for DD/street use, some items to consider might be:
- How long do I anticipate the brakes to last? The ATE & Zimmerman rotors from FCP are OEM quality or better and have a lifetime warranty. Centrix rotors available from RockAuto are available cyrogenically-treated, which increases durability.
- How tolerant am I of brake dusting? See @geokilla's comments above. Generally ceramic & composite pads have lower levels of dusting than OEM. Another couple of brands to consider are Pagid and Akebono.
- Are my brakes exposed to road salt and the resulting corrosion? If yes, you might want to look at rotors that have corrosion-resistant coatings applied to them.
- Does my driving environment involve environments that require heavy, but not race-level braking? Higher performance, more heat-tolerant pads might be a better choice, but there will be trade-offs in dusting and durability.
- Do I have budget constraints? Typically, OEM replacements will be more expensive.
The answers to these questions will lead you to selections appropriate for your needs.

If you do competition-oriented driving with your car, you will have different priorities. Again, brakes are consumables, but at an accelerated frequency. Performance in demanding environments becomes a higher priority- there will be compromises resulting from this kind of usage. Some questions you might have to address include:
- What type of competition will I be doing? The demands of autocross, even in the more highly-modified car classes, are significantly different from those of track day events. Different solutions are required.
- What is my budget for consumables?
- What are any competition rule constraints?
- Will my use be a dual-purpose situation, i.e., both a DD and a track car?

If you don't want to go thru these exercises, there is nothing wrong with going back to OEM brakes. They work very well overall, are durable, and relatively low maintenance.
 

YamR1rider

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Tampa, FL
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport DSG
I'm very happy with EBC YellowStuff and I track them with them. For about $150, they work well as a dual duty pad when paired with a tire like the Falken FK510. All this hate for EBC is undeserved. Now of course if you are pairing YellowStuff with a track tire like the Hankook Ventus RS4, then you're asking for trouble.

I agree, EBC yellows are very good and bite well from totally stone cold too. Dusty... but I must be one of the few who doesn't really care about that, give me a dusty pad that stops well at all temperatures over keeping my wheels nice and shiny any day.
 
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