Cayenne/Q7 rear calipers on the front?

I have seen that on the MK5/6 guys did the Touereg/Cayeene/Q7 front caliper swap. they were 17z, 18z and also a 4 piston the size of the 17z. I'm a golf sportwagen and I use the same steel knuckle as them. Some say that it is a little too large for our master cylinder to be properly balanced. When looking at the used calipers for sale, I see the rear calipers look to have the same bolt pattern, but are a little bit smaller with 4 piston. Maybe similar in size to the 986 Boxter fronts. Has anyone tried or can anyone confirm if the Cayenne rear can be used in the front? It uses a 330mm rotor like the 17z in stock set up as the rear. I'm guessing the main issue would be the offset and where it lines up with the rotor.

I pieced that kit years ago, on a different forum, on my black 2008 Audi A3. Being the one that paved the DIY "Cayenne BBK" road was a real PITA but I got there.

Anything is possible regarding fitment, just depends on how far you want to go. Using the rears to the front... hmm I don't think it would be as easy as running the front Cayenne calipers in the front. Actually, I have a coworker that recently fitted a base model Macan front calipers to his MK7 GTI and it is an easier/better fitment than the Cayenne setup. All you need is a front set of base Macan front calipers, rotors from a MK7 GTI PP and non-banjo bolt brake lines... that's it.

carbonfold said:

I pieced that kit years ago, on a different forum, on my black 2008 Audi A3. Being the one that paved the DIY "Cayenne BBK" road was a real PITA but I got there.

Anything is possible regarding fitment, just depends on how far you want to go. Using the rears to the front... hmm I don't think it would be as easy as running the front Cayenne calipers in the front. Actually, I have a coworker that recently fitted a base model Macan front calipers to his MK7 GTI and it is an easier/better fitment than the Cayenne setup. All you need is a front set of base Macan front calipers, rotors from a MK7 GTI PP and non-banjo bolt brake lines... that's it.

Click to expand...

I looked at the Macan calipers and they won't just bolt on. It looks like they bolt in vertically like the 986. So a bracket would be needed just like that application. Maybe the bracket that Apikol makes will fit them as well.
As far as the Cayenne rears, they looked more sized like the 986. They bolt on exactly like the 17z fronts though. It would be better sized for our cars. So if the spacing is correct, no bracket required. Just the same 330mm rotors like the 17z set up. Maybe I just need to search the junk yards and see if I can find a pair cheap enough to give it a shot.

Yes they do bolt on directly (even with the old bolts) and do not require adapters or brackets. They are the black base Macan calipers.


See photo of his mounted:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/63gzq4o97zruvg3/Photo Mar 02, 4 00 48 PM.jpg?dl=0


Here is a link to ECS that will give you a picture of what they look like.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine...MI5qLtgbf04gIVjspkCh0NRQG4EAQYASABEgLM3_D_BwE


Here is my original write up on the first Cayenne BBK DIY stuff....

https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4517237#/topics/4517237

TwinDad said:

I looked at the Macan calipers and they won't just bolt on. It looks like they bolt in vertically like the 986. So a bracket would be needed just like that application. Maybe the bracket that Apikol makes will fit them as well.
As far as the Cayenne rears, they looked more sized like the 986. They bolt on exactly like the 17z fronts though. It would be better sized for our cars. So if the spacing is correct, no bracket required. Just the same 330mm rotors like the 17z set up. Maybe I just need to search the junk yards and see if I can find a pair cheap enough to give it a shot.

Click to expand...

Also, some Q5 calipers are the same as the ones on the Macan but not painted with the Porsche look.

My coworker did his himself and I’ll do mine soon (we both work in the European auto industry). Just need the larger PP rotors, a pair of front Q5 or Macan (base) calipers and non banjo bolt lines... i can get the exact part number on the calipers and post it tomorrow.


https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine...MI_Pe04rf04gIVMR-tBh21DAxNEAQYASABEgLUPvD_BwE

Porsche OEM part numbers on base black Macan calipers that he used:

Left: 95B-615-123-F
Right: 958-615-124-F


Also, some of the Audi guys are already using them as well:

https://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/793265-Cheapest-Q5-caliper-source

so to confirm, these will work direct bolt on the non-PP caliper carriers, but not the caliper PP carriers?

Do you have a link to the brake lines as well?

Non-PP and PP knuckles are the same. (5Q0407253A & 5Q0407254A - same part numbers). However, if you have a non-PP GTI, you will need to pick up a set of PP rotors. Something like:

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-parts/front-slotted-brake-rotors-pair-340x30/025997ecs0594kt/

As far as the brake lines go, I believe he used these (not 100% but pretty sure he did):

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-parts/front-exact-fit-stainless-steel-brake-lines/024671ecs01~a/


I used these on my A3 MK5. You can check specs on them but they might work as well:

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-stoptech-parts/2004-2004-golf-front/950.33013~stp/

nono0044 said:

so to confirm, these will work direct bolt on the non-PP caliper carriers, but not the caliper PP carriers?

Do you have a link to the brake lines as well?

Click to expand...

Kinda spaced out and didn't realize that the Macan calipers are one piece... so there's no need to think about carriers if the knuckles are the same

Can you confirm with your co-worker regarding the brake lines? I have an R, so the rotor part is not a big deal for me

Thanks for all of the info, but I have the steel knuckles like the older Audis and MK5&6 GTI. If these bolt right on the Aluminum knuckles, they probably won't work on the steel ones. The big if is if they bolt through the front or from the back. They would have to go on in the same position that the factory carriers do. The 17z won't work as a direct bolt on for the new aluminum knuckles because of this.

Actually he told me he did have to dig around for some brake lines since the Q5 ones were a few inches too short. He found a company locally that just made what he needed by spec. He had his made to be 24 inches. If you contact Stoptech and ask them the specs on these lines below they should work if they at at least 24 inches:

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-stoptech-parts/2004-2004-golf-front/950.33013~stp/



Also, if you are on stock wheels, you may need spacers for clearance. We both have Neuspeed wheels and will clear for larger calipers.

nono0044 said:

Kinda spaced out and didn't realize that the Macan calipers are one piece... so there's no need to think about carriers if the knuckles are the same

Can you confirm with your co-worker regarding the brake lines? I have an R, so the rotor part is not a big deal for me

Click to expand...

The Macan ones should still work because they are mounted on the face (like OE calipers).

I attached a photo of the caliper on a base Macan and how it mounts.

TwinDad said:

Thanks for all of the info, but I have the steel knuckles like the older Audis and MK5&6 GTI. If these bolt right on the Aluminum knuckles, they probably won't work on the steel ones. The big if is if they bolt through the front or from the back. They would have to go on in the same position that the factory carriers do. The 17z won't work as a direct bolt on for the new aluminum knuckles because of this.

Click to expand...

carbonfold said:

The Macan ones should still work because they are mounted on the face (like OE calipers).

I attached a photo of the caliper on a base Macan and how it mounts.

Click to expand...

Thanks. They should work then. Now to start my new parts quest. LOL

I have a Golf TDI and I'm running 17z calipers, kit from rotor labs. Golf TDI has the steel knuckles. Kit bolted on, but had to use carbide bit to shave down brake pad guide pins. I would also note that my driver side caliper is not perfectly centered over the rotor. Shop took a couple mil off of the pad to get it to fit. That was preferable to taking material off of the caliper mounting ears or knuckle itself. I need to take measurements of both sides with the calipers removed to figure out where the difference is because the passenger side is perfectly centered over the rotor. The rotor lab 18z kit will also bolt onto the steel knuckles and one other Golf TDI driver has that kit had no issues centering the calipers over his rotors.

Just depends on if you want to be able to run 17" wheels or not. The 17z has slightly more piston area than the 18z. The Golf has a smaller master cylinder and different brake booster than the GTI/R. I have no issue with brake pedal feel. I thought the stock brakes on the Golf were somewhat grabby and feel like I have better moderation now. Along with face in the windshield stopping power. For either you can use MK4 R32 front brake lines. Caliper end is correct and uses stock clip locations on the strut.

I'm using rotors from the rotorlab kit. I don't track my car and have a short (non TDI friendly) commute so I'm not going through pads or rotors with any pace. I don't know the offsets of the rotors so I'm not sure if other rotors will work with the rotorlab kit. IF you are considering his kit and choice of rotor is a concern definitely shoot them an email with the question. I honestly don't know if I'm stuck buying rotors from them forever.

The thing we really care about here, pictures... I'm on neuspeed rse05 with 10mm spacers for clearance...

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You shouldn't have needed the rotor lab kit with the steel knuckles. The 17z mount on the back ,not the face, and that is why the guys with aluminum knuckles need to have it milled some to work. The 17z is a straight forward bolt on with the steel knuckles. Then its just ML350 330mm rotors with the rotor centric ring, R32 brake lines and the sleeves and bolts.
My concern with going 17z has been the brake balance and pedal feel. I also can't find any definitive information whether the master cylinder is actually different. Maybe I need to revisit it again. The Q5/Macan calipers sound like a better match though if you can find them at the right price. It is definitely base Macan though. The upper level ones use vertical mount like the 986 Boxster.