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What cars have brakes that will fit a mk7 1.8T?

jmp4golfvw

jmp4golfvw

Ready to race!
Hey all...I'm brainstorming about which model cars (Porsche, Audi, and of course GTI's, etc) have a "big brake" set up I can possible use as an upgrade on my 1.8T mk7. I was thinking, for the hell of it, of going around/calling some local salvage yards (which there are 3 pretty good ones nearby) to see if they have any of those models that might have a set of brakes I can get for my mk7 1.8T....can you all help with the list as I don't know which cars and model numbers are candidates, i.e: which series Porsche, or Audi (like the Audi S3), etc will work as an upgrade. Just thought its worth a look. I appreciate the help...Happy New Years [emoji322]
 
paulkromz

paulkromz

Drag Racing Champion
Location
in a van down by the river
A3 for sure. How do I know? My Golf7 knuckles wont take my 55mm coils so I am going A3 as they have a 55mm knuckle (diameter of coils) and I get a brake upgrade in the process
 
L

lucyfek

Ready to race!
Location
IL USA
Car(s)
GTI & GSW
What's the point of messing with new brakes and replacing them with old stuff? It's new, shiny, no rust inside out and works ok. Are you trying to unlock achievement "brake replacement"? I had to do it on the old vehicle and - while not really difficult job - having them bled right is pita. It'd actually be worse on golf as it's abs equipped (02 zx3 was not). It was necessity so I did it but I'm not sure replacement feels as good as factory stuff (remanufactured calipers though I'd swear one looked brand new). Stock feels fine on mine, tires would give up sooner. Also - I'm no expert - front/rear calipers may need to match so braking force distribution is not out of whack (even if front carried most of load).
 
F

fullyswitched

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
US
The first question when it comes to larger brakes is, do you want larger brakes for looks or for enhanced thermal capacity and improved heat shedding ability.

For cheap, cheerful, and capable I'd go with the small Porsche setup. It is effective, inexpensive to service and with the right pads will handle track use. Apikol brackets and 986 Boxster calipers and then do the math to balance the bias F:R to about 70% front and 30% rear by selecting pads with the closest coefficient of friction at an expected operating temperature that will provide you with that 70/30 balance. This won't be a nightmare as the 36/40mm differential bore caliper isn't too radically different from the single 57mm? Either 57mm or 54mm used on the Golf VII.

The rotors would be 312x25mm most likely from the GTI. This system leaves 16" wheels on the table and doesn't load you up with a lot of unsprung & rotating mass you probably do not have the power to need.

The 986 Boxster caliper is a bit narrower than the 996 caliper which would be used with a 320x30mm rotor but this wider caliper will make spoke clearance more difficult and wheel selection becomes harder. To be specific, winter wheel selection is harder as the Golf platform does not conform to the dimensions used on the Porsches and as such when switching from a single piston caliper to to an opposed piston caliper you are growing the caliper on the outboard (spoke) side. Yes the 320x30 would be better at coping with continuous track use but it does so by increasing unsprung mass and rotating mass along with making wheel selection harder. It is a matter of picking your priorities.

HTH
 
F

fullyswitched

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
US
paulkromz said:
A3 for sure. How do I know? My Golf7 knuckles wont take my 55mm coils so I am going A3 as they have a 55mm knuckle (diameter of coils) and I get a brake upgrade in the process
Click to expand...

I think you mean the outside diameter of the front shock or strut body where it is held by the knuckle. I've seen some small coil numbers like 2.XX inches mentioned for my miata but Golf stuff is generally a good deal larger than miata.

I think the 55mm knuckles also use a larger diameter ball joint so you would also want to look at changing the ball joints. I have not yet taken the time to compare the front wheel bearings but I expect that those are also slightly different as I think there are different part numbers. I'm not sure if the lower front control arms are close enough in design to permit the larger ball joints in the arms.

I'm not sure about the axles and splines count/diameter in the hub/bearing assembly.

Basically I think you would be looking at buying the front everything from an A3 or GTI. Even then you are just getting some heavy cast iron calipers which is increasing weight. I'd rather shift the mass from the caliper to the rotor by using a larger rotor and an aluminum caliper. You might not shed pounds but you will better use the weight you have.
 
jmp4golfvw

jmp4golfvw

Ready to race!
lucyfek said:
What's the point of messing with new brakes and replacing them with old stuff? It's new, shiny, no rust inside out and works ok. Are you trying to unlock achievement "brake replacement"? I had to do it on the old vehicle and - while not really difficult job - having them bled right is pita. It'd actually be worse on golf as it's abs equipped (02 zx3 was not). It was necessity so I did it but I'm not sure replacement feels as good as factory stuff (remanufactured calipers though I'd swear one looked brand new). Stock feels fine on mine, tires would give up sooner. Also - I'm no expert - front/rear calipers may need to match so braking force distribution is not out of whack (even if front carried most of load).
Click to expand...

Lol unlocked, no was thinking if I could find a car that had been totaled possible but perhaps brakes, rotors, etc would be in good condition. Then instead of paying $2000 for a big brake kit I could find an equal quality upgrade from say...a GTI that had PP, or an Audi S3. Any car that is find would have to be relatively new anyway to fit the mk7, correct? So as I was asking in the OP, what model Porsche, Audi's, etc are viable possibilities? Thanks btw for any input...
 
jmp4golfvw

jmp4golfvw

Ready to race!
fullyswitched said:
The first question when it comes to larger brakes is, do you want larger brakes for looks or for enhanced thermal capacity and improved heat shedding ability.

For cheap, cheerful, and capable I'd go with the small Porsche setup. It is effective, inexpensive to service and with the right pads will handle track use. Apikol brackets and 986 Boxster calipers and then do the math to balance the bias F:R to about 70% front and 30% rear by selecting pads with the closest coefficient of friction at an expected operating temperature that will provide you with that 70/30 balance. This won't be a nightmare as the 36/40mm differential bore caliper isn't too radically different from the single 57mm? Either 57mm or 54mm used on the Golf VII.

The rotors would be 312x25mm most likely from the GTI. This system leaves 16" wheels on the table and doesn't load you up with a lot of unsprung & rotating mass you probably do not have the power to need.

The 986 Boxster caliper is a bit narrower than the 996 caliper which would be used with a 320x30mm rotor but this wider caliper will make spoke clearance more difficult and wheel selection becomes harder. To be specific, winter wheel selection is harder as the Golf platform does not conform to the dimensions used on the Porsches and as such when switching from a single piston caliper to to an opposed piston caliper you are growing the caliper on the outboard (spoke) side. Yes the 320x30 would be better at coping with continuous track use but it does so by increasing unsprung mass and rotating mass along with making wheel selection harder. It is a matter of picking your priorities.

HTH
Click to expand...


Thank you, you obviously understood what I am going for in asking my OP...anyways yes that's what I'm looking for...Cheap-ish, cheerful and capable. Do want them for looks of course as well but I want an upgraded performance from the stock Golf setup. Btw you totally lost me as soon as you went into "then do the math to balance the bias F:R to about 70% front and 30% rear by selecting pads with the closest coefficient of friction at an expected operating temperature " lol I need to read your post about five more times so I can reply half way intelligently lol [emoji6] thanks btw for your help

One thing though is, I do run 18" wheels and am going with the JB1 so that is ultimately why I wanted the upgrade in brakes...so I don't know how that would affect your rotor choice you suggested, I believe from the GTI 312 mm? Just looked it up, my Golf has "Power assisted, dual circuit, 11.3 x 1.0-in vented front discs and 10.7 x 0.4-in solid rear discs" and I'm running 18" all-season tires (for winter) 225/40 R18...if that helps
 
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fullyswitched

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
US
You're welcome. Brakes are an interest of mine. As for the math, don't sweat it. I've already done it for a US spec Golf 1.8T (for my car) using my works well enough for me calculator. Run the same pad front and rear and assuming your pads have a wide enough temp operating range plateau without any crazy spikes or valleys you should be fine. Assuming 986 calipers with 312mm rotors up front and stock rear 272mm rotors and stock rear calipers. Using the same pad front and rear puts you at about 69/31. A completely stock brake setup on your car by my calculator is about 70.5/29.5. A pad like the Hawk HP+ at both ends would yield a lot more torque production but keep a stock like bias so you aren't locking up prematurely at either end and protracting stopping distances needlessly. Looking at the graph Hawk provides suggests that pad reaches a .50 Cf at about 200*F while a stock FF pad might be .35 to .40. That would produce in the range of 25% to 42% more torque given the same pedal pressure. That is going to feel more effective even if your tires are the limiting factor. The pads with the wider/higher temp range will feel effective during continued hard use.

The above setup would be an affordable effective system that can be driven on the street safely and can survive track use or canyon runs with a 1.8TSI even chipped. No it isn't super wow, look at me glam but it does work and it isn't terribly costly to buy or service. No crazy spendy two piece rotors. The GTI rotor is hub side vented with good vane width (not like that horrible POS 312mm B6 A4 and early A8 rotor design) and the Golf VII does have fairly basic cooling air ducts feeding the hub side of the rotors. Even more cooling can be had by adding air guides and or proper ducting.
 
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B

boy412

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Mount Rainier, MD
Car(s)
2015 GSW TDI (DSG)
fullyswitched said:
You're welcome. Brakes are an interest of mine. As for the math, don't sweat it. I've already done it for a US spec Golf 1.8T (for my car) using my works well enough for me calculator. Run the same pad front and rear and assuming your pads have a wide enough temp operating range plateau without any crazy spikes or valleys you should be fine. Assuming 986 calipers with 312mm rotors up front and stock rear 272mm rotors and stock rear calipers. Using the same pad front and rear puts you at about 69/31. A completely stock brake setup on your car by my calculator is about 70.5/29.5. A pad like the Hawk HP+ at both ends would yield a lot more torque production but keep a stock like bias so you aren't locking up prematurely at either end and protracting stopping distances needlessly. Looking at the graph Hawk provides suggests that pad reaches a .50 Cf at about 200*F while a stock FF pad might be .35 to .40. That would produce in the range of 25% to 42% more torque given the same pedal pressure. That is going to feel more effective even if your tires are the limiting factor. The pads with the wider/higher temp range will feel effective during continued hard use.

The above setup would be an affordable effective system that can be driven on the street safely and can survive track use or canyon runs with a 1.8TSI even chipped. No it isn't super wow, look at me glam but it does work and it isn't terribly costly to buy or service. No crazy spendy two piece rotors. The GTI rotor is hub side vented with good vane width (not like that horrible POS 312mm B6 A4 and early A8 rotor design) and the Golf VII does have fairly basic cooling air ducts feeding the hub side of the rotors. Even more cooling can be had by adding air guides and or proper ducting.
Click to expand...

Sorry to necro bump this post, but I was recently given a full set of 986 (non-S) calipers, front and rear. All of the posts I've read are concerning swapping in the FRONT calipers (using Apikol brackets, stock GTI rotors, etc). Can the rear calipers be fitted too?

Would this screw up bias between front and rear?

Thanks @fullyswitched for the good info posted here! Very helpful for someone like me, looking for an aesthetically pleasing upgrade without breaking the bank.
 
silkblue

silkblue

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
USA
Don't wanna revive an old thread, but did anyone successfully upgraded the 1.8T rear brakes w either golf R or the gti performance brakes?

Want to get the R, but it has the E-brake which I won't use since I have a manual. Wonder if I can use install it and not plug it in? There is a large actuator attached to the caliper itself.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
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