Tip for cheap (Bosch/ATE/TRW) front calipers and discs/pads?

Well typically Autodoc that are expensive, expecially if not returning the old one. Opie oils, Partsinmotion and 4yourdrive does not have them.
 
I bought these with some trepidation..


Turns out the calipers are perfect being galvanised and no doubt in my mind they are genuine, matching the factory originals almost exactly. The slight surface corrosion mentioned in the ad is actually on the inside face of the pistons (not the chromed outside that slides on the seals). Okay, wise to something about it, but I happened to have some new pistons so used them instead.

I was so impressed with the price for a quality brand I ordered another set of calipers for my other FSI a year in advance for fitting later this year, but this time I will remove this slight surface corrosion and spray them with some very high temperature paint. A bit of a faff extracting the pistons and refitting later but for the cost saving I think worthwhile, hope I am right.

Andy
 
Went for calipers from TRW. Rear disc and pads from Bosch. ATE in front. For the front calipers there is VW/Audi logo, for the rear it has been grinded off.

Also bought some cheap Bulgiad front hubs in backup.

51208


51209


51211
 
Went for calipers from TRW. Rear disc and pads from Bosch. ATE in front. For the front calipers there is VW/Audi logo, for the rear it has been grinded off.

Also bought some cheap Bulgiad front hubs in backup.

View attachment 51208

View attachment 51209

View attachment 51211
The Bugiad uprights are fine. I fitted a pair last year and they went together without a hitch; bearings pressed into place using the correct gen2 tool and they seated dead-square. No problems with disc warping. The only thing I did with my pair was to clean them back with coarse wire wool and then a couple of coats of epoxy Rustbuster
 
Good to read thanks!

I have vibration when gaining speed in 4 and 5 gear. The right disc is warped, but suspect the caliper to be seized as the vibration does not occur when discs are cold.

But makes you wonder...if the previous owner had replaced the bearing but not deadsquare, and that is the origin of warped disc..

Also tempted to mount everything on the new hub even if it aint broken; have new SKF bearings also laying around. Did that on my Touran; all 4 bearings and discs/pads even if just one bearing and front discs were finito. But the Touran was 11 years/110kmiles with factory bearings/brakes, so just replaced everything in one go to avoid doing the job again in short time. The Touran was transformed with 4 new bearings and brakes; now I can easily push it with one finger only, and brakes are instant. The A2 is like sirup in comparison, and brakes a joke.
 
Good to read thanks!

I have vibration when gaining speed in 4 and 5 gear. The right disc is warped, but suspect the caliper to be seized as the vibration does not occur when discs are cold.

But makes you wonder...if the previous owner had replaced the bearing but not deadsquare, and that is the origin of warped disc..

Also tempted to mount everything on the new hub even if it aint broken; have new SKF bearings also laying around. Did that on my Touran; all 4 bearings and discs/pads even if just one bearing and front discs were finito. But the Touran was 11 years/110kmiles with factory bearings/brakes, so just replaced everything in one go to avoid doing the job again in short time. The Touran was transformed with 4 new bearings and brakes; now I can easily push it with one finger only, and brakes are instant. The A2 is like sirup in comparison, and brakes a joke.

I fitted FAG bearings all round, along with brand new calipers, discs, disc guards, pads, braided hoses, inner and outer CV joints, JDD gearbox (second-hand), dogbone, Dieselgeek bushes/sliders throughout, ABS sensors, brake pad wear sensor wiring, springs, dampers, top mounts/turntables, droplinks, ARB bushes, wishbones, bushes, nuts, bolts & tyres. In other words, pretty much everything. Reading several of the threads about repeated warped disc problems, I think a lot of it is caused by badly-seated wheel bearings, so just replacing the discs is doomed to failure from the moment they are fitted. I was apprehensive about the Bugiad uprights because they were (still are?) a bargain from Autodoc, but from running my verniers over them and comparing the measurements to the old uprights, they are a very good match. They also carry the VAG part number as part of the forging (it's not even ground off) so that boded well as soon as I took them out of the box. The main reason I replaced them was that the threads for the brake slider pins on the old ones were completely shot - someone had obviously cross-threaded them in the past. I took some video of the built-up uprights on the bench with a dial indicator to show run-out, but I can't work out how to upload video on here.

Subjectively, rolling resistance feels very low now. Getting a 'tow' off HGV's on the motorway is easy :). This year is ear-marked for engine maintenance jobs. If only I knew how to give the A2 a ride quality worthy of the name rather than something from a horse cart. It ruins the car. Our Citigo runs on what is notionally a very similar set-up and its ride quality is in a different league. As a result, it's a much, much nicer car to drive. I suspect it to be the dampers, as the spring specs for the two cars are very similar.
 
^respect! Doing/done the same except the gearbox/dogbone/driveshafts. All four struts are new Monroes; no more asymmetric damping heh
 
Back
Top