Which brake pads/discs?

treeroy

Member
Hi I need new front discs & pads, I've currently got Bosch discs & pads in my eurocarparts basket, for £74, just wonder if anyone knows of anything cheaper as this seems a little bit steep. Would have thought i could get decent discs & pads for more like £50. thanks.
 
OK so it looks like my to-do list is:

1) Replace front discs and pads: I'm tempted to go for Brembo Xtra discs (which are grooved) and their corresponding pads as from the above it seems the brakes on the A2 aren't the sharpest even when in rude health. Even a small improvement would be welcome. I’ll also ensure the pins are greased while I’m there.

2) Replace the flexible hoses: In the same vein I'm going to invest in braided ones as above.

3) Perform a VCDS brake + clutch bleed - I'll need to google the procedure, does anyone have a "how to" link?

4) Replace rear handbrake cables (already purchased to cure the sticking handbrake).
 
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3) Perform a VCDS brake + clutch bleed - I'll need to google the procedure, does anyone have a "how to" link?
Evening David,

Try this thread:


If the above doesn’t answer all your questions regarding using VCDS then I suggest you go direct to the Ross-Tech forum, very knowledgeable bunch over there who are brilliant at providing perfect guidance for all things VCDS.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
Evening David,

Try this thread:


If the above doesn’t answer all your questions regarding using VCDS then I suggest you go direct to the Ross-Tech forum, very knowledgeable bunch over there who are brilliant at providing perfect guidance for all things VCDS.

Kind regards,

Tom
Thank you Tom - it just so happens that I happen to have the exact mode of extractor the guy in the video has too.
 
Update: Amazon had the Brembo Xtra pads for £39 and a guy on eBay was selling a pair of brand new in the box Xtra discs to match for under £70 posted, so I’ve managed to make quite a saving.

I’ll update my blog thread once I’ve gone through the brakes and implemented my plan - might be interesting for those looking for a mild upgrade whilst sticking with the basic hardware the A2 left the factory with - as opposed to upgrading the hubs etc. to accept bigger brakes.
 
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It's amazing how sometimes fitting new pads to worn decent looking discs can wreck the brake feel and therefore confidence!
Mr Silver just passed mot it came with grooved discs now a touch corroded and decent looking pads but they don't feel as good as Mr Black with his now tarnished bosch discs and genuine (ebay) pads are far sharper!
Mr Silver has had new front flexis and full brake fluid change. Need to check the sliders are smooth and add my old friend rubber grease, might throw on some blueprint discs with budget pads to see how they feel (really wants doing when gearbox is changed)
 
Has anyone tried the Brembo Sport (aka SP2000/SP2) pads? They seem to offer less dust and better braking and a few on offer (but still much more expensive than standard Brembo Pads. I must admit I am very fond of Brembo discs and pads and chose them on several cars.
 
Small brakes are safer than big brakes.

Not sure about that? In my experience small brakes tend to rely on the servo to haul the car up. This reduces the level of control the driver has over braking. Press the pedal and max braking can be reached very quickly.
Large brakes rely less on the servo therefore giving the driver a wider range of braking options depending how hard they press the brake pedal.
 
Not sure about that? In my experience small brakes tend to rely on the servo to haul the car up. This reduces the level of control the driver has over braking. Press the pedal and max braking can be reached very quickly.
Large brakes rely less on the servo therefore giving the driver a wider range of braking options depending how hard they press the brake pedal.

You need to take into account driver psychology.

A driver who wins a prize and gets a new Ferrari to replace his Mini will be far more likely to have an accident, even though a Ferrari will be able to stop a lot quicker than a Mini.

However, I do like reasonable stopping performance and the A2's 256x22mm front disc brakes are fine especially with OE quality brake pads. Below a certain level of braking performance, I'm sure safety will be compromised. However, due to driver psychology I doubt fitting bigger 288x25mm or 310x25mm front discs would reduce accidents. It's well known that ABS hasn't reduced accidents because drivers use the extra performance rather than increase their safety margins.
 
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