Cupra and Brembo brake setup swap

alper

Active Member
Feb 28, 2016
108
7
This might sound a bit crazy but, would it be possible to swap the 370mm Brembo brake setup from a Cupra Ateca with the standard 340mm single piston setup from a Cupra Leon?

I assume it's not just calipers and discs but the brake carriers are different to host the 370mm discs, but are they removable or they are integrated on the knuckle which means the entire brake setup & knuckles need to be exchanged?

A friend of mine could be possibly getting a used Ateca with the Brembo setup (at a great price) for which he has no particular use and would actually prefer the smaller standard setup. I am in search of upgrading the standard brakes so if this swap is technically feasible without going too crazy on work/mods involved I am thinking of offering him a certain amount plus my standard brakes to go for that car and then have them swapped...

Could it work?
 

xyz

Full Member
Feb 28, 2004
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What I’d be more concerned about is your friend removing the brakes from a heavier vehicle to fit smaller brakes and decrease braking efficiency. Insurance company would love to not pay out in the event of an accident.


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alper

Active Member
Feb 28, 2016
108
7
What I’d be more concerned about is your friend removing the brakes from a heavier vehicle to fit smaller brakes and decrease braking efficiency. Insurance company would love to not pay out in the event of an accident.

How so? All Cupra Atecas are coming as standard with the very same brakes he will be swapping his Brembo ones for. Daily driving braking efficiency can hardly be considered as compromised, the main benefit is not stopping distance but endurance during repetitive abuse during hard driving or on the track which is not something he will be putting his Ateca through by any means. The car has been engineered to brake safely on the standard brakes already otherwise we would be having a completely different discussion.

Also, at least in Sweden, the insurance cost is not calculated based on whether you added a larger brake option and it is the same for two Cupras regardless if one is on standard brakes and the other on Brembos, insurance is also much less a PITA than in the UK so not really an issue, first in terms of safety but also from a bureaucratic point of view.

My question/concern is on the technical feasibility of the project as I am not fully aware of all the different items between the two setups and the inter-changeability between them.
 

Tara

Active Member
Jan 21, 2008
591
215
Bournemouth
This might sound a bit crazy but, would it be possible to swap the 370mm Brembo brake setup from a Cupra Ateca with the standard 340mm single piston setup from a Cupra Leon?

I assume it's not just calipers and discs but the brake carriers are different to host the 370mm discs, but are they removable or they are integrated on the knuckle which means the entire brake setup & knuckles need to be exchanged?

A friend of mine could be possibly getting a used Ateca with the Brembo setup (at a great price) for which he has no particular use and would actually prefer the smaller standard setup. I am in search of upgrading the standard brakes so if this swap is technically feasible without going too crazy on work/mods involved I am thinking of offering him a certain amount plus my standard brakes to go for that car and then have them swapped...

Could it work?

It is but unless you are doing lots of tracking days you really don't need them and thats from first experience , if its not going to cost much then great but if your mainly driving on the road its a waste to spend to much money IMO , remember they use the 340mm brakes as standard in the heavier Golf R so its even better on the Cupra being lighter.
 

alper

Active Member
Feb 28, 2016
108
7
It is but unless you are doing lots of tracking days you really don't need them and thats from first experience , if its not going to cost much then great but if your mainly driving on the road its a waste to spend to much money IMO , remember they use the 340mm brakes as standard in the heavier Golf R so its even better on the Cupra being lighter.

Except the car they will be going on is not lighter, that's where the main issue lies. The standard setup was fine on a FWD Cupra hatch I had driven in the past, but on a longer car which weighs closer to 1600kg (4Drive ST with Pano roof, car seats and some other stuff permanently in the boot) while putting down 400bhp and driven spiritedly at times, I clearly feel the braking performance is a downgrade (when pushing on, not on the daily drive) compared to how well the same brakes performed on a FWD hatch with almost 200kg less, even on track. Hence how this whole thought started.

I find most BBKs an overkill, and I also don't like custom solutions for carrying over calipers from different cars, mix n matching parts etc. so the upgrade to a factory offered option like the Brembo setup seems ideal.
 

Tara

Active Member
Jan 21, 2008
591
215
Bournemouth
Except the car they will be going on is not lighter, that's where the main issue lies. The standard setup was fine on a FWD Cupra hatch I had driven in the past, but on a longer car which weighs closer to 1600kg (4Drive ST with Pano roof, car seats and some other stuff permanently in the boot) while putting down 400bhp and driven spiritedly at times, I clearly feel the braking performance is a downgrade (when pushing on, not on the daily drive) compared to how well the same brakes performed on a FWD hatch with almost 200kg less, even on track. Hence how this whole thought started.

I find most BBKs an overkill, and I also don't like custom solutions for carrying over calipers from different cars, mix n matching parts etc. so the upgrade to a factory offered option like the Brembo setup seems ideal.

Ok that makes more sense as it just had Seat Leon in the post and all the best.
 

black_sheep

Active Member
Mar 10, 2013
1,256
585
The easiest way to check is to cross-reference the part numbers on EKTA - the online versions are only up to 2016, so Cupra Ateca Is not listed.

The Brembo brake kit for the Leon Cupra is here - OEM part numbers listed:


There is not the equivalent kit for the Ateca, but they do have the Leon 370mm discs listed, which confirms some commonality.
 

SuperV8

Active Member
May 30, 2019
1,320
581
This might sound a bit crazy but, would it be possible to swap the 370mm Brembo brake setup from a Cupra Ateca with the standard 340mm single piston setup from a Cupra Leon?

I assume it's not just calipers and discs but the brake carriers are different to host the 370mm discs, but are they removable or they are integrated on the knuckle which means the entire brake setup & knuckles need to be exchanged?

A friend of mine could be possibly getting a used Ateca with the Brembo setup (at a great price) for which he has no particular use and would actually prefer the smaller standard setup. I am in search of upgrading the standard brakes so if this swap is technically feasible without going too crazy on work/mods involved I am thinking of offering him a certain amount plus my standard brakes to go for that car and then have them swapped...

Could it work?
The wheel bearing housings are different between the 340 TRW and 370 Brembo brake versions.
Whether the mounting holes are the same position/distance apart I don't know, or whether the rest of the suspension is the same so you could swap the bearing housings again I don't know.

Edit: to add the mounting bolts are the same part number, number 2 and 4 respectively, and the brake hose is also different.

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Last edited:

SuperV8

Active Member
May 30, 2019
1,320
581
wheels sizes:
6JX16H2 ET43
7JX17H2 ET43
7JX17H2 ET45
7JX18H2 ET45
8JX19H2 ET45
8JX20H2 ET40

Have checked and also different lower ball joint between TRW and Brembo versions.
Seems the Brembo version is also used on the RSQ3.
 
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