Braking distance / Brembo vs. standard 340mm

[CupraFan]

Hello,

does anybody know the difference in braking distance between the optional Brembo brake and the standard 340mm brake?

Thank you in advance.

 

[CupraCraig]

No idea, but I drove the VZ2 the other day and have a VZ Edition and the improvement in the brakes is noticeable immediately.
And not just because of the squealing before any 2 owners get riled.....

 

[rafletcher]

Like Craig I have no firm data, but moving from a Audi S3 to a Cupra Ateca with Brembo brakes (which weighs 100kg more), the brakes were noticeably sharper, a bit like inadvertent left foot braking.

 

[Peyton]

How many of you have done an emergency stop to compare? I don't doubt Brembos are better but if you are driving normally, you are probably no where near the limit of any of the brakes on these cars and you are just seeing differently tuned braking curve.

 

[ElBrillante]

I doubt a single braking instance would make much difference as you're at the mercy of road conditions/tyre adhesion. Where the Brembos would be significantly better is in repeated use, such as a "spirited" country b-road drive as they are more resistant to fade.

 

[CupraCraig]

How many of you have done an emergency stop to compare? I don't doubt Brembos are better but if you are driving normally, you are probably no where near the limit of any of the brakes on these cars and you are just seeing differently tuned braking curve.

An emergency stop isn’t required to notice the difference, although to answer this particular question with any science would be.

Im sure the VZ2 brakes are just fine, they just don’t slow you or stop you as quickly (stating the obvious), so you have to use them in a more progressive way, ie brake earlier for longer, an adjustment that would never even be noticed if you had no comparison.

IMO an upgrade of the pads would probably make a massive difference. All really depends on how you drive and how much confidence you want from the way the car slows or stops.

 

[Peyton]

An emergency stop isn’t required to notice the difference, although to answer this particular question with any science would be.

Im sure the VZ2 brakes are just fine, they just don’t slow you or stop you as quickly (stating the obvious), so you have to use them in a more progressive way, ie brake earlier for longer, an adjustment that would never even be noticed if you had no comparison.

IMO an upgrade of the pads would probably make a massive difference. All really depends on how you drive and how much confidence you want from the way the car slows or stops.

If you are driving normally, not pushing, and you are not fully depressing the brake pedal, it is just a matter of pressure. You don't need to brake earlier for longer - you probably need to apply more pressure. You are just not at the limit of the brakes.

If you are talking about situation where you are braking fully (on track, emergencies, ...) then I'd agree but I fail to see how in normal road use one can say Brembos are much better. They may be more "grabby" or the brake curve is more pronounced (like the car is more jumpy in Cupra compared to Comfort, even though the engine and power is the same).

It's even possible that even the normal brakes are powerful enough. If you get ABS activating you are already at the limit of traction and more powerful brakes don't help. I'm pretty sure any Formentor will get ABS activated when emergency braking.

I agree with @ElBrillante, the difference is probably the most visible on track where you need maximum brake performance and cooling. Normal brakes will fade sooner. Similar could happen if you are going down a big hill and use your brakes for a long time.

 

[andycupra]

Won't be much in it.. they might feel differently though.
Brembos will be better for repeated braking while the standard would be more suspecting to brake fade..so depends on the context

 

[ElBrillante]

I hadn't really looked too closely at the Brembo brake kit, it does look like they have floating discs (that or it's just designed to look like they are). If they are then that will offer much better fade/warping resistance so if you did do the occasional trackday or liked to hammer backroads hard then they'd be useful as it's a heavy car with a lot of power.

They would probably offer a better initial bite but you could normally achieve the same "feel" with uprated pads on the standard discs