For those that have upgraded from 288mm to 312mm front brakes (+possibly 256mm rears)

[jase750]

two places i can think of, first being brake fluid when was it last changed and for what the next was driver input, a change of driving style so you are less dependant on long braking periods

 

[Leon2012]

Hi jase, I did ask for a brake bleed the last time the car was in the garage, but the mechanic forgot to do it.

That's on my list of brake upgrades either way, whether I keep the smaller discs or not.

My driving style is already good and I don't use the brakes that much (unlike some people I see on the road, especially young women driving fast and constantly on the brakes at the earliest opportunity). I was taught by my instructor to anticipate the traffic and to use the gears, which I do and only use the brakes when I need to....but when I need to I want great stopping power for satefy reasons.

I also sometimes go for spirited runs through the countryside and use the brakes a lot more then. The reason for changing is also due to that (this is where the fade issue comes in).

Cheers

 

[Leon2012]

I doubt it

Hi Dox, the £100+ decent Ferodo DS pads will definately stop better than slightly bigger pads of inferior material. The bigger pad area mainly comes in useful for avoiding brake fade, rather than outright stopping power. On standard 280 pads, stopping in a hurry was an adventure, but with the DS 2000s the car nose dives at the front, and the difference is clear.

Have you tried DS pads yourself?

 

[Dox1966]

Hi Dox, the £100+ decent Ferodo DS pads will definately stop better than slightly bigger pads of inferior material. The bigger pad area mainly comes in useful for avoiding brake fade, rather than outright stopping power. On standard 280 pads, stopping in a hurry was an adventure, but with the DS 2000s the car nose dives at the front, and the difference is clear.

Have you tried DS pads yourself?

Not DS pads, but tried other uprated pads, bigger is better.

Talk to someone like Bill Brockbank at Badger5, he's been there, done that, many times.

 

[Nautilus]

Maybe because they're quattro systems Ronin?

Otherwise the bias might be set differently than the standard 70/30 split.

Apparently, previous generations of VAG cars had adjustable brake bias, so maybe S3s and TTs have adjustable bias, or a fixed bias at a different ratio, or could be the quattro haldex system which has an affect so that 312mm front + 256mm rears are ok, as I've read about people's experience of the back end coming out more with too much braking bias at the rear and that set-up sounds out to me (based on the standard 70/30 split).

The brake bias may not always be related to rotor size.

Logic goes like that: most FWD Leons are close to each other in weight and weight distribution. 4WDs are much heavier. VR6s are in a different league, a quarter ton heavier.

But the rotor size for FWD is:

256 front / 232 rear (1.4 / 1.6)

280 front / 232 rear

288 front / 232 rear (1.8T / PD150)

312 front / 232 rear (Cupra / FR)

323 front / 256 rear (Cupra R)

The front grows out of proportion with rear.

If I fit a rear 256mm or 280mm kit paired with 312 front the car should not appear out of balance. As in the 330 front / 308 rear example.