Glowing brake discs

[Makey_FR]

hey i was driving my car pretty hard tonight, started to get quite bad brake fade, pulled over and the discs were glowing cherry red! its on an fr 130tdi...the brakes have always felt abit spongey so wanted to see if i could burn some cr*p off them, it was quite severe fading at one point (to the point i had my foot welded to the floor) i know the discs and pads need replacing, probably do the fluid as well. Do drilled/grooved discs make that much different ? or will oem discs and pads be better? cheers

 

[lee_fr200]

i think the fr's have shocking brakes anyway, i was coming down from 80 hard on the brakes and they sounded awful, mine were glowing too, think im going to upgrade pads and discs personally

 

[Makey_FR]

yeah there fine if your not on them constantly, but hit them hard a few times and they heat up rather quickly, just wondered if anyone noticed a difference with grooved/drilled discs/pads?

 

[cupramillo]

Brembos all the way

 

[beezanick]

Had mine glowing bright red several times, and hardley had any brake fade. Youve probably got it bad this time as if they havnt got that hot before, none of the binding glue has burnt off which causes brake fade (the major fadeing). You shouldnt have it to the same extent again on those pads.

Ive never found the brakes that bad on this car, I can easily get the ABS to come in at 70+mph. Having said that ive got a nice set of ds2500 to go on this weekend

 

[matt l]

I personally hate the brakes on the ibiza, the abs kicks in far too easily for my liking, they generally dont feel like they are going to stop me and as said they are stupidly spongy. really wish i could upgrade them to cupra ones/something else.

 

[Rosco906]

Upgrade to 312mm dics's and pads

 

[kriso]

If the brakes feel spongey, that normally means the fluid needs changing. And if you cook the discs, it will heat the fluid more and make it even more spongey. Grooved and drilled discs only really make a difference if you use the brakes hard alot (on a track day or something). They also wear your pads down quicker, make more noise and are more likely to crack.

I would suggest getting your fluid bled and changed before you do much else.

 

[Proff_CUPRA 180]

Upgrade to Cupra brakes, obviously have to change the wheels as the wont fit under standard FR wheels if im correct. Might be expensive as they are AP jobbies, TT brakes might be cheaper, but im not sure?. The some decent pads wont break the bank though.

 

[Makey_FR]

i dont really fancy doing a full brake change, so standard discs, uprated pads and fluid change is what im thinking of doing. Now for what pads to get...whats everyones recomendations ?

 

[beezanick]

Ferodo DS2500 are the ones which are usualy recomended. ive just got my first set and will be fitting them next week sometime, so will let you know how I get on!

Try Bill at Badger5 on here for them if you go for these pads - excelent service!

 

[Makey_FR]

ah right okay, how much will they be setting me back then ? i had a quick serch on google but they looked a little exspensive

 

[beezanick]

I paid £118 + VAT last week, but I think they might have just gone up / be going up soon.

 

[robepton]

I've got some nitrac disks. There pretty awesome. There cryogenically treated to get a better grain structure.

The DS2500 are suppose to be good all round pads. They're what AP supply in there kits.

I've got EBC yellow on front and red on the back. I certainly wouldn't bad mouth them. No brake dust on the wheels!!!

VAG have brought out a new mod for the brake disks to stop them rusting apparently just for reference.

Get the brake fluid changed and think about getting some braided hoses for the front. Makes an unbelievable difference. Relatively big changes for small pennies.

You can get goodridge brake hoses custom made by merlinmotosport. Good service but does take a while.

 

[beezanick]

How much difference do the hoses make? Ive heard theres only a minimal difference?

 

[robepton]

The pedal feels a lot harder and the judder from the abs is virtually none existent.

IMO worth doing. Small, quick, easy and cheap mod.