So my brakes need freshning up and I can get my hands on a Audi S2 coupe front Girling 60 calipers and plan to have them on my ABF and go with 288 instead current 280 disc. Is it plug and play or plug and pray? Adapters needed?
288's will be too big. 280's are a little on the big size. the S2 discs are 276mm i think. 280's will be fine anyway,S2 twin pots have got loads of stopping power!
So betwen 280 disc with S2 callipers and complete 288 setup from VR6 2.9 with stock VR6 2.9 callipers for 288 disc, what to choose?? S2 Girling's are very heavy, I think it should be considered.
ive never tried 288's so cant comment, however i have used S2 girlings on a mk2 with 270bhp and they did the job very well. used standard pads too. think how much power an S2 has and how heavey an S2 is. should give you an idea of there stopping power.... just found this......S2=219.5 PS (216.5 bhp) (161.4 kW)@ 5900 rpm and S2=1420kg
I believe they are OK but it is important to not add extra mass where it counts the most if effect is not so much better than for example 288 setup with stock callipers. With changing to bigger brakes that is most important issue, is setup you plan to go with worth the added mass.
i am running these on my current mk2 and i dont mind the added weight. but the 288s aren't exactly light are they. suppose its down to personal choice.
My '88 UR quattro (1350kg) has the same twin-piston girling 60 brake setup up as S2s, & it uses a 280mm disc. Having driven a friend's 288mm equipped Corrado VR6, I really don't think there's much difference performance-wise between this & the mk3/4 288mm setup. The 288 discs have a deeper radial braking surface than the 280mm discs, but (as you know), the girling 60 setup has slightly longer pads. Consequently pad area is roughly the same. 288mm setup has a slight leverage advantage, but one less piston. Horses for courses I'd say. I'm gonna stick my neck out & say the 288mm setup is considerably lighter than the girling 60 boat anchors, plus the pads will probably be cheaper. I'd go 288mm (if you do go 288mm, make sure you specify Mk3 discs as mk4 have a different offset). The 288mm setup was never fitted to Corrados (2.9) from the factory. Only very late mk3 golfs (2.8). I'm not trying to nit-pick, just wanted to make sure you didn't buy the wrong stuff (i.e. corrado bits) if you do go 288mm...
thanks for the comparrison Benjo. i couldnt comment on the 288's as ive never used them. would think the 288 option will work out alot cheaper.
This is pretty much the answer I was searching for, thanks a lot. Didn't know about Corrado ? I thought 2.9 Corrado was as Golf 2.9 fitted with 288 setup and that 2.8 Corrado was not.
I only just noticed you're in Croatia, & can't comment on the spec of cars sold there. In the UK, all production mk3 golf VR6s were 2.8, whereas all Corrado VR6s were 2.9. Only the last year/2years (97/98 possibly) of golf VR6s off the production line came with the 288mm brake setup. All Corrado VR6s came with 280mm brakes that most people refer to as the 'G60 setup' (Girling 54 caliper). It could well be completely different in your locale as there is/was no 'standard' model for all of VW's target markets, & from what I've read specs varied across the board (e.g. leon V6 4motion in Greece, but unavailable here).
It is the same here, I just didn't thought about that may be option. I took it for granted because I thought if Golf has it then Corrado must, however I wondered while ago why there are no numbers in ETKA for Corrado 288 setup Also late MK3 Jubi's and TDi's have 288 setup but not 239 on the rear but 226. So as I am in search for calipers with carriers I must look for Passat or Golf parts nothing else fits on my MK3 ABF ?
All 288mm calipers & carriers are exactly the same, even across the mk4 based cars, but the disc offset changed. The 312mm setup utilises the same caliper, just with a radially deeper carrier (same offest as 288 carriers) to accomodate the bigger disc. 312mm carrier on left, 288mm on right: Apparently it's possible to fit mk4 312mm (unsure about 288mm) discs on corrado/mk3 uprights if you use 6mm spacers & longer bolts. Having said that, when I converted my aforementioned friend's Corrado VR6 to 288s, the discs that were delivered were mk4 fitment (despite specifically asking for mk3 discs!), & when fitted to the hub there was literally no clearance between the threaded carrier mounting eyelets on the upright & the back of the discs (even after knocking off the rust/brake crap). To make them fit I'm pretty sure you'd have to grind some material off of these eyelets. Since there's probably only 1 x D of engagement as it is, I wouldn't recommend going down that route from a safety point of view. For reference, here's a wiki from the lovely people at the corrado forum: http://wiki.the-corrado.net/312mm_brakes.html As far as donor cars go, I suggest middle of the (engine) range mk4 golfs, boras, Seat Leons, Toledos, Skoda Octavias, Passats, & anything else VAG based you see that was made from '97 onwards. I've got a pair of 288mm calipers & carriers in the garage which might/might not go on my mk2. If you get really stuck & can't find any I might consider selling them. All depends on what I do with these badboys really :
Its not the difference in disc size from 280 to 288s its the size of the pad that makes the difference....quite a bit bigger are the 288 pads over the 280s
OK, I'm lookin' after this but as I didn't have precise info which cars can be direct donors for my MK3 ABF it slowed me down. For now I found VW Sharan with this 288 setup, it would have to fit then according to this info you gave? If you decide about those 288 in next few days you can PM me with price and we can arrange it no problem. One more thing, what about brake hoses? I have now steel reinforced ones and it will be another pain in the ass if I will have to order another front set for 288 calipers. They fit from 280 calipers or ??? Brembos are too nice to get dirty
I was referring to the pad area of s2 twin-piston Girling 60 calipers, not the usual single-piston Girling 54 units fitted to golfs/corrados. I found this to illustrate my point better (girling 54 on left, girling 60 on right. Ignore weird american size discs, pads are the same): If you put a Girling 60 pad next to a 288mm pad & measured the area I'm pretty sure you'll find the difference is negligible. leverage is leverage, & when it comes to the huge friction produced by brakes, a small increase in leverage makes a notable difference to the resulting torque value.
You'll need Mk3 VR6 brake hoses as the caliper fitting is banjo-type. I put Goodridge braided hoses on the Corrado, but had to buy a 6-line kit as front hoses aren't available separately. Goodridge do provide a custom build service however, where you can get anything you want made (I didn't have time for this). You could also try Bill of Badger5, as he provides all sorts of brake conversion bits (inc mk2 conversion hoses for brembos), so may well have parts in stock
OK that is no problem, I have also custom made hoses, but then I would need original ones with that 288 setup because they need to see original to be able to make reinforced ones, to know the lenght etc.. Here are some pad drawings with dimensions: http://www.elcome.co.uk/fmecat/fsp/CarSpecs.asp?pn=FCP775 280 unit http://www.elcome.co.uk/fmecat/fsp/CarSpecs.asp?pn=FCP590 288 unit So what about theese Sharan 288 setup I found, can I go with it?
If I were in your position I'd go for the Sharan setup. I haven't seen any info anywhere pertaining to Sharan brakes, so have no idea about the disc offset, but the calipers & carriers are pretty much guaranteed to be from the standard VAG parts bin
288 calipers are excellent, get some better pads if you need more power rather than the audi calipers
