Firstly, this is not meant to be a definitive guide to upgrading brakes nor is it meant to be an idiots step by step guide either. Its intention is to be a general information resource for new members new to the whole MK2 Golf GTI community who feel that they need to leave it that little bit later braking coming into Dunlop or Honda in Mondello or dare I say it your favourite private roundabout.
Also, brakes are an obviously essential part of any car and safety needs to be your number 1 priority when considering changing any part of them even the normal consumables like discs and pads. If you are in any doubt whatsoever as to your ability to carry out this mod, then its best to leave it to the experts, ie, mechanics.
However this guide may be able to direct you in the right direction as to what parts you need to collect in order to do it, as although your mechanic may be competent carrying out the work they may not be overly familiar with the mk2 golf and the interchangeable parts.
Mk2 golf 8v and early 16v golfs
So with that out of the way onto the juicy bits. If your mk2 golf is an 8v of any vintage or an early 16v (pre 1989) then you are in the worst starting position for this as your hubs need to be changed but all is not lost. If you are an 8v/early 16v owner then VW have graced you with 239mm vented front discs. This means that the diameter of your front disc is 239mm and that the disc is not solid but rather there is a split in the middle to allow for better cooling. The caliper holding the pads will bolt off but the carriers for the carrier are cast into the hub assembly which physically restricts you from fitting larger diameter discs. DO NOT consider the idea of machining the carrier off to allow this as it wont work and the parts you need are readily available before you try to test your engineering ability. You need to get your hands on a set of 90 spec 16v front hubs (this means hubs from a 1989 on 16v golf with the 256mm brakes) or alternatively a set of corrado 16v hubs or a set of G60 (either golf or corrado) hubs. Once these have been obtained and fitted you are now in a position to fit 280mm brakes. At this stage you should take the opportunity to replace ball joints, track rods/ends/boots and maybe CV joints/boots which are more than likely worn or very tired, if it was my car and I didnt know the history of when last replaced, the lot would be done. Also look at bushes but we can cover that in another topic.
Later 16v's
With the hubs replaced you are now up to the starting position of a post 89 16v owner who was given 256mm vented discs to start with, and while better than the 239mm, still can be improved on.
So with your new hubs, ball joints etc fitted, In order to go to 280mm now you need a set of calipers and carriers from a car originally fitted with 280mm brakes, the most common route for this is G60/rallye ones so I will cover this. All corrado/golf/rallye G60's came with 280mm brakes so you are safe enough getting a set off one of these. The carrier is the bracket which bolts onto the back of the hub assembly and stops the disc from completely falling off. Watch out for the disc retaining screw, it has an awful habit of braking or rounding and really should be drilled out if so as without it fitting wheels can be a pain. with discs and carrier bolted up you can fit the G60 caliper now and pads.
Another route some people go down is to get G60 carriers (essential no matter which route) and use 16v calipers, the problem with this is that the 280mm disc is 2mm thicker than the 256mm (original 16v) one so the caliper either needs to be machined or G60 pads need to be skimmed by 1mm each time. You can get away with it by replacing one pad at a time but I wont go into this as I am a believer in doing the job right so just use the G60 calipers.
You should also take this opportunity to replace your brakes lines all round with a set of braided lines from someone like Goodridge to keep a firmer pedal under heavy and continuous braking and also to replace your brake fluid, possibly with one more performance orientated.
With your 280mm brakes now fitted, if you are an 8v/early 16v owner you may notice the pedal has a lot of travel in it now. You would be best to change the master cylinder now. This is the cylinder shaped item that the brake fluid resevoir sits into and is bolted to the servo (the large black round thing bolted to the bulkhead!!) The common upgrade is to a 16v/G60 one and this should be done before you replace brake fluid for obvious reasons. You are now in a position to bleed brakes and bed in new discs and pads.
You will generally need a minimum of 15 inch wheels to clear these brakes so keep this in mind when considering it.
There are other variants of this conversion using 2 piston Audi calipers but this is not as common so no need to cover it here. And if you find these not stopping you quick enough, you can consider a 4 pot conversion, of which there are a few variants out there.
As I said at the start this wasnt meant to be a step by step guide as its not a job you should tackle unless you are very confident in your ability to complete it successfully. If in any doubt consult your mechanic.
I am sure I have left out something so will add it as I remember or its pointed out!!!
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Also, brakes are an obviously essential part of any car and safety needs to be your number 1 priority when considering changing any part of them even the normal consumables like discs and pads. If you are in any doubt whatsoever as to your ability to carry out this mod, then its best to leave it to the experts, ie, mechanics.
However this guide may be able to direct you in the right direction as to what parts you need to collect in order to do it, as although your mechanic may be competent carrying out the work they may not be overly familiar with the mk2 golf and the interchangeable parts.
Mk2 golf 8v and early 16v golfs
So with that out of the way onto the juicy bits. If your mk2 golf is an 8v of any vintage or an early 16v (pre 1989) then you are in the worst starting position for this as your hubs need to be changed but all is not lost. If you are an 8v/early 16v owner then VW have graced you with 239mm vented front discs. This means that the diameter of your front disc is 239mm and that the disc is not solid but rather there is a split in the middle to allow for better cooling. The caliper holding the pads will bolt off but the carriers for the carrier are cast into the hub assembly which physically restricts you from fitting larger diameter discs. DO NOT consider the idea of machining the carrier off to allow this as it wont work and the parts you need are readily available before you try to test your engineering ability. You need to get your hands on a set of 90 spec 16v front hubs (this means hubs from a 1989 on 16v golf with the 256mm brakes) or alternatively a set of corrado 16v hubs or a set of G60 (either golf or corrado) hubs. Once these have been obtained and fitted you are now in a position to fit 280mm brakes. At this stage you should take the opportunity to replace ball joints, track rods/ends/boots and maybe CV joints/boots which are more than likely worn or very tired, if it was my car and I didnt know the history of when last replaced, the lot would be done. Also look at bushes but we can cover that in another topic.
Later 16v's
With the hubs replaced you are now up to the starting position of a post 89 16v owner who was given 256mm vented discs to start with, and while better than the 239mm, still can be improved on.
So with your new hubs, ball joints etc fitted, In order to go to 280mm now you need a set of calipers and carriers from a car originally fitted with 280mm brakes, the most common route for this is G60/rallye ones so I will cover this. All corrado/golf/rallye G60's came with 280mm brakes so you are safe enough getting a set off one of these. The carrier is the bracket which bolts onto the back of the hub assembly and stops the disc from completely falling off. Watch out for the disc retaining screw, it has an awful habit of braking or rounding and really should be drilled out if so as without it fitting wheels can be a pain. with discs and carrier bolted up you can fit the G60 caliper now and pads.
Another route some people go down is to get G60 carriers (essential no matter which route) and use 16v calipers, the problem with this is that the 280mm disc is 2mm thicker than the 256mm (original 16v) one so the caliper either needs to be machined or G60 pads need to be skimmed by 1mm each time. You can get away with it by replacing one pad at a time but I wont go into this as I am a believer in doing the job right so just use the G60 calipers.
You should also take this opportunity to replace your brakes lines all round with a set of braided lines from someone like Goodridge to keep a firmer pedal under heavy and continuous braking and also to replace your brake fluid, possibly with one more performance orientated.
With your 280mm brakes now fitted, if you are an 8v/early 16v owner you may notice the pedal has a lot of travel in it now. You would be best to change the master cylinder now. This is the cylinder shaped item that the brake fluid resevoir sits into and is bolted to the servo (the large black round thing bolted to the bulkhead!!) The common upgrade is to a 16v/G60 one and this should be done before you replace brake fluid for obvious reasons. You are now in a position to bleed brakes and bed in new discs and pads.
You will generally need a minimum of 15 inch wheels to clear these brakes so keep this in mind when considering it.
There are other variants of this conversion using 2 piston Audi calipers but this is not as common so no need to cover it here. And if you find these not stopping you quick enough, you can consider a 4 pot conversion, of which there are a few variants out there.
As I said at the start this wasnt meant to be a step by step guide as its not a job you should tackle unless you are very confident in your ability to complete it successfully. If in any doubt consult your mechanic.
I am sure I have left out something so will add it as I remember or its pointed out!!!
