Brake discs Brembo or OEM Volkswagen
The best rotors for the money aren't slotted or drilled, is the honest truth. Drills and slots are supposedly there to relieve the film of gas that comes off of hot brake pads and forms a low-friction cushion between the surface of the rotor and the surface of the pad; the reality is that formulations in brake pad materials in the last twenty years have reduced this gas by 90+% and have rendered slotted or drilled rotors as an aesthetic option, not a performance option. If anything, slots and holes lead to increased brake pad wear, higher likelihood of rotor warp (I've experienced it first hand at the 2011 Fastivus track day riding shotgun in someone's MkIV R32...over the course of a few laps, his slotted rotors went from smooth to warped enough to be garbage; post-session inspection showed they visibly warped at the slot lines) and higher likelihood of cracking and failure around holes as well. What's more, depending on the pattern of holes around the face of the rotor, you'll develop uneven wear across the brake pad surface, actually reducing the area of pad-to-rotor surface contact area over time. Only the best (usually patented) hole patterns avoid this issue, Porsche's proprietary hole pattern being one I know of for sure. The half-slotted/half-drilled rotors are the worst because the holes are placed in a geometrically symmetrical way on the rotor face, not in a hole pattern that is best for the life of the pad...purely "for looks" and honestly a garbage choice. Brembo plain rotor OEM replacements are the most expensive direct-OEM replacement rotor but are, IMO, worth it (I put 80,000 miles including several track days on my 11.3" Brembo plains and they held up very nicely). ECS is selling Genuine VW/Audi rotors for $190 a front pair which are probably your best bet (OEM = Brembos, at least on my GTI...whatever they use, it's not a bad disc at all). Getting a disc with curved vanes instead of straight vanes should help with disc cooling and longetivity, as a general rule. As for pads, you'll get a lot of different opinions on that. I like my Hawk HPS a lot, I know people who adore their Ferodo DS2000s and DS2500s. You're going to hear rather mixed things about EBC Greenstuffs but there are a lot of people that like those too. Porterfield is a very reputable brand though I'm not sure if they offer anything that's especially street focused or if they tend to just market to HPDE/Autocross/Road Race use. I came to the conclusion a few years ago that Mintex is kinda cheap and not that great.
Rallye 1.8T you are the man! Thanks for the tip and saving me a lot of time and money. The mk5 312x25mm rotors work on my setup. Only thing I have to do is run one thin washer between the bracket and spindle.
Buy good quality rotors such as Zimmerman, Brembo OEM ( surprisingly affordable ) Wagner, Raybestos or Bendix. Stay away from cheap s**t like Powerslot or other Taiwanese made garbage.
I can certainly feel the difference between my brothers Brembo with slottted setup vs my boring yet effective Honda oem stuff.
I had the car in at the dealer on Saturday morning. Spent about 3 hours there. The service guy took it and had the front rotors replaced. They agreed there was quite a bit of shake in the steering wheel. All in all, good experience.
I'm running Brembo rotors right now. I haven't been using them long enough to know how they hold up, but they are very very smooth
If VW won't cover the costs, then don't buy the VW rotors again. Tire Rack sells Centric brand rotors for our vans. These are the same rotors that Powerslot rotors use, just without the slots. They are about $50 each are a much better quality than the stockers. Yeah it's $200, but I would bet these will not warp like the stock rotors.
I know my Brembos cracked like a Mofo. They are still kicking ass and unwarped though
On my old '93 300ZX, my brakes were shot so I had specifically ordered Brembo (solid) rotors, Hawk HPS pads, SS brake lines and the blue performance brake fluid. honestly, I really never felt that the brakes were that much better than oem.
Unfortunately the problem is inherent in the design of the rotors. Not in where they were produced. You can put the best rotors in the world on that car and they will still warp. Vw/Chrysler would need to spec a larger and thicker rotor to help dissipate heat properly. All aftermarkets will make the rotor to fit, based on the crappy oem specs. So, get used to having new rotors put on...because recall or not, Chrysler still needs to redesign that rotor. FYI, I'm in the same boat as you guys! These rotors suck!
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Brake discs Zimmermann or POWER STOP
Brake discs Brembo or Zimmermann
Brake discs Brembo or POWER STOP
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Brake discs Zimmermann or OEM Volkswagen
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