MK6 Replacement Brake Pad Thread

[MkVIGTI]

I think he is refering to the actual braking performance of these pads compared to stock?

[Ryan_R]

If the GTI and 118TSI pads are the same, I might be interested in upgrading "one day" at least to reduce the excessive brake dust.

[Lucas_R]

Alright guys - not sure if anyone has posted details on changing the brakes on a Golf R before (i couldn't find one anyway), so i decided to take some pictures tonight while i removed the factory pads and fitted new Remsa pads.

The reason for the pad change is plain and simple - i hate the immense amount of brake dust that the pads on European cars emit. After only 400km of easy driving, i have had to clean the wheels 3 times already.

Firstly, the front pads are only slightly bigger (about 5mm all round - checked against my friends 2007 GTI) than a GTI, although the rear pads are exactly the same. The Remsa pads were sourced through Greg @ GSL Rallysport and he was very helpful and easy to deal with. GSL RallySport, The Motor Sport Revolution!

Front Pads

Time Needed: approx 40 minutes or so
Tools Needed: 7mm allen key, several flat blade screwdrivers, some masking tape to protect the caliper from scratching.

Image of front pads: Stock VW ones on the right, new Remsa pads on the left. Note the plug is for the low brake pad warning sensor and is fitted to the passenger side of the vehicle.



Step 1) Once you have the wheels off, on the rear of the caliper there are 2 plastic caps that need to be removed to gain access to allen key bolts. Using a 7mm allen key, loosen the allen key bolts and remove them - this will allow you to separate the caliper and gain access to the pads.






Step 2) You will also need to remove the spring on the face of the caliper (the part with the R logo on it). In order to protect the paint on my calipers, i chose to put some masking tape over the areas at risk of being scratched. Insert a flathead screwdriver at each end of the spring arms to lever the spring arms away from the caliper slightly. Once you have done this, several decent tugs on the spring (towards the centre) will have it pop off. Just keep a good hold of it because it has some spring-iness in it and will fly off if you aren’t holding onto it.




Step 3) Once you have removed the 2x allen key bolts from the rear of the caliper and removed the R spring on the face of the caliper, you will now be able to wiggle the caliper off. I would suggest getting something (piece of wood/box etc) about 20cm high to rest the caliper while you change the pads, to avoid stretching the brake lines.




Step 4) Now if you have travelled some kilometres in your R, you will need to use a brake piston compressor to push the piston back inside the caliper unit before fitting the new pads. Because my R had only 400kms on it when i did the pad change, this step wasn’t necessary for me.

 Remove the old pads, and replace them with the new pads. Note that the passenger side brake pad features a low pad sensor (as shown in the 2nd image below).








Step 5) Once the new pads have been fitted, and your caliper piston has been compressed back in to the caliper, you can re-fit the caliper body that you removed earlier.

 In reverse order of the stages you took to dismantle the caliper, re-fit the two allen key bolts into the rear of the caliper (don’t forget the dust caps) and then the fun part........re-fitting the spring with the R logo. This is a pain in the neck and you will need to use your muscles. One side took me about 10 mins to get the spring back in, and the other side only took about 1 minute - so just keep persisting if you are having trouble. Then put your wheel back on.





Obviously, double check that all bolts have been tightened up and then pump the brake pedal a few times to push the caliper pistons onto the new pads. You may need to pump the brake half a dozen times before the pedal regains its feel again. Then take the car for a carefull drive and check that everything feels ok.

[Lucas_R]

Rear Brakes
Tools Needed: 13mm and 15mm open-ended spanners
Time required: Approx 5-10mins each side once you have the wheel off

Image of the standard pads with the new Remsa pads.(new pads on the top, stock pads on the bottom)




Step 1) Once you have the wheel off, locate the two bolts on the rear of the brake caliper which secure the two parts of the caliper together. You will need a 13mm open ended spanner to undo the bolts while simultaneously using a 15mm spanner to prevent the bolt from spinning (hard to explain but see the 2nd image below)






Step 2) Once you have the two bolts undone, remove them from the body of the calliper. You should now be able to wiggle centre part of the caliper off and gain access to the brake pads.






Step 3) This is pretty much a common sense exercise now. Remove the stock pads from the caliper and replace them with the new pads. The pads sit in a specific area of the calliper so you’d be hard pressed to get it wrong here.






Step 4) Once the new pads have been put in place, re-fit the central caliper section over the top of the pads. Note, that you may need to use a caliper piston compressor to re-set the piston into the caliper at this stage.

Re-insert the 2 bolts that you removed in Step 1 and 2 and do them up tightly. It should now look like this.




Lastly, put your wheel back on and pump the brake pedal until you get a firm pedal feel, then take the car for a cautious drive and double check everything feels and works ok.

[Corey_R]

Great post Lucas_R! Thanks for that

[AdamD]

+1. Awesome DIY Lucas, great work!

Let us know how you get on with the new pads too, especially in terms of pedal feel, pad/rotor wear, and dust!

[dave_r]

+1 good stuff. Though I don't have any issues with the dust, feel free to send the pads this way Sure I'll need them after an upcoming track day lol.

[Lucas_R]

+1 good stuff. Though I don't have any issues with the dust, feel free to send the pads this way Sure I'll need them after an upcoming track day lol.

If your willing to part with a small amount of $ im happy to sell you the stock pads.

[Lucas_R]

+1. Awesome DIY Lucas, great work!

Let us know how you get on with the new pads too, especially in terms of pedal feel, pad/rotor wear, and dust!

Too early to tell yet but i will definetly less you all know how the dust goes. I can tell you right now (although im still allowing the new pads to "bed in") that they feel a little less touchy at slower speeds (which i prefer) but seem to have the same braking capacity of the stock pads. Greg from GSL Rallysport recommended these pads very highly and said that i wouldnt be dissapointed.

[Lucas_R]

Great post Lucas_R! Thanks for that

Cheers - hopefully it will be of some use to other forum users.