Over assisted / servoed / sensitive brakes

[Corey_R]

Thanks for the suggestion MAACCA

[Ideo]

Had a friend who bought an Audi A3 Quattro.Brake set up is basically MKV Golf.
He complained about over sensitive brakes,I drove it and they were VERY "bitey".
Took it to a Motorway,got some clear road,and did a bedding in process usually reserved for race-type brake pads.
Basically,you brake HEAVILY[panic-stop style] from around 100kph down to 60-ish,then immediately accelerate back to 100.Repeat 6-8 times,then try not to use the brakes for a bit to let them cool,which should be easy on a Motorway.
His car only had 700k on it,and this procedure imparts a transfer layer of pad material evenly over the discs,whilst cleaning up any rough bits on the pads.
Brakes are now working fine with no excessive initial bite.
Cheers
Len

I did that in my running in period, and now the brakes are much smoother and more progressive.

[acheater]

I had the same issue with my 103 TDI. Having had WRXs for years it was not fun braking. It does wear in and you do adjust your breaking style a bit as they are still very effective breaks. I still have my WRX and to be honest I feel safer in the wet with the Golf these days despite its lack of AWD because the brakes just feel like they really want to stop me. The WRX I think has it in for me!! Must know I have an R on order

[craig_the_german]

My 90TSI has now done just over 15000km. I would say that the initial feel of the brakes was that it was very "bitey" but after 15000km they have bedded in nicely and are the best brakes of any car I have driven.

Here is food for thought......

In the weekend newspaper here in Brisbane, the motoring section had a write up on a new Honda Hybrid. So what you ask.....they put down as one of it's direct competitors the 90TSI Golf (the model I own).

The writer said that although the Hybrid was a great car he was unsure why Honda fitted DRUM brakes to the rear.

I guess the answer to that lies in where the cars originate and were intended to be used. The new Honda Hybrid, I would assume was designed to be pottering around the back streets of a city somewhere and as such the idea of a powerful braking system was not considered important..thus the drum brakes.

Our VWs however originated in Germany (the home of the Autobahn) and having driven on an Autobahn, I know that I certainly felt more comfortable knowing that had I needed to stop from the 180+ km/h we were doing, the brakes on the car were powerful, had plenty of "Bite" and could pull me up hard and fast.

Horses for courses........

[ethosguy]

Pads and, if you like, disks can be changed to reduce sensitivity and improve high heat performance, reduce dust, and increase service life.
Really good (better?) aftermarket components can be had for similar or less $$$ than OEM parts.
If you PM me I'll go and refresh my memory as to what I'm using and suggest some products I'm hahppy with.
Cheers
Pete

[kaanage]

There is nothing wrong with drum brakes in terms of stopping power. Their weakness is fade resistance (and recovery from water immersion).

[darkfriend]

Love the brakes. Came from a Toyota Corolla and it took me a few days to get used to the 118TSI brakes. Have now done 10000kms and still think they are great. You adapt quickly... and then the brakes in other cars feel a little heavy or sluggish.

I'm still enjoying just driving this car, and the chirp from the supercharger is just a very small price to pay...