Cheap brake upgrade

Yep, read that a few times in preparation. Great article.

One thing I can't work out is my Polo has really good brakes yet they aren't any bigger than the Golf's. The Golf by comparison has crappy brakes even with the GTI disks and calipers up front. I'm hoping it's the brake booster that makes the brakes so good.

brake booster adds alot of feel back into the system.
Especially considering the mk 1 stuff, is about 4 centuries old by now, and most probably still original stuff.

Should have a bigger MC too, which will help give greater stopping force :D

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Originally Posted by sports racer

One thing I can't work out is my Polo has really good brakes yet they aren't any bigger than the Golf's. The Golf by comparison has crappy brakes even with the GTI disks and calipers up front. I'm hoping it's the brake booster that makes the brakes so good.

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I think there are two issues of difference between the Polo brakes and Mk1 Golfs. Most significantly is the pull rod and bell cranks that transfer the action of the brake pedal across the car to the booster and master cylinder. A lot of feel or control is lost here. I reckon I can feel the rod bowing when I push the brake pedal hard - there is a sponginess when braking hard.
The second issue I suspect is crappy brake pads - cheap or non-performance pads that have too low a coefficient of friction - that require more shove on the brake pedal which then makes the pull-rod and bell cranks even more of an issue.

A cheap brake upgrade would be to put some really good pads on - eg Ferodo DB2500

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'll do the brake booster and pads first then build and fit a solid bar to replace the pull rod and cranks.