A Breaks Question

[voodoojellybaby]

Ive got a 1.6 Polo saloon and have been told its almost identical to the cordoba.
Its a 1.6 8v and the breaks are goosed on it. when ive been to order new disks and pads for the front it turns out that theyre off a 1.3 polo!
so my question is what size discs can i fit without changing the caliper.
or what can i fit (changing the calipers as well) to the hubs.
also what can i do to the drums? do they do bigger drums or would i need to go to discs?

Any help on this would be great as i need them for the MOT.

 

[hopkinsgm]

Ummm... Guessing they're probably 239mm discs - your options are going to be limited to other 239mm discs. The existing discs may be solid, or they may be vented. If the existing discs are solid, you can probably go to vented ones, but you'd need to change to thinner pads.

Going bigger? Tricky. If they're 239's anything like those used on Ibiza's, you'll need to change the whole hub carrier assembly. It's do-able, but one of those jobs that just spirals out of hand if all you really wanted to do was change the discs!

NB - 1.6 Cordoba SX's used 256mm discs (aka late mk2 Golf GTI 16v) - these are a different kettle of fish altogether, as you can go up to 280mm discs (aka G60) with only a change of caliper carrier. Not sure which arrangement the 4 door Cordoba 1.6 got, probably the same as 1.6 Polo saloon (when did they stop calling them a Polo Classic...?). Which probably means 239's if it is the same as 1.3 Polo as you say.

Hope that helps and doesn't confuse you as much as it does me re-reading it. It's been a long day...

 

[hopkinsgm]

p.s. Pet hate of mine but they're brakes. Unless they're broken.

 

[voodoojellybaby]

im not sure what size the discs are but i know that they are vented.
and im sorry about my spelling but thats one thing ive never been able to master!

 

[hopkinsgm]

No probs. Sounds like they'll be the vented 239's then. Easiest way to check is to pop a front wheel off and measure the disc diameter. If they are 239's, the the easy upgrade options are:
- disc upgrades - grooved or cross drilled
- pad upgrades - Pagid Fast Road pads worth a look, EBC GreenStuff are popular too though I don't rate them myself.

As for the rears (which I forgot to mention yesterday)... VW do drums in a couple of sizes, one for cars without ABS, and the other size for cars with ABS. 180mm and 200mm I think, but could be wrong. The two types are not easily interchangable. Performance upgrades for drums are hard to come by. You could convert to discs, but it's hassle - exactly how much hassle is explained here: http://www.seatcupra.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=6. I reckon you wouldn't get much benefit from going discs on the back, but maybe Stu's experience says different? Enough people do it to mk1 Golf GTI's, so maybe there is something to it?