Rear Drums

[wigz45]

Hi i own a new 1.4 sport and was let down by the "sport" with rear drums? i know its only 85bhp but still looks shite with 17" alloys.
would it be possible to get the rear discs from a fr or cupra and fit them? and how much chew on would it be

 

[techie]

Hi i own a new 1.4 sport and was let down by the "sport" with rear drums? i know its only 85bhp but still looks shite with 17" alloys.
would it be possible to get the rear discs from a fr or cupra and fit them? and how much chew on would it be

Only the 1.4 with ESP comes with rear discs. You can swap it over to discs, probably looking at about £1000 for all the parts new though.

 

[wigz45]

yeh i read about that after i put my order in which is abit of a piss take!
hmmm bit too pricey at the moment. i wanted to paint the calipers but was put off by the drums, i didnt want to hightlight the fact they were shite brakes!

 

[IMG SEAT]

You no longer get rear discs with ESP on the 1.4. This was a spec change from about week 40 this year.

 

[Dave217]

i dont think the drums look that bad, i am going to paint mine black, as i have black alloys so hopefully it wont look too bad, i know what you mean though you would have expected the 'sport' to have discs as standard

i had to call on the brakes yesterday on the motorway as there was an accident about 6 cars in front of me, brakes were very good, id have never stopped in my last car

 

[nightflight]

^ seconded, I was humming along to one of my favourite tunes t'other night and nearly missed the turning i needed. Jumped on the brakes from 50/55 and was amazed at how sharp they were when needed, and it didn't even trip the ABS on.

Now i know the brakes work i reall would like to take it on a track (with wide run off areas just in case) to really get a feel for how the car performs as i don't want to try and find the limits on a public road.

 

[mardon]

Now i know the brakes work i reall would like to take it on a track (

On track is a different story

They may work well for one stop but after a couple laps of abuse I bet the brake fade would be horrendous!

I took my old 106 GTi on track at Rockingham. It performed great and I’d upgraded to much bigger 306 Gti-6 brakes. Even my light little Gti 920kg (if I remember correctly) suffered from brake fade. So I can imagine it being worse on a heavier car with smaller disks and drums at the back.

With regards to finding the cars limits it was also a very good learning experience.
An example is if you’re in a skid or controlled slide to the left and you’ve got the front tires turned to the right to power you out of it you’ll learn when the car will regain grip, if the wheels are pointing too much in the opposite direction when this happens the car will be off balance and could start to fish tail. Obviously you should never need too or even attempt to drive like that on a public road. I really enjoyed throwing the car around and finding out how it reacted in certain situations. If you get the chance to go on a track day go for it!

It’s not all about being the fastest out there. It’s about learning your car and improving your own skills.