288mm vs 280mm brakes

Just wanted to post my findings on the size difference between these two sets of brakes. Just going by diameter and thickness is misleading because the pad size is much larger on the 288mm set and the contact patch is much more of the 288mm rotor than it is of the 280mm rotor. Here's a pic of the two rotors side by side:



Not only is the rusty rotor bigger but the contact patch extends further towards the center.

I also did a quick volume comparison using measurements from these two rotors. The 280mm rotor has a 51mm contact patch width and 6mm one sided thickness. The 288mm rotor has a 69mm contact patch and 8mm one sided thickness. Assuming the centre parts of each rotor are of comparable volume and the volume of the fins is negligible, the 288mm system adds about 0.3 L (litres) of metal to the rotor, about the volume of a can of coke. To put that into perspective: according to my calculations, the contact patch of the 280mm rotor has a volume of about 0.45 L. Just for completeness, the contact patch of the 288mm rotor is about 0.75 L (again according to my calculations).

What is required to run 288mm rotors and pads on a vehicle that had 280mm rotors?

Dukes69 said:

What is required to run 288mm rotors and pads on a vehicle that had 280mm rotors?

Click to expand...

New spindles from a car that came with a 1.8T or VR6 engine. Everything bolts up and works out easy (if none of the spindles are bent like in my case). Also make sure they come with the ABS speed sensors with in tact connectors.

Hmm, That sounds like too much work for now. I think I'll just get some premium rotors and EBC yellow pads.

This is an old thread but I thought I would bump it for anyone interested. I just swapped to the bigger pads and rotors on my Golf over the weekend and it made a big difference. I was simply looking for a photo of the 280mm rotors compared to the 288mm rotors and came across this thread. I pulled the spindles, rotors, and calipers off a 2001 Jetta 1.8T. I replaced the bearings with OEM FAG bearings from Andrew at Fixmyvw.com and am swinging by his shop tonight to pick up a set of PowerStop Z26 pads and Fremax rotors. Even with junkyard pads and rotors the improvement is huge. Looking forward to the new rotors and pads.

OK so I have a question about this upgrade because I will be doing the 312mm front rotor brake swap with all TT suspension parts, relatively soon.

I may be overthinking but being that these MK4 VW's are are somewhere around 60/40 rear to front braking bias respectively, how does one properly break in new front rotors and pads when only replacing the fronts and leaving the rear brakes alone that have already been upgraded to 280mm rotor kit.

Is there a certain procedure or just break in the fronts as you normally should?

I'm not sure about how to break in fronts without messing with the backs, but the instructions for the pads I am using say this:

"Break in the pads as follows:

5 moderate to aggressive stops from 40 mph down to 10 mph in rapid succession without letting the brakes cool and do not come to a complete stop. If you're forced to stop, either shift into neutral or give room in front so you can allow the vehicle to roll slightly while waiting for the light. The rotors will be very hot and holding down the brake pedal will allow the pad to create an imprint on the rotor. This is where the judder can originate from.
Then do 5 mod*erate stops from 35 mph to 5 mph in rapid succession without letting the brakes cool. You should expect to smell some resin as the brakes get hot.
After this is complete, drive around for as long as possible without excessively heating the brakes and without coming to a complete stop (Try for about 5 minutes at moderate speed). This is the cooling stage. It allows the heated resin in the brake pads to cool and cure.
After the brakes have cooled to standard operating temperature, you may use the brakes normally."

Let me bring this thread back from the dead! It's time for new calipers for me!

I really like PowerStop calipers. The rears will mount right up, however they only make 288mm fronts

Can you still run a 15" Avus or Monterey wheel if you upgrade to 288mm brakes?

Can you still run a 15" Avus or Monterey wheel if you upgrade to 288mm brakes?


Doubtfull. With 16" rims I have mebbe 15mm of clearance with my
VR6 calipers. I will be putting 256mm vented rotors on the back next
week, along with the appropriate caliper carrier assembly. These can
be found on various quattro TT models, GLI & R32 VWs.

288 on the front is very worthwhile, I'll be curious to see how much
of a difference the rears make. I do a fair of bit of towing, so I'm
figuring all the brakes I can get is a plus.

I'm getting ready to do the swap myself. To do this, my understanding is that I need the calipers, rotors, pads and knuckles from a vr6/1.8t vehicle. I'll be installing new wheel bearings as well, for obvious reasons. Can I use alh drive axles and hubs or do I need the vr6/1.8t axles and/or hubs?

Hubs and axle half shafts are the same. Got a set of knuckles for the Jetta. Going to go 288. I have 16" wheels to go along, but it would be nice to see if the stock 15's fit. need to order another bearing and hub so I can put them in with new bearings.
cheers,
Douglas

FYI - I know some OEM 15's fit over the from 288 VR6/1.8T set-up.


Here's a thread with pics of a gasser 1.8, that had OEM 15's on it, I swapped to OEM 17's and sold the 15's to someone here on the TDI forums.


http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=476653

RexNICO said:

FYI - I know some OEM 15's fit over the from 288 VR6/1.8T set-up.


Here's a thread with pics of a gasser 1.8, that had OEM 15's on it, I swapped to OEM 17's and sold the 15's to someone here on the TDI forums.


http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=476653

Click to expand...

Those are the 15's I have on my '04 Jetta. The 2-piece BBS are going to take their place.
cheers,
Douglas

Bandz7 said:

Let me bring this thread back from the dead! It's time for new calipers for me!

I really like PowerStop calipers. The rears will mount right up, however they only make 288mm fronts

Can you still run a 15" Avus or Monterey wheel if you upgrade to 288mm brakes?

Click to expand...

Yes. Wife's 2001 GTI w/ 288mm front brakes came stock with 15" Avus wheels.

Shot mouth off a wee bit soon. The outer CV joints are the same between the gassers and TDI. However the hotter gassers have 108 vs 100mm inner drivers. The ones like 1.8T get the 108's. TDI and 2.0NA get 100's...this for the manual. Not so much interest learning about automatics...LOL
cheers,
Douglas

The regular 288mm front brakes work fine on Avus 15" wheels, that's the way a lot of AWP equipped Golfs and Jettas came.

I have the upgraded brakes on one of my Golfs, the Avus wheels fit fine.