///// Weight of MK IV Jetta TDI front calipers and rotors / Weight of MK IV rear calipers and rotors /////

Andyinchville1

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2016
Location
Virginia
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, 5 sp, 226K miles
HI All,

A friend of mine is needing to replace his front caliper(1) and figured while the car was down he might as well do all the brakes front and rear (it's a high mileage 2003 Jetta with TDI with pretty much mostly original brake system minus the pads which were probably replaced several times throughout the life of the car tho) so he figured the car "seserved"

Anyways, he was looking to replace the calipers / rotors with lighter components (not big brake conversions UNLESS they are lighter than factory stock.

Anyways, does anybody have some old parts they could weigh? (ideally separate weights if possible).

Thanks

Andrew
 

CleverUserName

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Location
NorCal
TDI
2014 OZ Cruze CTD & 2010 JSW 6MT & 2017 GMC Canyon CCLB ATX 2.8 Duramax
Rotors are cast iron and the weight reduction is only here, not the caliper. ECS sells 2 piece rotors with billet aluminum hats. Wilwood makes a nice 2 piece rotor and big caliper kit, however they are very expensive.

Most TDI owners are very cheap, not likely to spend $2k for a wilwood kit or $500 for a ECS 2 piece rotor upgrade.
 

jmodge

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
Just leave them off and cut a hole in your floor and stop your car Fred Flintstone style. Significant weight reduction
 

Andyinchville1

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2016
Location
Virginia
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, 5 sp, 226K miles
Rotors are cast iron and the weight reduction is only here, not the caliper. ECS sells 2 piece rotors with billet aluminum hats. Wilwood makes a nice 2 piece rotor and big caliper kit, however they are very expensive.

Most TDI owners are very cheap, not likely to spend $2k for a wilwood kit or $500 for a ECS 2 piece rotor upgrade.
Hi

Thanks for the info ...

The other day I called Wilwood for my friend and apparently they do make a brake kit that's not a big brake kit.

I was doing some reading and apparently a lot a big brake kits weigh more than Factory and on top of that many won't fit a standard 15 inch wheel.

I do like the idea of a two piece rotor with the aluminum top hats but I'm not sure I've ever seen one of those available for a 15 in wheel stock factory size.

The only reason we were specifically looking for a small brake kit as it were was because we do want to run the 15 in wheel ( my friend who wants to do this like my Volk 15-inch gravel wheels so much he ordered a set for himself so we have to pretty much stick with factory size pieces).

Anyways after speaking with Wilwood on the phone the other day apparently their stock size kit weighs 38 lb total for the front brake system which includes the rotors and calipers ....

The only thing about that weight though is that includes the shipping materials so who knows how much the shipping pieces Weighed they did not have an idea on that.

You are probably correct that we may not be saving a lot of weight especially if the factory calipers are already aluminum.

I had red I think that Mark to Jettas use steel caliper so switching to aluminum boat offer a weight savings but I'm not 100% sure about the mark iv calipers...

If I think about it I'll look in the shed and see if I have a magnet to see if the calipers on the mark iv are aluminum or Steel.

By chance do you know of anybody that makes a two-piece rotor in a stock factory size?

I have read that aluminum top hats can weigh significantly less than steel top hats.

I think my car feels better with the slightly lighter wheel tire combo that I have on now...

Depending on the cost of later brake components I may look into those as well but I'm currently not in need of calipers or rotors.

Of course depending on how late after market ones are and how expensive they are I could possibly consider selling my components off for some money while they are still in good shape rather than waiting until they go bad before possibly swapping out to lighter stuff

Thanks
 

CleverUserName

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Location
NorCal
TDI
2014 OZ Cruze CTD & 2010 JSW 6MT & 2017 GMC Canyon CCLB ATX 2.8 Duramax
Hi

Thanks for the info ...

The other day I called Wilwood for my friend and apparently they do make a brake kit that's not a big brake kit.

I was doing some reading and apparently a lot a big brake kits weigh more than Factory and on top of that many won't fit a standard 15 inch wheel.

I do like the idea of a two piece rotor with the aluminum top hats but I'm not sure I've ever seen one of those available for a 15 in wheel stock factory size.

The only reason we were specifically looking for a small brake kit as it were was because we do want to run the 15 in wheel ( my friend who wants to do this like my Volk 15-inch gravel wheels so much he ordered a set for himself so we have to pretty much stick with factory size pieces).

Anyways after speaking with Wilwood on the phone the other day apparently their stock size kit weighs 38 lb total for the front brake system which includes the rotors and calipers ....

The only thing about that weight though is that includes the shipping materials so who knows how much the shipping pieces Weighed they did not have an idea on that.

You are probably correct that we may not be saving a lot of weight especially if the factory calipers are already aluminum.

I had red I think that Mark to Jettas use steel caliper so switching to aluminum boat offer a weight savings but I'm not 100% sure about the mark iv calipers...

If I think about it I'll look in the shed and see if I have a magnet to see if the calipers on the mark iv are aluminum or Steel.

By chance do you know of anybody that makes a two-piece rotor in a stock factory size?

I have read that aluminum top hats can weigh significantly less than steel top hats.

I think my car feels better with the slightly lighter wheel tire combo that I have on now...

Depending on the cost of later brake components I may look into those as well but I'm currently not in need of calipers or rotors.

Of course depending on how late after market ones are and how expensive they are I could possibly consider selling my components off for some money while they are still in good shape rather than waiting until they go bad before possibly swapping out to lighter stuff

Thanks
wilwood used to make a brake kit for MK IV that used to fit “some 15” wheels”. It used 2 piece rotors. Check ECS if you’re interested but cost will likely not work for you. Is it worth it to spend $2k dollars to get 1 more MPG ?

many of the MK IV brake upgrade kits require the VR6 spindles which will increase unsprung weight anyway so no weight savings after you pay the price for the 2 piece rotors.

many of your posts on here are stream of consciousness mental masturbation. Solutions in search of problems that don’t exist. I respond because I have the knowledge but I think your questions are silly.

good luck in your quests
 
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