Joel Mitchell
MkIII Golf 2.0 GTi
Year: 1995
Mileage: 120,000
Current Mods: FK coilovers, black MkIV Steels, Cooper 205/45/16 tyres
|
|
Here's the discs and Green Stuff brake pads as they come... |
Wow, what a difference new brakes make! I've read loads of features telling you that the better the brakes the quicker you can go into turns etc the quicker the car blah blah blah. Never did I sit up and take notice until now. My brakes were in need of replacement so I looked into getting a full set.
After a little searching around I finally decided on a set of slotted and drilled EBC 3GD Sport Rotor Discs. All EBC’s discs are manufactured within the UK and are made from a unique material called ‘discalloy’ – a high quality grey iron including copper to increase thermal conductivity and wear properties. Quoting from the EBC website to explain the slotted discs: “The unique wide aperture slots in the EBC sport rotor actually draw cool air under the pad during heavy braking and reduce brake temperatures whilst also helping remove dirt, dust and debris and gasses created by heavy braking from the pad contact area.” All in all making an excellent straight replacement disc!
Keeping with EBC I decided on a set of Green Stuff 2000 series Premium Street Pads, designed for street/sport cars up to 200bhp. I'm quite a way off that so these were the perfect pads to team up with the newly-installed discs (check out www.ebcbrakes.com for more details).
|
|
...and unwrapped in all their green and shiny glory |
To get the new brakes on is a pretty simple job. First thing is to undo the brake reservoir cap under the bonnet. Now to get the old brakes off. The calipers are only held on with two 17mm bolts which were pretty simple to remove, a little tight but with the aid of a long levered ratchet they came out and the calipers were off. Then I needed to lever the old pads out.
Next was to remove the discs. Being held on with only one screw I thought this was going to be very easy, but after struggling for a while and rounding the screw head I realized it was not. In the end I had to drill the head off, remove the disc, then drill the screw out. Also to make sure the thread was OK?I ran a tap through the existing thread. The other side was much easier using a much larger screwdriver and a little more strength! Lesson learnt!
While the calipers were apart from the discs and pads I decided to give the calipers a quick coat of high temperature red enamel paint.
All that was left to do was get all the nice new stuff on. Holding the disc in place and rescrewing it on was simple. So too was pushing the brake cylinder in and replacing the pads. Then I had to get the calipers into place and redo the 17mm bolts. Give everything a tighten, wheels on, reservoir cap back on, job done... The new brakes look and work great. Big thanks to EBC.
|
|
This gadget sorts out the tracking somehow. Not sure how, but it works |
Now all the brakes are sorted and with the new wheels and tyres on I headed down to RSR Wheels and Tyres in Redhill to sort the tracking out. I had tried to get this done by a local company but they struggled to get the car onto the ramps as it’s so low. The lads at RSR tried much harder and sorted it all out. I wish I had got there earlier as driving the car lowered with the tracking out has worn the tyres badly (see pic). Now it’s all sorted the car drives sooo much better. I’m happy again.
Also this month I got myself some new wiper blades; OK, not the most exciting mod, but these are the Aero Blades which look and work fantastic. Basically a low profile design which allows for a closer fit to your windscreen, they also reduce wind noise and work better at higher speeds.
Mine were from HIDS4U.co.uk, a great company providing a great service and quality goods. The blades I fitted were by Bosch but the company also makes its own.
Available for most cars they are a straight replacement with a universal clip. Prices start from £7.50.
Not too much more done this month, apart from thinking about the engine – getting more power is becoming more and more essential... I've got a pile of goodies ready to go on so watch this space. JM
