Disc Wear

Had my '32 now since June and logged up 4,000 kms (not much I know as I catch a train mostly to work).

This morning I had a really good look at the discs and have noticed significant scouring on the the front discs only.

The braking has always been superb, no squels, shudders etc. excellent at high speed however a bit grabby at very low speed, if you're not careful.

I stopped into the local VW dealership yard and inspected about 20 used late model VW's, GTI's, Golfs, Passats, Beetles (but no R's), all had many more kms than mine but none exhibited disc scouring anything like mine.

The other noticable thing was the amount of brake dust build up on the wheels after only 9 km. (I washed the car yesterday evening).

I will be taking up the matter with the dealer however I wonder if anyone out there has (is) experiencing the same thing), my car is in no way unique nor the type of driving I do.

I have theory which other (knowledgeable) readers may wish to comment on.

A bit of history first.

One of the tricks used my Mercedes Benz (years ago) to get good brake performance (particularly at low speeds) was to the make the discs "soft".

Ie. the metal composition of the disc probably had a low carbon content, this enabled the brake pads to really bite into the disc and give excellent braking.

The downside of this was that the discs scoured easily and wore out at an extremely fast rate. It was not uncommon to have to replace the discs at every second or third pad change. My brother in law once had the piston seal on one of his front brakes pop out, as the disc had worn down that far, leaving him with no brakes, 600 kms from home, he had a Merc.

Could VW be doing the same on the R. (OK I'm a cynic !)

I would be interested to see if anyone else is experiencing this, as a bit more ammunition will be helpful when I go into battle with the dealer service dept.

This is a long shot, but do you think some gravel or sand may have been stuck between the rotors and discs? It doesn't seem likely, seeing that it would only occur on the fronts. Is one side worse than the other? Is it random scoring or does it seem to have any pattern to it?

put a pic up and let us see what your talking about it may be normal the pads in r32 are quite hard compard to gti etc

MHS216
The scouring is even across the disc face, on both sides from what I could feel with my fingers on the inside of the disc, without removing the wheel.

The disc scouring looks like the grooves in an old vinyl record.

If it were stones, then the scouring would be localised and quite deep in some places and non existant in others.

The back discs look similar to the fronts except the grooves are not as deep.

Pipehose

Will try to get some photos, in the next day or two.

As mentioned in my previous post above, none of the numerous VW's in the yard looked like my discs although having said that, my wife's Lexus RX330 has the same scouring look on the discs but once again the grooves are not that deep.

Mine are similar. Not deep grooves but you can definitely see them. Let us know what you find out.

Post some pics for us to see.

Tried to take some pics last night, a camera phone is useless so I tried my all singing, all dancing, computerised 8 mega pixel expensive Digital Olympus and the bloody flash refuses to work !!! The thing is not a camera with a computer attached, it is a computer with a lens attached !!!

Will now have to wait till I get the wheels off in sun light which will not be till next weekend.

The only thing in my .:R32 that I have been disappointed with is the amount of brake dust that quickly accumulates on the wheels. I know from experience with other manufacturers, especially BMW, that the beautiful wheels on their cars load up so quickly with brake dust that it's hard to find one that doens't have black wheels from brake dust. And then, about every 15,000 miles, they tell you that your rotors are worn below factory recommendations and need to be replaced. I still suspect that, because brake rotors and pads aren't covered under warranty, that it was just another way to generate extra revenue for the service departments. So, I was disappointed to experience VW seems to be up to the same 'dirty' tricks. It just seems that there has to be some kind of quality brake pad material available that doesn't wear rotors out in 15,000 miles and leave your wheels looking like they have been powder coated in dark gray 30 miles after you wash your car.

Does anybody out there have either an explanation for why this happens or a suggested solution, besides washing you car every day.

BTW, I really love the .:R32 - and the brake dust thing is really a very smalll nit to pick.

Spike said:

I still suspect that, because brake rotors and pads aren't covered under warranty, that it was just another way to generate extra revenue for the service departments. So, I was disappointed to experience VW seems to be up to the same 'dirty' tricks. It just seems that there has to be some kind of quality brake pad material available that doesn't wear rotors out in 15,000 miles and leave your wheels looking like they have been powder coated in dark gray 30 miles after you wash your car.

Does anybody out there have either an explanation for why this happens or a suggested solution, besides washing you car every day.

BTW, I really love the .:R32 - and the brake dust thing is really a very smalll nit to pick.

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Can't say I'd subscribe to your conspiracy theory - I reckon that it's the price you pay for improved braking.

You may find that keeping your wheels well waxed will help, especially if you use a quick detailler on 'em to clean between washes. That ought to minimise the amount of brake dust sticking to the wheels.

The brakes on my Trailblazer SS were notorious for brake dust...stopping a 5000 lb SUV from 140mph took doing. GM did provide a solution though...

There was a kit available, that you could remove the hub and brake shroud, and replace the shroud with one that was cut away on top...this kept the splashes at bay from the bottom, but allowed air flow down and across to blow the dust out. Worked like a charm.