Racing Brake R32 rotor review

[Autobahn]

The Carbotech XP20's worked flawlessly this past weekend. I'm really happy that I found a pad that works well with these rotors up front. I broke them in on the track this time as recommend. During my second heat and throughout the day they were good to go, no vibrations, no over heating the pads or brake system, great pedal feel, and lots of brake torque with no fade.

I'll post some pictures of the rotors soon...

 

[Gotsol]

sorry to thread jack, I just want to spread the word that my rotors are for sale

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...Evoms-Intake&p=74324110&posted=1#post74324110

 

[telaio]

Hey does anyone have a used R32 OEM-size front brake pad somewhere? If yes, please let me know and if you send it to hardbrakes.com they'll design titanium shims for us. Should help against problems with boiling fluid!

 

[BetaOp9]

Hey does anyone have a used R32 OEM-size front brake pad somewhere? If yes, please let me know and if you send it to hardbrakes.com they'll design titanium shims for us. Should help against problems with boiling fluid!

Did this go anywhere?

Also, how are these alternative pad options pan out regarding rotor glaze and overheating?

 

[bostonaudi]

Did this go anywhere?

Also, how are these alternative pad options pan out regarding rotor glaze and overheating?

I took off the RB rotors last fall and shelved them for a while. Have been busy sanding off the deposits from the HP+ pads lately. RB sent me a set of their own R32 race pads that I still need to try. If time permits I'll have them installed this week for upcoming DE this weekend at Roebling and will post up a review.

 

[telaio]

Did this go anywhere?

The shims should be in production, I'll let you folks know when they can be ordered.

Also, how are these alternative pad options pan out regarding rotor glaze and overheating?

I've been happy with Yellowstuffs during my very limited tracking career. Let's see if the shims will raise pad temperatures high enough to cause a problem but so far I've been happy..

 

[Autobahn]

I'll have to take some updated pics, but as my Carbotech XP20's got more rotor time they created a nice rotor surface with no deposits, no vibration, and consistently stop great. I frequently run @AAA Speedway and break from 130 - 40 and on a tight course like Streets of Willow I have no issues as well. I've been running no dust shields for quite some time too. This setup seems to perform flawless for me. The rotors have no cracks and seem to still have a lot of life left in them. The slots don't look like they've worn much.

Just thought I'd share...

 

[PandaGTI]

I'll have to take some updated pics, but as my Carbotech XP20's got more rotor time they created a nice rotor surface with no deposits, no vibration, and consistently stop great. I frequently run @AAA Speedway and break from 130 - 40 and on a tight course like Streets of Willow I have no issues as well. I've been running no dust shields for quite some time too. This setup seems to perform flawless for me. The rotors have no cracks and seem to still have a lot of life left in them. The slots don't look like they've worn much.

Just thought I'd share...

Ae the xp20's still holding up well? Anyone else run this setup with xp20 and racing brake rotors?

I've got a racing brake BBK and am looking for more aggressive trackday pads...

I'm thinking of XP20's since I can get credit for my unused OEM XP10's
Or Hawk DT60's
Or Racing Brake XT960's

Carbotech said the DT60's are more equivalent to their XP12 so hopefully I won't have any issues running the XP20's on the track...

 

[Autobahn]

XP20's are the ticket, still performing great. I recently went back to Buttonwillow which is notorious on brakes, performed stellar.

Street use I'm using 1521's with great luck, no squeal and nice modulation for around town, not too much torque too.

I just got a set of RacingBrake ET500 for the rear to try out.

I'm thinking of running the same 1521/XP20 setup when RB comes out with their 4 piston front caliper replacement.

Here's the description, they can hold up to 2000°F - that handle anything you can throw at them, hahah.

The latest iteration of the highly successful XP™ series of compounds. XP20™ is a step up from the highly successful XP16™ compound. With an extremely aggressive initial bite, the most linear torque curve to date and excellent fade resistance the XP20™ leads the highly successful XP™ series line of compounds from Carbotech™. XP20™ has a temperature range of 275°F to 2000°F+ (135°C to 1093°C+). Carbotech™ XP20™ maintains our tradition of having the outstanding release and modulation that has made all other Carbotech™ compounds so successful. The XP20™ as with other Carbotech™ compounds is very rotor friendly. Carbotech™ XP20™ is NOT recommended for use as a daily driven street pad due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise.

 

[PandaGTI]

XP20's are the ticket, still performing great. I recently went back to Buttonwillow which is notorious on brakes, performed stellar.

Street use I'm using 1521's with great luck, no squeal and nice modulation for around town, not too much torque too.

I just got a set of RacingBrake ET500 for the rear to try out.

I'm thinking of running the same 1521/XP20 setup when RB comes out with their 4 piston front caliper replacement.

Here's the description, they can hold up to 2000°F - that handle anything you can throw at them, hahah.

Nice, I'll probably put my order in with Carbotech so I get the pads before my next track day at Willow Springs (SOW).

BTW... I'm kinda lazy... would the XP20 be aggressive enough to clean off the ET500 compound if I braked lightly for a week? so that I have a clean surface to bed in at track day... then following trackday use the XP20's as a daily until it cleans it's material off so I can switch back to the ET500's?

If I'm gonna do that... should I just stick with the DTC-60 or XT960?

 

[Autobahn]

Yes, they're aggressive enough to do that, but no matter what type of pad you use to clean the rotors you're always going to have contamination, ideally it would be good to have a set of rotors/pads for street and another for track, but that's not always cost effective.

I typically prefer not to mix brands, but I think you'll be fine, I haven't had nay issues going back and forth between 1521/XP20.

 

[Mostic]

With the weight reduction, R32 brakes work great on the GTI, I have fronts and rears. Note that 17" wheels are a tight fit, I had to clear a minor amount of material off the lower part of the caliper to clear the wheel weights. Nothing serious, just a very mild trim with the dremel.

I weighed them on scale, as advertised they do knock >7 lb off stock R32 rotor. Car feels more like it did with the original GTI rotors, but with FAR better braking. With my lighter weight Enkei's the car feels great. A GTI with stock R32 rotors and 18" Huffs feels quite heavy indeed, not a good combo.

Sorry for bring back a thread from death, but I have a question regarding the installation of MKV R32 brake pads and rotors on 2007 GTI OEM 18" Rims.

If it is possible to check and give me your advice.
http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3783502#post3783502

I didn't understand the part of clearing the lower part of the caliper, and scale weighting because of do knock >7 lb off stock R32 rotor :iono:

Thanks in advance...

 

[GIACUser]

Sorry for bring back a thread from death, but I have a question regarding the installation of MKV R32 brake pads and rotors on 2007 GTI OEM 18" Rims.

If it is possible to check and give me your advice.
http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3783502#post3783502

I didn't understand the part of clearing the lower part of the caliper, and scale weighting because of do knock >7 lb off stock R32 rotor :iono:

Thanks in advance...

The clearance issue he speaks of sounds like an issue with a smaller 17 in rim. You are going to be using 18in rims. Often wheels are balanced with stick on weights and the height and position of those weights might make contact with part of the caliper when running a 17in wheels.

This is R32 brakes on a Detroit - 18in wheel, you can see how he would probably have clearance issues with a smaller wheel.



The talk about lighter weight of the rotor has to do with.......

Stock one piece rotor vs Two piece aftermarket rotor. The one piece weighs about 7lbs more (and that is spinning weight so it is significant and felt). The two piece aftermarket rotors would have aluminum centers. Cost is significantly more. 700 a pair vs 200 a pair but it does make a big difference, I have not gone there yet.

pic of 2 piece vs stock