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DarkX's Edition 30 DSG | Build Thread & Parts Review

DarkX

Your Boss :P
Location
In a room with the door locked :P
Car(s)
GTI ED30 DSG
So a little over than a month ago I was looking for a pair of discs to replace my worn out fronts. I didn't want a big brake kit just yet, only needed a new pair of discs. So I could either go with just another OEM set or find something a little better with more or less the same money. The whole time I've had the car I've already gone through 2 sets, about €210/set from the stealership. This is my 3rd set, so I figured I'd try something new.

Zimmermann Cross Drilled 312x25 / 5x112 (OEM dimensions), €160/set.

For pads I was between OEM, Ferodo DS 2500/3000 and Hawk HPS/HP+
While debating about which one to go with, I made a thread back then, here it is if anyone wants the whole story. With a few words, the only thing that troubled me about the aftermarket choices, was personal experience from other cars I've been into; there was an awful squeaking coming from the pads' metallic compound which lasted quite some time. Eventually it went away but the idea I would possibly have to go through this for I dunno how long, made me consider the OEM option.

Anyway I couldn't find anyone that combined the Zimmermann Discs with OEM pads, maybe I'm the first who knows :biggrin: and I can understand why.. obviously when you're upgrading the discs, you want something better for pads too. But I didn't mind not having the ultimate stopping power, for all I know I may go with a big brake kit sometime so this could be temporary. I haven't even upgraded the brake lines so..

So I went for it. Zimmermann discs and OEM pads. And before I let the pictures talk, let me just say this.. now that I'm way past break-in, braking has definitely improved, but the improvement is obvious after repetitive hard braking, which doesn't seem to fade as quick as it used to. No it's not a night and day difference but there's improvement. Better pads would obviously improve braking even further but I'm very satisfied with the fact that I paid €50 less and got a better than OEM replacement.

Also changed my brake fluid for a 2nd time, this time from OEM to ATE Typ 200.






 

DarkX

Your Boss :P
Location
In a room with the door locked :P
Car(s)
GTI ED30 DSG
Back after a long time with KW coilovers. I went with variant 1 because I've seen and driven it and I'm very pleased with how it rides. You don't call it stiff but it's not soft either, I think it's a good compromise between sportiness and a daily driver and for someone like me who likes a good drop but not slam.

Few quick shots during fitment...


Front.



Rear.













So here we're setting up the height. KW coilovers offer only about an inch and a half drop for mkv, so I went nearly all the way down, maybe less than 1/4 of an inch left.





Coming out of the shop, I noticed a rear wheel was in the air and it wasn't a tall ramp either. The front wheel got into the well but this gave me the chance to notice my clearance in case of bumps. Also tried a few bumps and I don't notice rubbing, even with passengers. Like I said earlier, car has to be able to drive nearly anywhere.



A few more pics...







Front lip clearance is about a CD, which isn't too low but you have to be careful. So far I haven't had any problems and luckily my ramp at home is pretty smooth.











 

DarkX

Your Boss :P
Location
In a room with the door locked :P
Car(s)
GTI ED30 DSG
Another update after a long time. Just received my StopTech ST41 BBK which I have sitting right here: 4-piston, 328x25 rotors, SS brake lines and Street Performance StopTech pads.

Now waiting for my OEM size drilled Neuspeed rotors for the rear (same pattern like the StopTech kit) which I'm expecting next week. Gonna pick up a new set of pads for these as well, I'm thinking to stick with OEM for now since the pads that come with the kit are intermediate so I don't want something too hard for the rear. In the future if I decide to go with something more track-oriented for the fronts, I'll do the same with the rears.

While waiting for the rear rotors here's a few photos of the kit:










 

Elliott

Go Kart Champion
Location
Scottish but live in Spain.
Car(s)
07 GOLF GTI MKV
I need to get my act together with my breaks. This might just be the kick up the ass I needed. Been sitting on the shelf for well over a year now all because of no brackets lmao.
 

DarkX

Your Boss :P
Location
In a room with the door locked :P
Car(s)
GTI ED30 DSG
You have the same kit Elliott?


Neuspeed rear rotors arrived today, OEM replacement. Should match well with the fronts. Installation within the week.


 

xSabretoothx

Fast w/ training wheels
Location
Raleigh, NC
Car(s)
2008 GTI
Can I ask why you went with drilled rotors?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

DarkX

Your Boss :P
Location
In a room with the door locked :P
Car(s)
GTI ED30 DSG
As opposed to slotted you mean? And are you referring to the rotors that come with the Stoptech kit or the Neuspeed rotors? Or both?
 

xSabretoothx

Fast w/ training wheels
Location
Raleigh, NC
Car(s)
2008 GTI
Yes, as opposed to slotted or blank. And for both sets.
 

DarkX

Your Boss :P
Location
In a room with the door locked :P
Car(s)
GTI ED30 DSG
Well I wouldn't go with blanks for the front kit even if I wanted to, since the StopTech ST41 BBK was available only as slotted or drilled (never seen any bbk with blanks for that matter). Between slotted and drilled, I've always been a fan of drilled rotors mainly for the looks. Then for the rears, my stock rotors were on their way out and needed a new pair, so I figured I wanted something to match with the fronts, so I had to go with drilled and I found something with very similar pattern.
 

DarkX

Your Boss :P
Location
In a room with the door locked :P
Car(s)
GTI ED30 DSG
Brakes installed few days ago. The list includes:

- StopTech ST41 front BBK, 4piston 328x25 rotors, StopTech SS lines and Street Performance brake pads that come with the kit
- Neuspeed rear rotors OEM size and Goodridge braided brake lines
- ATE Typ200 Racing fluid


I'll start with a few installation photos..

The BBK:




Rotor vents:




StopTech SS lines:






Didn't know our OEM rear pads are ferodo's. May not be the "DS" but still ferodo's (this is before Goodridge installation):



Decided to stick with OEM pads for now because I wanted something to be as close to the fronts as possible. The pads that come with the StopTech kit are intermediate. In the future I may go with StopTech's harder compound pads and then I'll choose something similar for the rear, like ferodo DS 2500.


Neuspeed rotors and OEM pads installed:




Goodridge lines:



I'm going to post a couple more installation photos soon.


After installation photos..

This is outside the shop:



Unfortunately a couple others I took in that spot were not clear at all due to sun light, but I'm gonna take some more another time.


Here's a few more later in the day. Excuse the lower quality, this is due to insufficient light, but I think they are decent:








And this is how they look from a distance, here's where I needed a better res photo but.. next time.




Truth is I expected both the calipers and rotors to be smaller, but I think they hold their own, even behind 18's. The kit requires a minimum 17's. One other thing, the calipers are about half the weight of OEM, could be even less, front rotors are about the same weight as OEM and rear rotors are slightly lighter than OEM. Didn't put them on a scale but that's how they felt on my hands.

Next photos after the car is washed. Diamond Black can play tricks and look like the car is washed but I assure you it isn't.
 

SuperSkyline89

Das Schiesse
Location
Earth
Car(s)
2008 CW GTI
Looks great. You're right about the weight, I have the 355mm kit and these are the weights I measured at my mechanics shop during the install. It's so cool that something so much bigger and more powerful is also lighter, the magic of engineering.

OEM Rotors - 19 pounds
StopTech 14" Rotors - 18 pounds

OEM Calipers - 14.5 pounds
StopTech ST40 4-Piston Calipers - 8 pounds
 
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