The VW Mk7 and Mk7.5 Golf, GTI, Golf R, Sportwagen, Alltrack, Audi 8V A3 and S3 all feature good braking systems straight from the factory. But considering just how easy it is to add power to these cars by doing a simple ECU tune or even some bolt-on engine modifications, it's always good to upgrading your stopping power along the way.
We're no strangers to upgrading the braking systems of VW and Audi vehicles. Over the last two and a half decades, we've spent a considerable amount of time upgrading the brake systems of track vehicles, professional race cars and street driven performance cars. We've developed this guide to help share our extensive knowledge and experience with you to help you choose the brake upgrades that are best for your particular application.
The guide is divided into sections that cover brake upgrades rancing from mild (brake pads), to wild (racing big brake kits) as well as all of the supporting parts and upgrades that go along with them.
What vehicles does this guide cover? What is an MQB Chassis?
All of the vehicles in this guide are built on the VW MQB chassis. At this point, some of you may be saying "But wait, I have an Audi not a VW. How will this guide help me?" VW (also known as VAG or Volkswagen Auto Group) is the parent company that owns Audi. We realize that while many of you have been enthusiasts for years and already know this, but there are others that are just getting into the scene and may not be aware of this.
The MQB chassis is highly modular and encompasses many different vehicles ranging from sub-compacts to full sized SUVs (though we will have a guide that approaches those models due to some differences). The chassis is designed to be easily changed to fit the vehicle application as needed. Because these vehicles are all based on the same chassis, they all share a very similar braking system. Some vehicles do have slight differences in their braking systems (such as different sized calipers), but overall, most vehicles based on the MQB chassis utilize the same general braking systems. We'll be sure to inform you in this guide if there's a difference that you need to be aware of.
Below you'll find a list of the vehicles that are covered in this guide:
- 2015-2021 VW Mk7, Mk7.5 Golf
- 2015-2020 VW Mk7, Mk7.5 Golf Sportwagen
- 2017-2020 VW Mk7, Mk7.5 Golf Alltrack
- 2015-2021 VW Mk7, Mk7.5 GTI
- 2015-2021 VW Mk7, Mk7.5 Golf R
- 2019+ VW Mk7 Jetta
- 2019+ VW Mk7 GLI
- 2015+ Audi 8V A3
- 2015+ Audi 8V S3
- 2015+ Audi 8S TT
- 2015+ Audi 8S TTS
- 2015+ Audi 8S TTRS
Brake Pads? Brake Rotors? Brake Calipers? Brake Lines? Brake Fluids?
We realize that while many people want to improve the braking systems of their Audi or VW, not everyone understands the language of braking. This guide will help you to better understand and choose the brake upgrades that are best suited to your needs.
If this guide doesn't have enough information for you, feel free to contact us at any time with any MQB chassis brake system questions you may have.
What is your goal?
When choosing brake upgrades, it is extremely important to set a goal of what you are trying to accomplish with your car. This way, you can plan around obtaining the appropriate parts to reach that goal. We've organized the upgrades below from simple, easy to achieve goals like reducing your braking distance slightly, all the way to more difficult goals such as taking 10 seconds off of your lap time at VIR.
Brake Pads
I want to improve my braking performance, but I don't want to drastically change any major braking system components.
Brake pads are an often misunderstood upgrade. Many people simply think that you change your brake pads for the same pad that came on their car from the factory. However, brake pads are the gateway to significantly improving the braking performance of your vehicle. By simply changing your brake pad from a stock/factory compound to an aftermarket compound, you can often decrease your braking distance significantly. Because there are many different brake pad compounds, we've broken them down into four different categories: Street Mild, Street Performance, Intermediate and Track Only.
In most cases, we highly recommend changing your brake rotors when you change your brake pads. There are instances where you can re-use your existing brake rotors, but we recommend having a professional inspect your rotors before reusing them.
Mild Street Brake Pads
These are a slight upgrade over your factory equipped brake pads. Most of the pads in this category feature a ceramic compound. Ceramic based pads typically have the added benefit of generating less dust than factory pads. Mild street pads are also typically completely quiet. Stopping distance is typically reduced by around 10-20% with most of these brake pads.
We recommend choosing brake pads in this category if you mostly drive your car from point A to point B, but would like a slight improvement in braking distance. We also recommend these pads for wheel enthusiasts that would prefer to not have to clean the brake dust off of their wheels as often. Mild Street brake pads typically do not require any heat to perform well. However, they also do not hold heat extremely well and are not recommended for use on a track.
Street Performance Brake Pads
These are a noticeable upgrade over your factory equipped brake pads. Most of the pads in this category feature a hybrid compound that allows for lower dust than factory pads. Street performance brake pads are usually fairly quiet unless it is exceptionally cold outside. Most of the pads in this category will reduce stopping distance by about 30-40%.
We recommend choosing Street Performance brake pads if you're the person that drives aggressively on the street. We especially recommend these brake pads for those that like to drive aggressively on a lot of twisty back-roads (isn't that what they were made for?).
Most Street Performance brake pads typically do not require a lot of heat to perform well but will require a small amount to fully utilize them. While they hold heat better than factory or even mild street pads, we do not recommend them for extensive use on a high speed track.
Intermediate Performance Brake Pads
These brake pads tend to be a favorite amongst autocross enthusiasts and people that enjoy a track day once or twice a year. Intermediate performance brake pads do tend to generate more brake dust than normal when used often, so we do not recommend them for use on show cars. They also tend to generate a lot of noise when they are cold, but some will quiet down once they have warmed up.
These pads will require a bit more heat in order to use them to their full potential, however, most of these pads have enough inital "bite" to operate while cold. Intermediate performance brake pads will typically hold heat well enough to use them extensively on a high speed track over a long period of time. Please remember that most brake pads will last for a track day or two (depending on how technical the course is) but will typically need to be replaced after.
Track Only Brake Pads
These brake pads are designed for one thing only: stopping as fast as possible. As a result, most track only brake pads are extremely abrasive to brake rotors and will require you to replace your brake rotors more often than normal. Track only brake pads also tend to be quite noisy, even once heat has been put into them. They will also generate a lot of brake dust, so be prepared to clean your wheels after a track day.
Track only brake pads will require a lot more heat in order for them to reach their maximum braking potenial. While they do require more heat transfer, they also hold up well to the extreme braking temperatures that you'll encounter while on a high speed track.
Brake Rotors
Brake rotors come in several different configurations, and all of them have slightly different effects on your braking performance.
Vented vs Solid
Brake rotors are typically designed as either vented or solid (non-vented). Vented rotors as their name suggests, feature vents between the braking surfaces in order to maximize cooling by pulling air through them. While they do run cooler than solid brake rotors, they are also typically heavier. Solid brake rotors on the other hand are lighter but tend to not dissapate heat as quickly as a vented rotor will.
Most MQB based Audis and VWs utilize vented brake rotors in the front and solid brake rotors in the rear. However, some models (such as the Golf R and Audi S3) utilize vented brake rotors in the front and the rear.
One Piece vs Two Piece
Most of the brake rotors that you will see for street use of the one piece or solid design. These brake rotors are cast as a single, one piece brake rotor. Because of their simple construction, one piece brake rotors are much cheaper to produce. However, one piece brake rotors are typically heavier and do not cool off as effectively as a two piece brake rotor.
Most two piece brake rotors feature a floating design wherein the braking surface is a separate rotor "ring" that is attached via specially designed hardware to the rotor "hat." This design allows for the use of a lighter center section and for better cooling through more ventilation. Because the rotor ring is truly floating, it allows the braking rotor ring section to expand or contract in any direction. This freedom makes floating rotors less susceptible to warping or cracking under extreme temperatures. However, since they are able to move freely, you may encounter some more noise. Fully floating brake rotors are typically found on track use vehicles. Some Audis such as the 8V RS3 and the 8S TTRS utilize a semi floating brake rotor wherein the rotor hat and brake rotor ring are two separate pieces but are solidly attached to each other. This semi-floating design still allows for better resistence to warping and cracking, but not as good as with a true floating rotor design. Semi-floating calipers are cheaper to produce than fully floating rotors, which is why they tend to be factory equipped on some cars as opposed to more expensive fully floating rotors.
Brake Lines
I want to improve the feel and response of my brakes
The factory equipped brake lines on MQB VW and Audi vehicles are rubber. While this is more cost effective and completely normal, it also has its downsides. Rubber lines will flex and stretch as the brake fluid is compressed into them. This is completely normal since pressure tends to find the path of least resistance. The best way to prevent this is to upgrade to stainless steel brake lines. Because they're encased in braided
Big Brake Kits
I want to completely change how my car stops
Brake Fluids
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