41,000 Miles and time For Brakes!

Yep, time for a good upgrade. I bought my rotors and pads from IRP and they had the best pricing for the cross drilled Zimmerman's. They also carried Pagib pads that I could not get local.

All together I spent under $210 and installed them myself (fronts)

Those rear brakes do take a heavy load<---------I said load

the axxis deluxe plus pads are a good replacement for the OE's.

Where to buy?

Where can I buy them from?

It is common for the rear OE pads to wear down more quickly than the front. There some nice rotors for being sold with S_Klass's help in the Group Buy Forum.

I 2nd the recommendation to S_Klass' Rotor Group Buy! You can purchase PBR/Axxis Deluxe Plus pads from Import Replacement Parts and Zeckhausen Racing! Both are excellent vendors, but I tend to lean towards David Zeckhausen because he's in New Jersey and the shipping is cheaper.

Another good rotor set is Ate's Powerdiscs up front and some plain faced rotors in the back. ECS Tuning is another great place for braking components for our Passats.

Good luck!!

Axxis pads are good and will make a lot of difference. You could do the A8 front rotor thing but the caliper carriers are a significant cost. ECS Tuning plain discs are more expensive than others but they say they are plated and others are not. Be aware that slotted rotors vastly increase brake wear and dust production. Drilled rotors tend to promote uneven brake wear without producing significant improvements in day to day driving whilst raising the spectre of cracking. Drilled disks frequently crack round the holes. I like the look of the ATE PowerSlot discs and they have the added advantage that the slots are 1mm deep and double as wear indicators. ATE are also OEMs for VAG, my OEM A8 caliper carriers are ATE.

if slotted or drilled rotors cause brake wear to increase, and there isnt a good enough increase in performance than why buy them? Is it worth it?

I was planning on doing the work myself. never did it on a VW, but I did the brakes on my wifes old Nissan 200sx and an Altima.. do I need any special tools? I figured that if I did it and I was saving labor I could get new rotors for the same amount as what I would have paid for the labor.

I was thinking of the Zimmerman rotors but now I dont know.

thanks

nilesf

The Passat brakes are supposed to be relatively easy and there is a write up in the Information Forum. You will need a retraction tool for rear calipers. I think you can probably rent/borrow one from a automotive parts store.

extraction tool?

When I did the brakes on those other cars I use a C-Clamp and one of the old pads. I cant do that with the passat?

You can't just use a C-Clamp because the rear calipers are of a type that needs to be turned as it is retracted. Just rent the tool and you will be glad you did, makes it much easier, plus the tool rental is free at Autozone.

Slotted and drilled rotors come into their own in high performance driving, like road course racing. The slots clear water and other debris off the surface and the holes are supposed to provide a place for gasses to escape. The slots are also supposed to improve performance by making sure the surface of the pad stays 'fresh' by removing the old material.

If you aren't in a terrible hurry it should take a couple of hours to do all four corners. If you are then you could probably do it in just around an hour. The caliper reseting tool makes the whole job easier as, at least in the case of the one I have, you can also use it to reset the front calipers as it came with an adapter that fits the piston correctly.

perhaps

perhaps i am better off just buying the parts and taking them to STS or Pep boys or whoever?

Re: perhaps

NilesFerrier said:

perhaps i am better off just buying the parts and taking them to STS or Pep boys or whoever?

Click to expand...

I agree that buying the parts online is a smart move, but don't go to PEP-Boys! Only use a mechanic who truly knows VW/Audi's to do brakework on your car. Is Zeckhausen Racing near you??

Re: perhaps

The Swami said:

NilesFerrier said:

perhaps i am better off just buying the parts and taking them to STS or Pep boys or whoever?

Click to expand...

I agree that buying the parts online is a smart move, but don't go to PEP-Boys! Only use a mechanic who truly knows VW/Audi's to do brakework on your car. Is Zeckhausen Racing near you??

Click to expand...

Most places wont do it because you did not buy the parts from them

The whole procedure involves 20 wheel bolts and 8 on the brake calipers and carriers. The worst that is likely to occur is bleeding the brakes. Oh and those anti-rattle springs are a bit of a pain to put back on. DIY.

you don't necessarily need the retraction tool. It does help, but you can get the rear calipers to retract if you use a c-clamp and a pair of needle-nose pliers. you just have to turn with the pliers, clamp, turn, clamp, turn, clamp, turn, clamp, turn, clamp, turn, clamp, turn, clamp, etc.......... :weirdo:

I bought my parts from ECS tuning. They have lots of rotors and pads to choose from. I recommend them.

-Mark