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I'm looking to upgrade my brake rotors and calipers on my 2001 TT. Does anyone have any suggestions on some good options?
It's a daily driver I commute with 1.5 hours of driving every day through lots of back roads with curves. I have stock brakes on it now and don't need the best for racing. I just want to upgrade to something a little nicer without spending a ton. Maybe slotted/drilled rotors with a nicer caliper. I don't want to have to get bigger wheels/tires or modify other parts to fit bigger calipers.
Just upgrading pads will give you a very noticeable improvement. Every time I've worn out my pads I've also replaced the rotors with cross-drilled for the look. I don't think they improve braking that much. Zimmerman is the OEM supplier for TT rotors and they offer a cross-drilled for the Mk 1. I've been very impressed with EBC red pads. Virtually no dust, much greater initial bite, no fade, and no noise. EBC also offers slotted or cross-drilled rotors. I've used both Zimmerman and EBC rotors in the past with no issues. Get the best EBC price on Amazon and then call EBC and they will match it so you will be sure you are not buying knock-off parts. IMO, changing calipers is expensive and unnecessary but most folks like the Big Brake kit.
I have Porsche Boxster (986) Brembo calipers on my 2001 coupe. Adapters for these are available from various sources. This set keeps the OEM 312mm rotors. The gain in braking is not huge but they do give you a firmer pedal due to decreased caliper flex. In really aggressive driving the key to avoiding fade is as Larry stated, good high performance pads. I use Centric Semi Metallic for street and Carbotech XP12 for track. Both are dusty however and the Carbotechs are noisy. Slotted or drilled rotors offer little performance gain if any. I run a quality plain rotor as they are less subject to cracking in track use. Drilled does look cool however and you’ll never crack a rotor on the street. This photo of my calipers is with new Centric (Stoptech) rotors. I should have refreshed the caliper paint as these have seen hard track use but I was lazy.
Last thing. Keep fresh DOT4 fluid. If you don’t the fluid absorbs moisture and the boiling point decreases. Fluid fade is far worse than pad fade. Brakes can be there in one corner then gone with pedal to the floor in the next.
Also look into the Stoptech ST40. They fit the OE 17" wheels. These will give you great pedal modulation and will greatly improve heat dissipation with the larger 2 piece rotors. Not only that you will loose unsprung weight with the lighter 2 piece rotors further helping in handling, braking and acceleration.
I have a used set of Stoptech ST40 big brake kit with 2 piece 328 mm floating rotors for sale if you're interested. I also have a new in box set of the power slot vented rear rotors and new Ferodo DS2500 if you're interested in upgrading all 4 corners.
Last edited by MaD MaTTer; 03-11-2020 at 11:31 AM.
03-05-2020, 07:57 PM
Brake Upgrade Options for 2001 TT
