New brakes (& calipers) whats best bet?

[boneybradley]

As I have a sticky front caliper I am looking at swapping the front end brakes, I am wondering what experiences people have as I will possibly do the calipers, discs, pads and hoses.

I have looked at a few options
1. replace like for like 288mm discs std or uprated (new or recon parts)
2. fit mk4 (ideally 312mm) set up (312 if they will fit under my 16's?)
3. rebuild the o.e calipers (luckily vw sell the full kit) with either uprated or std disc set up

I am looking at the mk4 rear set up with the conversion hoses already as I know this is a good and easy change

anyone have any tips etc

[Khare]

I'm going down the 312mm route as soon as I find a cheap pair of carriers. They're going for £150+ on ebay, so I need to get down the scrapyard instead.

They should fit under most 16" wheels, split rims sometimes catch though. Remember you'll need 6mm spacers and longer bolts if going 312mm setup, but regardless you'll need to sort out the sticky caliper. So if I were you I'd go for option 2 and 3 or 1 and 2 depending on cost of rebuilding your own caliper.

[VW BUSH]

I have ford rear calipers which have a weight on them, these have never stuck or rubbed since fitting.
Identical to VW item in every other way, I will try and get the lucas number....

Remember that just sticking on bigger discs and pads does not increase breaking performance in all area's
You may take longer to heat up the disc and pads but you lose out on contact pressure, master cylinder upgrade and balanced hydraulic lines are a must to get better braking out of a bigger set up.
I would go for new 288 calipers, good pads and some ATE grooved discs, more than enough for a Mk3.

[Foreveryoungaus16v]

Black Diamond grooved discs and either Mintex M1155 /Ferodo DS2500 pads are meant to be good I hear.

Grooved not drilled as they crack.