312mm and 288mm front brake pad size anyone ?.

[gasketface]

Hi all.

Iv'e been looikng into doing a conversion to the 312 set up from my 288 std set up.I just got to "choosing pads" and on Ebay they are listing 288 and 312 as the same pads as far as i can tell.

That leaves me wondering what the point is ?.If pads are same size then the contact area will be the same,the only improvement will be circumference which ai'nt gonna make a whole lot of difference to my mind.

Am i missing something here 

[chris_d66]

I did this on my A4 you only need the discs and carriers if ATE (not the callipers) so the pads are the same size it did improve the brake effort but in the wet before fitting bigger shields the brakes needed more effort.
Just remember also that you can not go up to 312mm and use 15 inch wheels min 16 inch depending which carriers you use you may need to space them away from the hub.
I did reuse the Audi/vw original pads on both 288 and 312 and the difference in the dry was worth it now I am using EBC red stuff which again improved it even more. I wouldn't bother with drilled or grooved discs just a set of standard 312 mintex, ate or pagid unless your using your Golf for track days.

I am not sure about the lucas/girling set up only the above info is for ATE front brakes.

[Foreveryoungaus16v]

 Unless your car is putting out big power eg 1.8t etc 288 is perfectly fine. Just use good front pads.

[thai-wronghorse]

I contemplated fitting 312mm brakes on my 16v and even bought the carriers but after more and more reading I didn't bother in the end as I was never going to be running mega BHP and didn't particularly want to add more unsprung weight to the front end for negligible gain.

[chris_d66]

On both my 8v and 16v golfs the 288 brakes are good and with a decent set of pads never really experienced any brake fade or had a reason to change except to fill the void between wheels and discs,
My A4 however needed bigger brakes hence the cheap conversion. but with 312 discs and 288 shields in the wet they were worse than the 288's disc set up and as I said before need more effort.
If you could take a mk1 TT for a spin you would experience the difference and then decide if it was worth while or not.

[gasketface]

Thanks for all your replies.Not really an upgrade then so i'll stick with the std ones 

[boneybradley]

I will answer this, If you use mk3 calipers use mk3 288 pads
(the Mk4 288 & 312 do use the same pad)

If your not sorted for pads I can do Ferodo from £23 - £33 (std or premium) and delphi for £25 (all in stock) post is £5 unless you spend £50+ then it's free (b.t.w delphi discs and pads are £72.90 delivered)

[thai-wronghorse]

Am I right in saying the only difference between the mk3 and mk4 288mm/312mm pads is the wear indicator?..which can obviously be cut off anyway.

[boneybradley]

yes all the same and about £5 difference in cost
(early mk4 uses mk3 pads at 288mm)