MKV Brakes - a wee survey if you please !

[R32North]

Ok, still not happy with the feel from the brakes in the new car (2.0 TDI 4MO). So, to help me out a wee bit I'd like to enlist the help of some fellow MKV owners, preferably 2.0 TDi, but any MKV will add to the results.

Questions:

1) Do / did you when you got you car find the brakes feel a bit spongy?

2) How much pedal travel do you get (engine running)?

3) With the engine running, if you press the pedal, how far until you feel a proper resistance

4) Following from 3) above, if you continue to apply pressure (quite strong) does the pedal slowly go down further? say the same distance again.

5) Do the brakes get progresively better the harder you press, ie bite in more and continue to slow you down at a faster rate, say from 60mph?

Also, if you have any of your own abervatins about the braking, pedal feel, power of the brakes, etc please feel free to post.

As I said, I'm not impressed at the mo with what feels like a lack of braking power when braking hard from higher speeds, ie 50mph+ (at low speeds they seem quite good)

Thannks

[RedRobin]

On Mk5 GTI MY06 spec:

1) - Definitely spongy but only before setting off in motion but this doesn't bother me.

2), 3), 4) - I'll have to check specifically and get back to you.

5) - Yes, the brakes are very progressive and very comfortably smooth.

The problem I have had is when driving hard with strong brake use over a few miles, the brakes can fade! This is on road and not track.

[R32North]

[ QUOTE ]

On Mk5 GTI MY06 spec:

1) - Definitely spongy but only before setting off in motion but this doesn't bother me.

2), 3), 4) - I'll have to check specifically and get back to you.

5) - Yes, the brakes are very progressive and very comfortably smooth.

The problem I have had is when driving hard with strong brake use over a few miles, the brakes can fade! This is on road and not track.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmmm,

1) Aye, but I'm not used to this and my 134k / 13 yr old Audi has a more soild feel to the brakes with a mroe defined bite - and its not even vented disk on the front!!

5) I don't find mine to be progressive at all. Its like a constant slowing up, after reaching a certain amount of pressure, no matter how far I press the pedal.

I may that as I have smaller disks and more weight than the GTi that I find the brakes to be 'weak' what many would consider normal.

RR, I'd very much apprecaite your input into 2,3 and 4 !

Thanks

[RedRobin]

1) - Just to be sure we are talking about the same aspect: Mine ONLY feels spongy before engaging gear (DSG). It's necessary to use foot brake to allow any use of DSG after ignition. There's no problem with it being spongy before driving off.

I don't consciously think about how my brakes are....I like their progressive smoothness and emergency braking from any speed is awesome. It's just the fading when used a lot. I'm a driver who is normally very light on brake use except when driving particularly hard.

[rs32]

1) spongy pedal might just be down to the over-servoed nature of VAG brakes - it's a common trait IIRC.

do you get a microswitch "click" when the pedal is fully down ?

the brakes are excellent on the .:R, no doubt helped by the assistance system (HBA).

having just had the suspension sorted, the stoppers feel even better and can take the performance improvements so far.

[R32North]

[ QUOTE ]

1) spongy pedal might just be down to the over-servoed nature of VAG brakes - it's a common trait IIRC.

do you get a microswitch "click" when the pedal is fully down ?

the brakes are excellent on the .:R, no doubt helped by the assistance system (HBA).

having just had the suspension sorted, the stoppers feel even better and can take the performance improvements so far.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thing is I've had lots of VAG cars: GTi, 80 Quattro, A3T, R32, 80 TDi, vRS and none of them had this spongy, lack of bite / feel to them.

I'm going to pop into VW tomorrow and have a wee sit in another 2.0 TDi and feel what the spongyness and pedal travel are like.

Under normal driving they feel fine, but even without any hard driving to introduce fade, them seem less than adequate (don't feel as good as my solid-disked 13yr old 80 TDi) when braking hard from high speed.

As with all 'normal' brakes I'd expect fade to start to show if I'd been hooing about for a bit using the brakes quite hard for a period of time, say 1/2 hour, but not when the brakes are at normal working temp!

Other than that, the car is still really good to drive and a nice place to be

[R32North]

OK, so had a chat with senior tech at VW. Apparently the MKV and newer versions of VAG cars have a new and different type of ABS / Barking system, which results in the brakes having a spongy feel and alo being quite soft even if you psuh hard on them when at stand still.

Suffice to say I won't go into the technicqal detals, but it all based on vales, car moving or not, how hard and fast you press the pedla etc etc etc.

Anyway, I still feel like I need to 'worry' about them as its like they're broke IMO, but hey VW man says its all good so we'll have to take his word for it (plus I've dealt with him before and he is very good to talk to).