16v Rear disks on a 8V

[drew@scirocco.cs.uoguelph.ca (Drew MacPherson)]

Rear discs have their pros and cons, but if you plan on driving your car 
in snow/salt/slush then you'll probably want to stay clear of them.  Under 
these conditions rotors wear quickly and calipers are prone to siezing.

As far as ease of maintenance goes, a good rear drum brake job will easily
last 100,000km or more, so at the frequency that work on rear brakes is
required, I don't mind a little extra effort for replacing shoes over
pads.

Drop by a VW shop and ask them how many rear disc brake jobs they do vs.  
rear drum.  In our climate A3 and A4 cars with rear discs are in every
12-24 months for siezed/dragging calipers.  A1 and A2 owners with rear
discs can't afford to go to the dealer for service... :)

Having said that, the look cool factor is definitely there, and if they're 
installed correctly and working reliably the stopping will be improved as 
well.

Drew



On Wed, 8 Jan 2003, Jorel Jackson wrote:

> --- William <drizzet@techography.net> wrote:
> > Hay i'm thinking of puting on a set of 16v rear disk
> > breaks on my 85 8v.  Now the questions are:  is it
> > worth it, what are the pors and cons, and what all
> > is involved/needed to do this mod.  
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Thank you 
> > 
> > 
> > William F.
> > 
> Ease of maintainance is the big thing. The 16V brakes
> give you greater stopping power. So if you want more
> powerful brakes, do it. The only advantage I've ever
> seen for drum brakes is they are supposedly more
> reliable after you go through mud and water. I was
> going to put some 16V rears on my '85 before I sold it
> to an Audi mechanic. Definately this is somthing worth
> doing... 
> 
> Jorel Jackson