# Brake Question: has anybody upgraded to gli brakes? and was it worth it?



## whitefang (May 4, 2012)

Simple question: has any 2.5 upgraded to gli brakes? and was it worth it?

I am considering this upgrade on my jetta and feel this is something i can do myself.

From what i understand i would need:
Caliber carriers front and rear
carrier bolts front and rear
rear dust shields
rear axle bolts
front and rear rotors and pads from a gli!

Tools:
18mm triple square bit
14mm triple square bit
caliper reset tool
13mm open end wrench
16mm open end wrench
17mm deep socket
t30 torx socket
Breaker bar
Brake part cleaner
Brake anti-squeal past/can
Anti-Seize
Torque wrench 
Needle Nose vice grips 
Flat head screw driver
Floor jack 
Jack stand
(yes i copy and pasted some of this)

Also any opinions on ecs carriers vs oem vw

thanks for any input

did find this but looking for more detail:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4956973-MKV-2-5L-Brake-upgrade-question

and this:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...w-To-Rear-mk5-brake-pad-and-rotor-replacement


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## WhatNoGarnish (Jul 6, 2007)

I need to do my brakes and did similar research as you...

I came to the conclusion, because I eventually want f/r BBK on my Golf, to keep our stock size rotors. Biggest reason for me is weight. To me, the cost to upgrade (which isn't that much really, just some extra work) is not worth benefits in performance, Daily Driving or Track use. I think getting some Tyrolsport bushings and some nice pads with rotors would suffice. 

Also would like to hear some other feedback for whoever can prove me wrong.


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## HelloMyNameIs (Aug 2, 2011)

Did this one a long time ago. One of the first mods I did. Braking feel and braking distance feels pretty much the same. I got a sweet deal on the rotors and carriers from ECS at the time and wanted larger looking brakes to go with the wheels I was buying. So it worked for me. My Rabbit does not get tracked, just some spirited driving here and there.

Honestly, I think you would probably be better off with more aggressive pads than upgrading to the gti/gli rotors.

The install was very easy on the front. The rears were a little tricky from what I remember. There's one bolt on the rear carrier that is very tight and is in a location where it's difficult to get leverage. Overall easy job though if you can turn a wrench.


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## gugu1981 (Jul 25, 2011)

HelloMyNameIs said:


> The install was very easy on the front. The rears were a little tricky from what I remember. There's one bolt on the rear carrier that is very tight and is in a location where it's difficult to get leverage. Overall easy job though if you can turn a wrench.


i thought the rear brakes on the GTI and golf/rabbit are identical? the only difference is the front rotor size (and therefore carrier)? Even the front caliper is the same.


Peter


EDIT: oh, and the color... the gti/gli stuff is painted red


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## HelloMyNameIs (Aug 2, 2011)

gugu1981 said:


> i thought the rear brakes on the GTI and golf/rabbit are identical? the only difference is the front rotor size (and therefore carrier)? Even the front caliper is the same.
> 
> 
> Peter
> ...


Yep the calipers are definitely the same (minus color like you said) but the rotors are different in the front and rear. Rear is solid on both models though. 

I'm going by memory here but I thought it was...
GTI/GLI: F 312mm / R 286mm
Rabbit: F 288mm / R 260mm


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## gugu1981 (Jul 25, 2011)

HelloMyNameIs said:


> Yep the calipers are definitely the same (minus color like you said) but the rotors are different in the front and rear. Rear is solid on both models though.
> 
> I'm going by memory here but I thought it was...
> GTI/GLI: F 312mm / R 286mm
> Rabbit: F 288mm / R 260mm


just checked the ECS tuning website, apparently the golf, jetta, and gti rear have some variants

MK6 Golf/Jetta 2.5: Either 260mm or 272mm rear
MK6 GTI: either 272mm or 282mm rear
MK6 GLI: either 253mm or 272mm rear


MK5 Rabbit: 260mm rear
MK5 Jetta 2.5 (-2009): 260mm rear
MK5 Jetta 2.5 (2010): 272mm rear
MK5 GTI: 282mm rear



What a mess...... 

I bought a set of used mk5 GTI brakes. I guess that means I'll be installing the rears after all.



Peter


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## whitefang (May 4, 2012)

This car is my long haul driver, one thing i would like to improve is brake fade! especially when i have 200 kilos of crap in the trunk.
the rear brakes take a beating, after 50000km (30000 miles) they are toast.
the front brakes are not much better.
i am now running 225 50 r16 tires and find that the wider tires need to be matched
i can understand running smaller brakes with 195 65 r15
not expecting this upgrade to improve my 60-0 times by much, nor do i care about the extra weight. what i would like to do is get better mileage out of my brakes. if i can get an extra 10000km (6000 miles) i would be happy.

in theory I am thinking that the extra inch of rotor (extra weight) from the gti gli will also disperse the heat better in an emergency situation (moose, deer, humans on the road , etc) resulting in a better brake that will last a bit longer?

i also came across this thread and find this interesting as well:

http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51382


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