# Tired of fading brakes on my Passat B5.5, found a "different" solution



## Dubveiser (Aug 4, 2005)

One of the biggest weak areas of my Passat have always been the brakes. The front brakes use the same size discs, caliper and pads as a MK4 1.8T / VR6 except the Passat weights considerably more. 
The brake fade is so considerable that just one really hard stop from 140kmh would completely kill the pads. They would go dead before the car even came to a stop. I switched to HAWK HPS pads, but it wasn't exactly an upgrade. Heat resistance went way up, the pads were phenomenal once heated up, but for daily driving they offered no initial bite, which was a problem since 90% of the time I drive in the city and pads with good bite are quite usefull. 
Only one solution was left, bigger brakes. Having tried some aftermarket brake kits on different cars that I wasn't satisfied with, I decided that it had to be OEM.
I didn't like most of the options. B5/B6/B7 S4 brakes meant having to swap out the spindles. BBK from ECS are 1500$ USD and up for anything that's worth it.
We had some MK4 R32 calipers, an Audi B5 spindle and various discs lying around. I've been searching around for weeks and found that nobody has ever tried MK4 R32 calipers on a Passat B5 or Audi A4 B5. It turns out the calipers bolt right up to the spindle. With the right disc (321mm Audi S4 B5) this setup is a bolt on OEM dual piston upgrade for these cars. There is a downside however. The discs being smaller than the R32 by 13mm means the pads don't entirely cover the area of the disc, they stick out about 2-3mm out the top. It will work fine but I understand why companies like ECS tuning haven't really created a kit since it's not a 100% perfect fitment. 
I ordered some Pagid brake pads, cross-drilled Zimmerman rotors, so I'm going to try the setup out in the spring when my car comes out of storage. I'll let you guys know how it goes. It may be a more cost effective upgrade for us B5 guys.
Comparison pics:
Some comparison pics of stock B5.5 Passat 1.8T brakes vs hybrid setup:
Left MK4 R32 brake pad vs right Passat B5.5 1.8T pad








Left Audi B5 S4 321mm brake disc vs right Passat B5.5 288M disc








Left MK4 R32 calipers vs G60 calipers (didn't have B5 in stock, but about the same size)


----------



## ps2375 (Aug 13, 2003)

*Re: Tired of fading brakes on my Passat B5.5, found a "different" solution (Dubveiser)*

Did you check into the W8 Passat brake setup? I'm pretty sure they're bigger than the normal passat brakes.


----------



## Dubveiser (Aug 4, 2005)

*Re: Tired of fading brakes on my Passat B5.5, found a "different" solution (ps2375)*

The W8 brakes are the same as B5 S4, which require swapping out the steel spindles for the aluminium ones from B5 S4, or all B6 and B7's.


----------



## ps2375 (Aug 13, 2003)

*Re: Tired of fading brakes on my Passat B5.5, found a "different" solution (Dubveiser)*

That I didn't know about the spindles. 
How many times are you doing panic stops from 140kph(87mph), that really shouldn't be that hard on the brakes?
The other thing youo might consider, is when was the last time the brake fluid was flushed and have you considered a higher performing fluid?


_Modified by ps2375 at 1:04 PM 1-27-2010_


----------

