I have recenty picked up a mk1 polo here in the States. The first thing I would like to address is the brakes. Honestly they scare me. I know there are tons of topics about brake upgrades, I searched for the last hour. I did not come up with a clear answer on the best upgrade for the mk1 brakes. The other thing to keep in mind is that I don't have access to any polo parts over here. I will have to use golf parts for any upgrade. I am willing to upgrade anything and everything to make these better.

Sorry again if this is beating a dead horse, but polos are brand new to me and there is very little info or knowledge base over here. I am very familiar with other VWs though. Thanks for any help.

Devin

I have recenty picked up a mk1 polo here in the States. The first thing I would like to address is the brakes. Honestly they scare me. I know there are tons of topics about brake upgrades, I searched for the last hour. I did not come up with a clear answer on the best upgrade for the mk1 brakes. The other thing to keep in mind is that I don't have access to any polo parts over here. I will have to use golf parts for any upgrade. I am willing to upgrade anything and everything to make these better.

Sorry again if this is beating a dead horse, but polos are brand new to me and there is very little info or knowledge base over here. I am very familiar with other VWs though. Thanks for any help.

Devin

No problem Devin.

Dependant on wheel size there are a couple of options for retro-fit OEM front calipers.

If you plan on running "small" wheels e.g. 13", then look out a pair of "VWII Calipers" (and carriers too if you can, these are seperate to the hub) which are effectively 239mm vented discs.

These are found on Scirroco's and MK1 Golfs/Rabbits (8v).

Or.. 256mm calipers as found on 16v MK2 Golfs. However i am uncertain whether these retro fit the VWII carriers as the MK2 Golfs tend to have the carriers built into the bearing housings. (At least on the 239mm type).

However if you choose to pursue larger Rotors then you will run into difficulties with wheel clearance. I have seen 13" wheels over 256mm Rotors.. but it was fag paper territory

Another option worth considering is to order a Braided brake line kit, which will firm up the feel. If there are no options in the U.S. then check out uk ebay for a set of Goodridge Hoses or contact Pitstop developments in their section on the forum, they should be able to sort you out.

I have recenty picked up a mk1 polo here in the States. The first thing I would like to address is the brakes. Honestly they scare me. I know there are tons of topics about brake upgrades, I searched for the last hour. I did not come up with a clear answer on the best upgrade for the mk1 brakes. The other thing to keep in mind is that I don't have access to any polo parts over here. I will have to use golf parts for any upgrade. I am willing to upgrade anything and everything to make these better.

Sorry again if this is beating a dead horse, but polos are brand new to me and there is very little info or knowledge base over here. I am very familiar with other VWs though. Thanks for any help.

Devin

No problem Devin.

Dependant on wheel size there are a couple of options for retro-fit OEM front calipers.

If you plan on running "small" wheels e.g. 13", then look out a pair of "VWII Calipers" (and carriers too if you can, these are seperate to the hub) which are effectively 239mm vented discs.

These are found on Scirroco's and MK1 Golfs/Rabbits (8v).

Or.. 256mm calipers as found on 16v MK2 Golfs. However i am uncertain whether these retro fit the VWII carriers as the MK2 Golfs tend to have the carriers built into the bearing housings. (At least on the 239mm type).

However if you choose to pursue larger Rotors then you will run into difficulties with wheel clearance. I have seen 13" wheels over 256mm Rotors.. but it was fag paper territory

Another option worth considering is to order a Braided brake line kit, which will firm up the feel. If there are no options in the U.S. then check out uk ebay for a set of Goodridge Hoses or contact Pitstop developments in their section on the forum, they should be able to sort you out.

So basically they need a seperate carrier and not one that is part of the hub? I have a set of mk3 2L front brakes laying in my garage. They would be 256mm. The calipers don't have a VWII marking on them though. Any idea if they would work? Otherwise I will take a trip to the junkyard and find a set of VWII stamped calipers and carriers. I also have a 22mm master cylinder here, will that bolt up? One last question. Do the rear drums share parts with the golfs or are they polo specific? Thanks for all the info so far.

So basically they need a seperate carrier and not one that is part of the hub? I have a set of mk3 2L front brakes laying in my garage. They would be 256mm. The calipers don't have a VWII marking on them though. Any idea if they would work? Otherwise I will take a trip to the junkyard and find a set of VWII stamped calipers and carriers. I also have a 22mm master cylinder here, will that bolt up? One last question. Do the rear drums share parts with the golfs or are they polo specific? Thanks for all the info so far.

Correct, as the golfs have a seperate hub, where as this is built into the polo sus legs (making it an arse to get coilover suspesion!).

As for the 2L brakes i am uncertain... do you have seperate carriers for them?

Again i am unsure on the master cylinder and rear drums.

Andy

P.S. Get a piccy of your MK1 up

VWII 239mm disks + calipers would be a good place to start. They were fitted to the Mk3 Polo G40 and are the pick of the Polo brakes...still not amazing...but def. an improvement over the other models. The fact they use vented disks is prob. the reason they are so much better. Certainly the easiest choice if you want to keep 13" wheels on the car...and 13's on a Mk1 are a must have?

Some goodridge braided hoses apprently go a long way to making them feel a lot better.

Not sure about the drums...but it is possible to use the rear disks off of certain Mk2 & Mk4 Golfs, no more annoying spring assemblies

Correct, as the golfs have a seperate hub, where as this is built into the polo sus legs (making it an arse to get coilover suspesion!).

As for the 2L brakes i am uncertain... do you have seperate carriers for them?

Again i am unsure on the master cylinder and rear drums.

Andy

P.S. Get a piccy of your MK1 up

I think to put the 2L brakes on I would need an adapter. They are girling 54 calipers, not VWII. I want to stay small enough to run 13" wheels. So the 2L brakes aren't really an option. With the rear disc conversion I have done this on Golfs before. Is it the same procedure for a Polo. What do I use for ebrake cables. Maybe cables from a mk1 GTI?

This is DeezUU's old car. He has my old golf now.

Edited 13 November, 200718 yr by devwin

I think to put the 2L brakes on I would need an adapter. They are girling 54 calipers, not VWII. I want to stay small enough to run 13" wheels. So the 2L brakes aren't really an option.

This is DeezUU's old car. He has my old golf now.

Sweet car When the previous owner had it was it sporting ATS Pepperpots? Looks familier..

Possibly my fave VAG colour

I have been told that you can run the VWII calipers (239mm vented type) on the existing VWI carriers.. however i have never offered them up, so can't be sure.

The carriers that go with the VWII calipers look like..

Sweet car When the previous owner had it was it sporting ATS Pepperpots? Looks familier..

Possibly my fave VAG colour

I have been told that you can run the VWII calipers (239mm vented type) on the existing VWI carriers.. however i have never offered them up, so can't be sure.

The carriers that go with the VWII calipers look like..

Thanks, the carrier pic clears everything up for me. I was just doing some research on the rears and I think maybe upgrading to 200mm rear drums for a mk3 golf will be the way to go. Easier for me to find parts over here and probably not nearly as complicated to do like a rear disc swap.

He did have pepperpots on it. He also had weller steelies which I have now. I am not sure if I am going to use those or come up with something to make it my own.

Thanks, the carrier pic clears everything up for me. I was just doing some research on the rears and I think maybe upgrading to 200mm rear drums for a mk3 golf will be the way to go. Easier for me to find parts over here and probably not nearly as complicated to do like a rear disc swap.

He did have pepperpots on it. He also had weller steelies which I have now. I am not sure if I am going to use those or come up with something to make it my own.

No probs. Mk3 Golf drums sound like a good plan. I have only heard bad things about doing rear disk conversions.. i.e. it's a lot of arsing around for very little gains. I would have thought 60-70% of your braking is done through the front brakes anyway.

Ooh i do like wide steels.. but you do have to make a car "yours".

What size and offsett are the wellers?

I don't know if its of any relevance but mk1s didn't come with brake servos where as mk3s did...

Thanks, the carrier pic clears everything up for me. I was just doing some research on the rears and I think maybe upgrading to 200mm rear drums for a mk3 golf will be the way to go. Easier for me to find parts over here and probably not nearly as complicated to do like a rear disc swap.

He did have pepperpots on it. He also had weller steelies which I have now. I am not sure if I am going to use those or come up with something to make it my own.

No probs. Mk3 Golf drums sound like a good plan. I have only heard bad things about doing rear disk conversions.. i.e. it's a lot of arsing around for very little gains. I would have thought 60-70% of your braking is done through the front brakes anyway.

Ooh i do like wide steels.. but you do have to make a car "yours".

What size and offsett are the wellers?

The wellers are 13x7 front and 13x8 rear. I believe the rears are ET0, not sure on the fronts.

I don't know if its of any relevance but mk1s didn't come with brake servos where as mk3s did...

Yeah, I think without the servo I will just have to push the pedal a little harder. Does anyone know if a servo from a US car is easily adaptable to the polo. My polo is left hand drive and I think that will make a differece for putting a servo on.

I don't know if its of any relevance but mk1s didn't come with brake servos where as mk3s did...

Yeah, I think without the servo I will just have to push the pedal a little harder. Does anyone know if a servo from a US car is easily adaptable to the polo. My polo is left hand drive and I think that will make a differece for putting a servo on.

Being L/H drive.. there is space for a servo.. the european mk2's came with them in. Not sure about mk1's though.

It's been said that the rear disk conversion (on a Mk3 Polo at least, much and such the same thing) is actually quicker/easier to do than changing and setting up need rear drums and pads. Not sure how true that is...if your not bothered by drums the standard items should be fine. They don't do much of the work anyway.

join us at www.wolfstopdevelopments.co.uk

UK mk1 polo club!

Your best bet to find the VWII 239mm vented disc front setup in the US, would be to locate someone breaking a Mk2 8v Scirocco. Even better would be to find someone breaking a Mk2 Scirocco GTX 16v. These have a bolt on 256mm vented setup that can be used on polos :grin:

I don't know if its of any relevance but mk1s didn't come with brake servos where as mk3s did...

Yeah, I think without the servo I will just have to push the pedal a little harder. Does anyone know if a servo from a US car is easily adaptable to the polo. My polo is left hand drive and I think that will make a differece for putting a servo on.

BRM made a conversion kit for fitting an Austin Metro (British POS car) to a Mk2 Polo, I'm unsure as to whether they would fit a Mk1.

They're also rarer than rocking horse crap.

Your best bet to find the VWII 239mm vented disc front setup in the US, would be to locate someone breaking a Mk2 8v Scirocco. Even better would be to find someone breaking a Mk2 Scirocco GTX 16v. These have a bolt on 256mm vented setup that can be used on polos :grin:

I have someone that is going to trade me a VWII 239mm setup from a mk2 jetta. I am going to give him a 256mm from a mk3 that I have laying around. If he falls through I have some other possibilities. I would like to stay at 239mm so I can run 13s.

Does anyone know if servos from any golfs will fit the polo? Also, my master cylinder has a 2 pin sensor on it. What is that for? None of our cars ever had a sensor on the MC.

Remember you will need to get some carriers form either a mk2 scirocco or mk1 golf/rabbit, if you get the VWII calipers from the Jetta. Is the 2 pin sensor on the M/C itself or the fluid bottle? If in the bottle lid, then its the brake fluid level sensor.

Remember you will need to get some carriers form either a mk2 scirocco or mk1 golf/rabbit, if you get the VWII calipers from the Jetta. Is the 2 pin sensor on the M/C itself or the fluid bottle? If in the bottle lid, then its the brake fluid level sensor.

It is on the MC itself.

That'll be the brake light switch. BTW, why do you want to add a servo? It won't make your brakes any more powerful - both my rally car and the GT'd Coupe S run non-servo'd, non vented TypeII 239mm brakes which are perfectly adequate with decent pads..

That'll be the brake light switch. BTW, why do you want to add a servo? It won't make your brakes any more powerful - both my rally car and the GT'd Coupe S run non-servo'd, non vented TypeII 239mm brakes which are perfectly adequate with decent pads..

I am more so just weighing out my options. I probably won't add a servo. I am just going to put vented VWII fronts on and 200mm rear drums on. I have a new 22mm MC laying around and I am wondering if I can use that. It doesn't have a spot for the brake switch though.

Not sure what difference the 22mm MC will make, but if you want to try it you can just add a T piece for the brake light switch.

Not sure what difference the 22mm MC will make, but if you want to try it you can just add a T piece for the brake light switch.

I may give that a try. It can't be any worse and I have it already. We will see. I have 2 lines on VWII setups right now. Just need to get one in my hands.

how many ports does your master cylinder have, if there is not enough to connect your brakes lines and brake switch you can easily add a t-piece and a couple of solid brake lines, simply route the t piece to the mc, have one inlet on the t piece to your brake switch and the other inlet to your exisitng brake lines

just be sure that when you do connect them back up you have two brake line circuits, one front left/rear right, and the other front right/rear left, otherwise your breaking will be all over teh shop...

your 256mm Lucas 54 setup can fit in two ways, either drill the carriers and make a simple bracket to reduce the spacing to 76mm for enable it to bolt onto your hub(or strut in think in polo cases) or you can get carriers from a old audis or a rocco 16v if you can find one hahahaha

I've just fitting mine to the car with drilled carriers and brackets, can provide you pics if needed...

also I've had to use t-pieces to connect my brake swtiches

you can just see one of the t pieces hiding

mind you you want to run 13 inch wheels so the smallest you can fit under is 247mm which come in the form of 4 pots which you wont be needing to fit on the car, so a set of 239mm vented discs, vwII calipers/carriers and some braided hoses should suffice...

good luck and hopefully your polo shall be scary to drive and brake in no longer

loved that car when deejuu (or however his name was spelt owned it) you got a cracker :)