Brake Pads 2003 Jetta 1.8

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Hello everyone,

The pad light came on today and I figured I should buy a new set of pads promptly. I want performance and do not care about brake dust so I assume semi metallic is the correct choice. I was wondering if anyone had any recs or knew of any deals? 90% city driving and I like to drive fast. I looked on rock auto but the choices were overwhelming.

Thanks.
 
Look for ATE, Pagid, Textar, Jurid, Mintex. Rock, Ecs, FCP and others usually carry some them.
Running Pagid right now. good pads.
 
EBC Ultimax pads and Premium rotors are a good combination. Autoanything has the best price on EBC
smile.gif


As far as Rock Auto goes, they have most of the brands Trav mentioned. Another good choice is Raybestos ELemtn3 EHT. Pair them with Wagner's E-coated rotors
 
Either dealer pads or some aftermarket German pad (but avoid Mintex and textar).

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog


As far as Rock Auto goes, they have most of the brands Trav mentioned. Another good choice is Raybestos ELemtn3 EHT. Pair them with Wagner's E-coated rotors


It’s a German car, don’t put those kinds of parts on there.
 
I'd stick to one of the German brands - ATE, Pagid, Textar, Jurid. Wagner's QS series are made in England or Spain for European applications, but since Federal-Mogul did buy out Jurid from Honeywell a few years ago there is a good chance Jurid could be in a Wagner Euro app besides Ferodo.
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Either dealer pads or some aftermarket German pad (but avoid Mintex and textar).

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog


As far as Rock Auto goes, they have most of the brands Trav mentioned. Another good choice is Raybestos ELemtn3 EHT. Pair them with Wagner's E-coated rotors


It’s a German car, don’t put those kinds of parts on there.


Can you explain in detail why you dislike Textar and why you say to avoid the hybrid EHT pads from Raybestos?
 
Forget composition, look for GG friction ratings.
Pagid and ATE are trustworthy brands but the measured friction rating is the most important part of a brake pad so buy based on the spec, not the company or the co position.

GG pads are the way forward.
 
Originally Posted By: FowVay
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Either dealer pads or some aftermarket German pad (but avoid Mintex and textar).

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog


As far as Rock Auto goes, they have most of the brands Trav mentioned. Another good choice is Raybestos ELemtn3 EHT. Pair them with Wagner's E-coated rotors


It’s a German car, don’t put those kinds of parts on there.


Can you explain in detail why you dislike Textar and why you say to avoid the hybrid EHT pads from Raybestos?


Textar, Mintex and Pagid are all owned by TMD in Germany. I would like to know what the problem is too, after using them for over 30 years with no issues, I cant think of any reason to avoid them.
I did a Jetta a couple of years ago with Pagid high carbon coated rotors all round, Pagid pads in the rear and Textar up front and they have been excellent.

The Rotors are Chinese but it was a budget job on a 14 yr old car. They have been surprisingly good, very little rust or wear and have remained true, that's pretty darn good for 2 New England winters.
The pads are great, no noise, good stopping performance and not much dust. I did a Golf with Zimmerman rotors and ATE pads that cost considerably more and honestly cant tell the difference.
 
Originally Posted By: FowVay
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Either dealer pads or some aftermarket German pad (but avoid Mintex and textar).

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog


As far as Rock Auto goes, they have most of the brands Trav mentioned. Another good choice is Raybestos ELemtn3 EHT. Pair them with Wagner's E-coated rotors


It’s a German car, don’t put those kinds of parts on there.


Can you explain in detail why you dislike Textar and why you say to avoid the hybrid EHT pads from Raybestos?


Textar aftermarket pads have been a bit noisy, at least in the few applications I have used them on. Couple folks on iATN have also mentioned the same. I think it is application dependent though. Textar pads are sometimes missing the adhesive shims that the OE (or even other aftermarket pads) have, which can be important for noise control. Keep in mind that due to regulations for copper free brake pads, many pad makers have slowly started to phase out copper in their pads. Most pad formulations today are different from what they were 2-3 years ago.

Euro cars from that era use abrasive friction, not adhesive friction. This means they use an aggressive compound with softer rotors to produce the stopping characteristics that they are famous for. Raybestos EHT pads are a mix of NAO (ceramic) and semi metallic compound, which is more representative of a pad that is used in a brake system designed for adhesive friction. Most Asian and domestic vehicles have brake systems designed around adhesive friction. Installing pads designed for use in an adhesive friction brake system can sometimes be problematic. Poor brake pedal feel and brake pulsation (from pad deposits) can be a problem.
 
Both Trav and The Critic posting in my thread! You do me too much honor, gentlemen.

I was looking at the Akebonos as they are a BITOG favorite, but they are highly priced and ceramic.
If I am going to be spending that much on pads, I would rather a high end semi-metallic pad as the PO
of my car already semi-trashed my wheels and I wash my car every week when the weather is nice.

The Critic, thanks for the lesson on abrasive v adhesive friction. I had no idea about those concepts.

I originally wanted to go for some cool aftermarket pad like an EBC but I may just go with the German aftermarket pads
upon reading the thread.

Thanks for the recs!
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic

Raybestos EHT pads are a mix of NAO (ceramic) and semi metallic compound, which is more representative of a pad that is used in a brake system designed for adhesive friction. Most Asian and domestic vehicles have brake systems designed around adhesive friction. Installing pads designed for use in an adhesive friction brake system can sometimes be problematic. Poor brake pedal feel and brake pulsation (from pad deposits) can be a problem.


NAO is non-asbestos organic. NAO is NOT ceramic by any stretch.

I do use the EHT's on my BMW and they do not have the initial bite that the European rated, TÜV approved pads have and I won't use them again in this application.

Thanks for your explanation.
 
Jetta, Golf and Beetles have a habit of developing front brake squeal on the last few feet of a stop regardless of shims or not.
I use this, you don't need much just some in the piston contact area and a small amount where the outer pad contact the caliper frame.

This is available almost everywhere, Permatex has a blue version in a spray can or liquid packets, its a poly membrane like the CRC. Unlike the red spray can it will glue the shim to the caliper or piston and loosen it from the pad.
A word about doing the brakes on these cars you may already know but for others..

Make sure the caliper is fully seated then use the 7mm allen socket to start the pin bolts by hand, make sure they are threading before using a ratchet.
The threads are in the steering knuckle and not very strong, they are very easily stripped. They require a 9 x 1.25 mm thread insert 10 mm long. This is not a common size. I have done quite a few brake jobs on these where a previously installed long helicoil has come out with the pin. I keep a stock of the correct ones and real solid inserts just in case.

If it had a helicoil a correct length one must be used, the threaded solid insert has different external threads.
Tighten it to spec or just tight if no torque wrench, do not over tighten, even if it doesn't strip this time you can weaken the threads and the next time it may strip.




Apply it like this.



Not like this.




https://www.amazon.com/CRC-Disc-Brake-Quiet-05016/dp/B000CINV88
 
Originally Posted By: Olas
Forget composition, look for GG friction ratings.
Pagid and ATE are trustworthy brands but the measured friction rating is the most important part of a brake pad so buy based on the spec, not the company or the co position.

GG pads are the way forward.


Isn’t FF actually better than GG?

Also just so you know, each company labels their friction rating for each pad themselves. Each line of pads isn’t tested and verified by anybody first. It’s like treadwear ratings in tires, it can mean different things coming from different brands and doesn’t really mean much because of that.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Jetta, Golf and Beetles have a habit of developing front brake squeal on the last few feet of a stop regardless of shims or not.
I use this, you don't need much just some in the piston contact area and a small amount where the outer pad contact the caliper frame.

This is available almost everywhere, Permatex has a blue version in a spray can or liquid packets, its a poly membrane like the CRC. Unlike the red spray can it will glue the shim to the caliper or piston and loosen it from the pad.
A word about doing the brakes on these cars you may already know but for others..

Make sure the caliper is fully seated then use the 7mm allen socket to start the pin bolts by hand, make sure they are threading before using a ratchet.
The threads are in the steering knuckle and not very strong, they are very easily stripped. They require a 9 x 1.25 mm thread insert 10 mm long. This is not a common size. I have done quite a few brake jobs on these where a previously installed long helicoil has come out with the pin. I keep a stock of the correct ones and real solid inserts just in case.

If it had a helicoil a correct length one must be used, the threaded solid insert has different external threads.
Tighten it to spec or just tight if no torque wrench, do not over tighten, even if it doesn't strip this time you can weaken the threads and the next time it may strip.




Apply it like this.



Not like this.




https://www.amazon.com/CRC-Disc-Brake-Quiet-05016/dp/B000CINV88



Thanks for the tip. I was always extra careful not to strip the hex heads, but I'll use my torque wrench when I tighten them next time. You wouldn't happen to know the torque spec, would you?
 
Originally Posted By: Trav


Textar, Mintex and Pagid are all owned by TMD in Germany. I would like to know what the problem is too, after using them for over 30 years with no issues, I cant think of any reason to avoid them.
I did a Jetta a couple of years ago with Pagid high carbon coated rotors all round, Pagid pads in the rear and Textar up front and they have been excellent.

The Rotors are Chinese but it was a budget job on a 14 yr old car. They have been surprisingly good, very little rust or wear and have remained true, that's pretty darn good for 2 New England winters.
The pads are great, no noise, good stopping performance and not much dust. I did a Golf with Zimmerman rotors and ATE pads that cost considerably more and honestly cant tell the difference.


The only reason to use Mintex, and the most common pad used is the "red box" is low dust. Their friction characteristics are a downgrade from the factory ATE, TRW (my old Mk4 had TRW), etc ones.

Pagid Carbon ones have awesome bite, but they dust worse than the factory rear pads (never used their OE replacement though).
 
Does Beck/Arnley have a part for your car? Sometimes they buy from an OE supplier and then write their name on the replacement part. The front brake pads on my Mitsubishi Lancer were made that way.
 
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