re: GTV brakes

[Dana Loomis <dloomis@domain.elided>]

>The situation: the brake master cylinder feels softie, and pedals need
>pumping to firm up, rotors have a *healthy* lip in the edges, so probably
>rotors have to be either machined or changed, good time to change pads.  If
>the m/c is ok and just needs new fluid and flushing I'll keep it, but if it
>has to go, now the question:
>Can I upgrade the brake system to a beefier one, since I plan to increase HP
>in the engine?  To keep the same bolt pattern (4x 108 ?) and 14" rims, is
>there a better rotor/caliper/pads/ m/c combination that would be worth the
>money, or should I stay stock?  It would be foolish to have a 170 HP engine
>installed (now I'm dreaming) and *then* worry about better brakes.  By the
>way, I'm a mechanic as far as changing light bulbs and waxing the car,
>adding oil.  

Bleeding the system and/or fresh brake fluid may fix the problem, but if
not you'll probably need to replace the master cylinder or some calipers.
Rotors are cheap, so  it's best to get new ones if the old ones are bad,
rather than machine them.  

You'll get lots of recommendations about "improving" the braking system
with cross-drilled rotors, GTV6 calipers, VW bus calipers, and more, but in
my opinion the stock rotors and calipers are perfectly adequate, even with
horsepower enhancements.  If you think you need more brakes, the first step
is to try better pads.  For a street car, I'd suggest Performance Friction
Products Z-rated street pad.

Dana Loomis
71 1750 GTV
72 2000 GTV

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