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A - C / Re: Brakes (front)
Many thanks to OP for the detailed guide. I was looking up the black diamond page and it states that from 88 onwards, 8v GTI seem to have 256mm discs. Is this an error? Link attached here: http://www.blackdiamondperformance.com/brakes_volkswagen.htm
Yes this is 100% an error.
The only thing that changed on later spec 8v is the hole in the steering knuckle was made larger to take a larger bottom ball joint. It think it went from 17 to 19mm diameter.
The caliper bracket on ALL 8v GTIs is in integral part of the steering knuckle and all have 239mm discs.
There is a misconception that later 8v had the same 16v brake set up. Where the caliper carrier is a separate part that bolts onto the steering knuckle. I have no idea where this came from, it's just plain hearsay.
It's because of this separate carrier that the 16v hubs are so versatile and can be used with larger brakes but bolting on the carrier with a different offset to move the calliper outwards.
Thank you very much Eddy for the explanation and added insight on the larger bottom ball joint!