Burley v Small Car FRONT bigger brake comparo?

[Vnyd Dog]

Is there one? I only found a thread on the rears. If not, can anyone provide thoughts, experiences etc on their strengths and weaknesses?
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'87 Westy 1.8T Conversion, Orignal Owner, European Delivery @ Westfalia factory in Weidenbrueck.
The Story:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=713391&highlight=life

[ThankYouJerry]

Might as well throw GoWesty into the comparison:
http://www.gowesty.com/product-details.php?v=&id=23870
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1990 Multivan - "Ohana"
1.8T, Auto w/3.27 R&P + Peloquin TBD

[wesitarz]

I think Smallcar's dual piston might be better,but I have no experience with them. I see GoWesty and Smallcar are out of stock. I have the old VanCafe G-57 Audi big brake which is the same as Burley's I believe. The drawback on the G-57's is the rubber bushing that the caliper pin goes through. I could see them working if the bushings were solid,but mine were hollow allowing the pin to flex quite a bit. There is an aftermarket kit to address this:
http://www.tyrolsport.com/braking/tyrolsport-brake-caliper-stiffening-kit-for-vw/audi/
The kit is $100 and Burley's brake kit is on sale now for $100 off. With the stiffening kit,BMW E-30 booster,BMW E-32 master cylinder (stiffened)and Smallcar rear discs, I am quite happy with them.

[shagginwagon83]

Where we at this with? I need a new rotor, so I'm considering doing the big brake upgrade. I might not as I have an 83.5 and would need the 86+ 'uprights'.

Gowesty is OOS and Van Cafe is OOS right now too
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Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan

[dobryan]

I just installed Burleys under my Rheins and am happy with them. I did it for the vented rotors more than more braking power. The stock brakes are pretty good but I want more heat shedding capacity in the mountains.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[dustyrhodes]

Don't forget the south african big brake upgrade from van cafe. I went that route and it drives (and stops) great!
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1989 Vanagon Westfalia

[Vnyd Dog]

Checking back in to see if any reports on people running the Small Car audi-based setup? I like that I can just one-stop-shop and get the kit through them instead if piecing it all together. Just considering a BBK for upcoming camp season.
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'87 Westy 1.8T Conversion, Orignal Owner, European Delivery @ Westfalia factory in Weidenbrueck.
The Story:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=713391&highlight=life

[Igeo]

I just received the Small Car kit. Have not installed yet. Looks great spread out in the back of the van!
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1987 Westfalia 2.1 WBX Manual

[Vnyd Dog]

[DLJ]

I had Van Cafe big brake kit for several years and was happy. Needed new pads and noticed very uneven pad wear and couldn't fix. Folks at Van Cafe had no real helpful suggestions so I decided to go with someone else big kit.
At first I leaned toward Go Westys but noticed that they would not fit Rhine wheels. I have the Rhines. I then decided to go with Small Cars, they also don't fit Rhines! Talked with Brian at Small Car and was told a little grinding on the calipers would facilitate installation.
Small Car big brakes are on now for about 1500 miles and I am very pleased.
The amount of caliper grinding is very minimal.

[termuehlen]

I have 6 years/60k miles on my Small Car brakes. I have been very happy with them. I can not say how they compare to other kits. I did have a rotor warp at about 30k and replaced pads/rotors. I think the pads were getting a little hard to find. I ended up buying several sets of pads from someone on the Samba who was getting rid of their stash of brake pads. My one complaint is the brake lines. If you research it, you will find some people have had their VW brake lines rub against the wheels. I switched to a custom set of lines. More info here...

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=622814&highlight=brake+lines
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1988 Westfalia automatic Subaru OBD1
1986 syncro tintop wbx

[Igeo]

Small Car brake kit note.
I'm getting to the point of installing the hubs to the spindles (gotta clean off those backing plates!). Small Car gives the option of not having the bearing races installed in the hubs, which saves a little $$. So I knocked the races in there myself, but see that the BBS branded hubs have no reliefs in the hub bore that would allow future removal/replacement of the bearing races. I seriously doubt that I'll ever have to replace the bearings, but it's worth noting.

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1987 Westfalia 2.1 WBX Manual

[MarkWard]

Might have been worth grinding in a couple of flats prior to installing the races. No edge you could catch with a drift? If the time comes, we weld a bead around the face of the race with our mig welder. Between shrinking and the heat, races usually fall out. Not something you can do in a camp ground though. Thanks for pointing that out. Good luck with the rest of the project.
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☮️

[wesitarz]

[thatbaldwinlife]

[Igeo]

For anybody considering the Small car kit, here are some more notes on the hardware and installation.

I had issues with the provided wheel seal to seat squarely. I don't have photos but the supplied seal has rubber ridges around the outside perimeter which made it very difficult to get the seal in the hub bore. I wound up purchasing National seal # 225500. This seal has a smooth outer perimeter and drives in nicely.

The torque spec provided with the kit documentation calls for 200 ft/lbs on the caliper braket bolts. Good luck with that. I set mine with a good torque wrench set at 200 but could not get enough on it to reach that value. They are plenty tight however. If you use an open end wrench on the nut to back it up, the rotation will jam the wrench in place after torquing the bolt. To prevent this, next time I would place something across the wrench to limit its travel.

The pads are Textar brand and have a wear sensor wire that presumably gets cut off. This would be the inboard pad I believe. I'll mount the pads and calipers tomorrow when the weather is better, and see if I like the way the supplied hoses look.

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1987 Westfalia 2.1 WBX Manual

[termuehlen]

[Steve Arndt]

EDIT:
G60 front pad cross reference;
88 audi 5000 turbo pads. I bought Hawk performance pads.
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Steve
Steve's 87 Syncro project

[Igeo]

Calipers and pads installed without issue.
The only tricky part is the connection with the hard line.
I suggest soaking with your favorite penetrant for a day or two, then cut the old line close to the fitting. Use a 14 mm deep socket on the old hose fitting and an 11 mm flare line wrench for the hard line.

It remains to be seen how best to secure the line somehow to avoid contact with the tires.

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1987 Westfalia 2.1 WBX Manual