Thread: TD5 Brake Rotors

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Slunnie &#064; May 15 2006, 02&#58;17 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
I&#39;m not sure...... I walk to work, but really I think I&#39;m just not shy with the brakes. The EBC&#39;s seem to be a soft pad which is good for the rotors anyway.
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I guess with an auto you can&#39;t really use your gears to slow down. I normally come down through all the gears if I can in town traffic as the engine braking is so good in the TD5 and does save my pads etc....they do take a bit of a beating in the mud though.

Thanks again, Mick

we just did ours after the missus found out what metal to metal sounded like.
trade price of 71 rear each and 79 front each. we only did the rears. keep an eye on them as they wear quicker.
towing a dogwash trailer every day, she got 35,000km from them before pad meat =0.
we have decided to plan on changing them at 30,000km intervals.
rotors are real easy to change on the D2, just like unbolting the wheel but different

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MickG &#064; May 15 2006, 02&#58;26 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
I guess with an auto you can&#39;t really use your gears to slow down. I normally come down through all the gears if I can in town traffic as the engine braking is so good in the TD5 and does save my pads etc....they do take a bit of a beating in the mud though.

Thanks again, Mick
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I down change gears aswell.... much to my mates disgust. He keeps getting up me about backlash and the forces applied to a drivetrain when the engine revs increase when the clutch comes off on the down change, even thou I always bring the engine rev up manually to try and match engine revs/gear selected/speed. I have never heard this from anyone else.

Although I do put some creditibility in his statement, I would have imagined these forces would be factored into the build quality.

Is there any truth to it? How much can someone expect to shorten the life of their drivetrain by habitual down changing?

His agruement is that pads are cheaper than drivetrains.

I put DBA rotors and Bendix pads all round for $400 all up. No problems with the ABS and better brake performance as well. The DBA rotors fitted like the originals. I had some trouble getting the right pads as the catalogues were a bit ambiguous. Once I had the pads out, traced them out, fitted them back in, went for a drive, ordered the correct ones, waited for them to come in, paid for them, took the old ones back out, fitted the new ones, went for another drive to test them out, decided all was good and drove home for a XXXX - end of story...!!

Originally Posted by Disco_Drivin_Dude

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MickG @ May 15 2006, 02:26 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
I guess with an auto you can't really use your gears to slow down. I normally come down through all the gears if I can in town traffic as the engine braking is so good in the TD5 and does save my pads etc....they do take a bit of a beating in the mud though.

Thanks again, Mick
[/b]

I down change gears aswell.... much to my mates disgust. He keeps getting up me about backlash and the forces applied to a drivetrain when the engine revs increase when the clutch comes off on the down change, even thou I always bring the engine rev up manually to try and match engine revs/gear selected/speed. I have never heard this from anyone else. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/eek.gif[/img]

Although I do put some creditibility in his statement, I would have imagined these forces would be factored into the build quality.

Is there any truth to it? How much can someone expect to shorten the life of their drivetrain by habitual down changing?

His agruement is that pads are cheaper than drivetrains.[/quote]

I'm no guru but I suspect your friend is not entirely correct. Changing from 4th to 1st is a different matter but if you are matching the revs manually as I do as well with a little poke of the throttle then the engine would EASILY handle the change. These engines are deisgned to be put through hell so changing from 4th to 3rd to 2nd with the revs jumping to around 3000 rpm each time for example, I would suggest is going to do zero harm to the engine. By doing this, it also keeps the turbo on boost and holds the car in the power band.....not that it is a race car but as you will know, dropping off boost in the TD5 can be a chore. By keeping the car in the power band you also maintain control of the car through drivability. I wouldm even go as far to say you would be saving fuel by driving it this this way....the TD5 loves to be worked.

As I said, unless you are changing from 4th to 1st and your rev needle ends up pointing áround 3 or 4 oclock , I think this is an extremely sensible way to drive.....VERY keen to hear suggestions as to why this would not be the case.

Aye, Mick

I would have though that it would be ok also. Its not like there is a great deal of force that goes through the system during a normal down shift.

Compression lockups, or trying to stick it into 1st gear at high speed, which it wont really do anyway it a different story though. Thats more a jolting peak force rather than an application, or something to totally peak out the synchro. Then again - pros would know better than me.

I have always favoured the downshift over braking in manual transmissions. I do it in my car, I do it on the bike, I do it in my wife's car and in all the heavy vehicles I have driven or drive. That's the way I was taught, by military driving instructors.

I down shift in the Auto except for heavy traffic. I also use through yass when going down some of the steeper streets to stop my speed creeping up over the 50kmh.