Front brake hoses - upgrade?

[JNW]

Hiya
Someone mentioned a simple/cheap way of improving front brake performance - upgraded brake hoses.
True or false?
Julian

[jamiehamy]

I fitted braided hoses to my Corrado after suffering poor brakes despite 312mm TT front brakes. Difference was amazing. Braided for my T25 are high up the list, but will mean calipers and pipes will need done, so wil do in a oner.

So, yes, I believe they can make a big difference, provided all other aspects of your brakes are up to scratch

[JNW]

Why do the other components need changing?

[jamiehamy]

Only because they've not been touched in years. The caliper nipples are shot with rust, so will not be able to bleed, despite the calpiers working fine and being fairly unaffected by any rust. The steel pipes are unlikely to come off without damaging them, so they will need replaced too.

I could try getting the flexi's off the rigid pipes, but have been there too often before, so will wait until I've got time to do it all.

[Hacksawbob]

Boolean answer, True.

analogue answer, its by a matter of degrees if your brake flexis are due for renewal then you may as well go for some braided. They do improve pedal feel but they wont revive a tired brake set up Its best to see to the important bits, disks calipers, shoes, backplates, drums brake fluid etc etcafter having made sure that the adjustments are correctly done on the rears. See them as icing on the cake. I would go for the Goodrich ones next time I do them.

[California Dreamin]

I would also say true but marginal (I had quality braided hoses on mine and because of some issues, swapped back to genuine VW traditional ones.) I really couldn't tell the difference in braking efficiency or feel although I have to admit, there must be some.
The genuine VW flexies are much cheaper than these after market braided hoses and for me at least, much less troublesome.

Martin