Okay. I will try to develop the subject of rear disc brakes for 02s by trying to be as general as possible and not specific to a brand or supplier.

First, on top of the wow factor, what do you gain by installing rear disc brakes? Let's say that from the 2002 rear drums, you already upgraded to the bigger 320 drums and found that you may have gained a bit of braking power, but still had to continuously adjust the eccentrics and realized that they overheat pretty fast when driving hard on a track. What can you do then to solve that problem, while gaining a bit more of pedal modulation?

The solution adopted by most people for the past 15 years has been to use different parts from different cars and assemble a rear kit. Mainly, it consists of front VW Rabbit rotors (solid and about 9.5" in diameter) and rear calipers with integral parking/emergency brakes from the GTI or Jetta. This solution requires to have the hubs machined so that their outer diameters tightly fits the inside diameter of the rotor. This is what will center the rotor on the hub. I have no experience with other brands of rotors from the set I first bought, I cannot judge if there is a discrepency between rotors. Hopefully it is not required to machine a new set of hubs everytime rotors are changed.

The caliper is positionned almost horizontally under the rotor as there is just no room to have it in the usual vertical position, like most rear calipers. That is due to the lower shock bracket that interferes. An adapter is required to mount the caliper carrier to the trailing arm. The adapter cannot be made from 1/2" aluminum stock as it is a tiny bit too thick. You can use 1/4" steel and a few washers in between the caliper and the adapter. It will be a real PITA to install the washers. The main (and perhaps only) benefit of this whole configuration is the handbrake which connects directly. But each time you want to bleed the rear calipers, then you must unhook the brake cable, unbolt the caliper from the adapter, bleed the brakes, and bolt them back. Not fun at the track.



Some shops have made new developments around this basic set-up and solved several problems inherent to the configuration. I have heard that Ireland Engineering has a new kit where rotors are vented and calipers have a nipple located upward, allowing to leave the caliper in position when bleeding them. I believe that the new and old set-up are perfect for a street driven 2002, and occasionaly track driven car, and that mostly everyone will be satisfied. But it will show its limitations when it comes to endurance to overheat. The vented kit will nonetheless be superior to the solid one. The problem remains the sliding caliper which doesn't have the stifness of a fixed caliper. In term of hydraulic power, the rear VW kits are the perfect match to a front Superite caliper with 1.75" pistons on 11.75" rotors. Believe me, it is a fun combo that yelds a much better pedal modulation and braking precision and strength than the old drum stuff. I feel that a rear VW kit with front Tii/e12/e24 calipers on e21 vented rotors might have too much rear bias when driven hard. So, a bias valve must be used.

I would be glad to hear from other developments on rear disc brakes. On the next installment, I will entertain you on Massive's new rear kit which has been a 3 month development (plus idle moments, waiting for parts to be machined). Kit is finally done, produced, anodized/plated and shipping will start the first week of April after weeks (if not months) of waiting - End of the infomercial.