At Bendix, we?ve recently released our all new Euro+ Brake Pad Kits specially designed for all leading European vehicles. We figured it would be great to get some feedback from leading workshop Heasman Steering and one lucky participant to be a part of our Test Pilot program once again. This time we?ve got a VW MK5 Golf GTi to test out our new Euro+ brake pads.
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Euro+ brake pads from Bendix is the complete brake pad kit including all clips, pads, shims, sensors and more, where contained in OE equivalents so you can be assured that all components are the exact fit every time.
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The Euro+ brake pads are your OE replacements meeting the exact standards of premium manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi and Volkswagen to name a few. We have a feeling our friends at Heasman Steering are going to enjoy this new product with the amount of European passenger, luxury and sport cars we see inside their workshop on a regular basis.
This complete European brake pad kit meets the ECE Regulation 90, which means you are fitting quality brake pads specifically designed for European vehicles and engineered for optimum performance, braking synergy and driving comfort.
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We already had the Golf on the lift so we began cracking away on the brake pad install. Before you start, remove the brake fluid cap and ensure there is space for the fluid to rise without overflowing!
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The install process is fairly straight forward. Nothing out of the ordinary from your normal brake pad install. Depending on your vehicle you might need to unclip the brake pad level sensor.
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On this particular Golf you will need to remove the outer caliper clip holding the top section before you proceed with the removal of the existing pads. From here you can remove the rubber caps covering the caliper bolts and then remove.
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Using a suitable lever, push the caliper away from the pads. Remove and support caliper.
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Pictured above is the existing installed brake pad alongside our new Euro+ pad. Check out the pad thickness difference! Here you can just catch a glimpse of the high friction Blue Titanium Stripe on the brake pad surface. This technology has been introduced by Bendix and designed to rapidly mate the rotor when the brakes are first applied. This way full braking performance is achieved instantly, eliminating the need for you to bed in the brakes. You?ll feel the difference, and the pads will be bedded-in in just a few stops on your first test drive.
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The Euro+ has been designed for quiet and smooth braking performance. It also has reduced dust for cleaner braking and keeping your wheels cleaner!
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Before we installed the new Euro+ pads we did clean of the area we are working on with some Bendix Brake Part Cleaner/Degreaser.
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TIP: The MK5 Golf GTi has the brake wear sensor clip on the front left brake assembly. The pad with the clip goes directly to the caliper and the other to the front of the disc.
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Before we place the caliper back into place we apply some Bendix Ceramic High Performance Synthetic Lubricant to the caliper contact areas. But making sure we keep the lubricant off friction material and rotors.
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All done!
?The new Euro+ brake pads are a great product and being a complete kit you have everything you need to complete a brake pad install. This is great for us as a workshop we?ll definitely be doing a few pad installs throughout the year which will save us time. Before the install this morning I took the Golf for a spin around the block of our workshop and to be honest I didn?t think it needed its brake pads to be replaced. But as soon as I drove the car with the new Euro+ pads I could feel the difference instantly. The initial bite was great but also a much smoother pedal feel. There was also minimal to no noise. Bendix have told us the braking capacity has also been vastly improved over the OE pads and their tests have shown rims stay cleaner with Euro+. I?m keen to see these perform over the next few months but if you check back in a few months I?ll be happy to share my thoughts with you.? ? Chris (Heasman Steering Mechanic)
For more information on the Bendix Euro+ visit: http://www.bendix.com.au/euro
We now have more than 130 part numbers covering almost 1,300 individual vehicles. Find out if the Euro+ is available for your car: http://www.bendix.com.au/content/bendix-brakes-catalogue-download-europlus
