Brake caliper ID on Polo AW 1.0 TSi

[grazuncle2]

At the next service with the local independent guy I have used before I'm strongly inclined to get the front pads changed to Green Stuff. lower dust (not black either apparently)_ mainly but 20% more efficient and kinder to the rotors..

the thing is I want buy them in advance for the mechanic to fit; he doesn't mind supplied parts. However, there seem to be two types of caliper noted on the EBC sales website for my year.. VW or ATE. never heard of ATE brand. I'm wondering if there is some marking visible on mine that could ID what I have. I don't want to take them apart or you may as well do it yourself (but don't want to)

I could get the service done and get him to ID everything but would have to book it back in again after buying the pads.

I know someone is going to say just clean them more often.. just don't like the job and any reduction is welcome.

[grazuncle2]

I did some searching recently on what an ATE caliper vs VW caliper looked like.. Some differences ok but not spectacularly so.

however the brake pads are a lot different.. so i have something to go on.

ATE shape

Screenshot 2023-07-16 123900.png (193.92 KiB) Viewed 685 times

VW

Screenshot 2023-07-16 124158.png (193.79 KiB) Viewed 685 times

won't need them for a few months till the service but will have a better idea of what type to order.

[RUM4MO]

I think that there is some misinformation going around, as far as I know, VW do not make or brand brake hydraulics, they just used to use ATE - which is just Alfred Teves otherwise known as Teves, or Girling - who were bought over by Lucas and now part of TRW. There is a new source of brake hydraulics for VW Group especially when it comes to their budget range of cars, and that is Mando, they seem to have inherited the ATE part of the supply to VW Group in certain mainly budget end models, it has been said that the pads that fitted the ATE callipers also fit the replacement callipers from Mando.

So from your two pictures, the pads "with wings" are typical of what ATE used to supply into VW Group and the ones with the short but wide stubbier end tags are typical of what Lucas and so TRW supply into VW Group.

Looking in through your wheel spokes should be enough for you to find out which version is fitted to your car, it might boil down to which version of 1.0TSI your car has, ie power output - though that is just a guess as maybe VW Group now have one braking setup that spans all the 1.0TSI power output versions.

Edit:- remember that while ATE manufactures brake callipers and so pads for their own brand of callipers, they will also manufacture or rebrand pads to suit other brake manufacturer's kit.

[grazuncle2]

Thanks for clarifying this.

Yes it is my intention to take a good look.. When manufacturers start using different part suppliers in the same model it only causes confusion.

I saw this many times when working as a mechanic in the 70s. I don't do much in the way of tinkering with servicing now..

Thanks again.

[RUM4MO]

If you ever consider moving back into doing some of your own maintenance on your 1.0TSI engine, then make sure that you don't make the error that if looks a lot like, a proper VW Group Indie in Bromley did to my younger daughter's 2019 SEAT Arona!

As part of its year 4 service, for some reason, that proper VW Group Indie's mechanic decided to take the air filter assembly off the car to check the condition of the air filter element, okay it is something that the official dealerships don't tend to do, they will just adhere to the correct time to replace it which is 6 years or Y,000 miles, that car is still well below the Y,000 miles as it was only at roughly 26,000 miles when serviced back in late April/early May, so why on earth they did this extra check confuses me.

Worse than that, what they ended up doing and ignoring to mention, or covered it up, was, when they removed the air filter assembly BEFORE releasing the large spring clamp that fixes the upward pointing "cuff" of the intake manifold to the air filter assembly - so ripped the top section of that rubber coupler that is meant to remain part of the intake manifold - so when I removed that air filter assembly last weekend, even although I removed both the spring clips, or at least moved them away from their normal position, which leaves that rubber cuff to become loose on the plastic downward pointing air intake assembly "stub", I was a bit surprised to find that most of that rubber coupler was still attached, but attached very loosely to the air intake assembly stub!!! Not good!

So no point now almost 3 months down the line starting to discuss with that workshop, I'm getting a new part ordered in costing £53.65 and they can get that, local to them workshop to swop them over. Since then, I've watched a few YouTube videos and I can see that some people really do handle that rubber coupler-plastic manifold assembly quite roughly, but I'd expect a properly trained mechanic working for what seems to be a proper VW Group Indie workshop, to know better and never to just pretend that it did not happen, okay most of the air entering the turbo will be getting filtered, but not all of it!

[grazuncle2]

That is just awful..

Careless isn't the word.. more like underhanded.

I do the odd thing.. usually simple but 'expensive at the dealership' things. Like the cabin filter cassette.. so easy to do yet they wanted £32 plus fitting. Not sure if that was a mistake or what, but didn't want to debate it. I think a Bosch branded one cost me about £9.

it's not that I'm tight.. well... I am a bit.. LOL