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Project Blueberry Golf 7R Part 14: Bigger Brakes, AGAIN?!

 Project Blueberry. It’s been a while… 

A lot has changed since the last update. We don’t have any excuses for the lack of updates other than having too much fun with the ol’ Bluber at various events and track days. However, I think its time that we updated everyone on the project progress.

A lot of cool changes have happened under the surface to make the Golf 7R significantly faster. We’ll be separating these into a couple of posts over the coming weeks, instead of making a 100-page post that nobody has time to read.

So, let us begin with a big brake upgrade and in doing so, introduce you to Sparta Evolution Big Brake Kits.

Sparta Evolution is a Big Brake Kit manufacturer that came to our attention a number of years ago at SEMA. Catching our attention with their unique calliper and rotor design and features. If you follow our Golf 7R project you will know we installed a Stoptech ST60 big brake kit which uses their 6 piston calliper and 355x32mm Aero Rotor disc assembly. This provided a substantial upgrade in braking performance over the stock and Tarox kit, however, as the project has progressed, unlocking more power, grip and ultimately more performance we found the limit of the Stoptech kit and needed something with more performance.

Welcome the Sparta Evolution Triton-R 355x34mm Big Brake Kit for the MK7 Gollf R…

The Sparta Big Brake Kits come in three distinct flavours, the entry-level track day focussed kit which is the Saturn, then the motorsport oriented Triton and Triton R. They also come in a range of colours, the Saturn is powder coated with anodised options, Triton is powder coated with anodised and nickel plating options and the Triton R is anodised with Nickel plating options. Take a look at some of the awesome finishes available below…

 

Each kit boasts a number of features such as:

  • Cold-Forged Calliper Bodies
  • Precisely Matched Calliper Piston to Master Cylinder (for the perfect pedal feel)
  • High-Temperature Polymer Dual-Sealed Calliper Pistons (perfect for street and track)
  • Extremely Large Pad Surface Area (we’ll touch on this later)
  • Free-Floating Rotor Design with Pegasus S-Slot Rotor (refreshes the pad without aggressively abrading)
  • Each kit comes complete with calliper set, pre-assembled rotors, calliper carriers, Goodridge stainless steel brake lines and SPP1.0 (street compound) pads

The significant advantages of the Triton-R calliper that we chose for Project Blueberry are that it is extremely light for such a stiff calliper, has castellated pistons and a very large pad, features essential for getting the best performance on track.

Below you can see the unique Castellated Pistons fitted with the Double Seal System. The Castellated Pistons reduce the piston contact surface area with the pad, reducing the amount of heat transferred through the pad, into the piston and into the brake fluid. Keeping brake fluid cooler, keeping that brake pedal firmer.

Despite being a huge calliper, as mentioned earlier it is extremely light. Extensive research, development and real-world testing have created a design which has reduced material in certain areas which are not important to the strength of the calliper. Weighing in at just 3.28KG the Triton-R is extremely light and strong. To put this into perspective, an AP report their 6 Piston Radi-CAL 2 calliper to weight a huge 4.5KG, a massive disadvantage in the unsprung weight department.

Although pad surface area does not improve stopping power directly it can increase the overall system performance. A larger pad can increase heat dispersion and dissipation versus a smaller pad which can mean lower operating temperatures so the pad can be operated in the ideal temperature range more consistently for consistent performance and lower wear rates.

The Sparta Evolution Pegasus S-Slot Brake Rotor uses a free-floating design, with heat the rotor can expand as much as 2mm! The Sparta Evolution Free-Floating system allows the rotor to freely move, preventing the rotor from coning so wear is even. You’ll also notice the S-Slot groove which refreshes the pad surface without abrading it aggressively like other designs can, improving pad life.

Each rotor also comes with its own, unique QC runout check, ensuring your rotors are within spec, eliminating the chance of any unwanted vibration or feedback from rotors which have too high run out from the factory.

After extensively testing the kit on-track and around UK B-Roads we can say for certain that these are a huge upgrade over the Stoptech ST-60 Big Brake Kit and most likely the best brake upgrade available for the MQB platform thanks to its unique features.

Pedal feel is hugely improved alongside overall braking power, consistently bringing our 500HP MK7 Golf R to a stop time after time. It also feels as though there has been an improvement in front-end feel/response, perhaps due to the lower mass?

What do you think of the Sparta Evolution Big Brake Kit? Let us know!

The Sparta Evolution Big Brake Kits range from £1840 for the Saturn to £3640 for the Triton-R Nickel Plated Kit. You can spec yours by following the link, here 

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