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This is definitely the first time I’ve seen a VW dump truck. A user at The Samba posted several photos of specialty Vanagon-esque vehicles. This was my favorite.
We hate to say it but we finally gave up on the big brake kit from Van Cafe. It looks good, but it completely sucks! Messing with this kid has cost us 8 months and loads of money. The guys at Van Cafe were great to work with and they changed out parts for us (including shipping charges), but the bottom line is we still have lots of noise. We managed to get rid of the knocking sounds by changing rotors and hubs, but there is so much brake noise that it’s a deal breaker.
We do not recommend these brakes at all!
We’ll be back to Van Cafe for other goodies, but not these brakes. In our opinion, they suck!
Update: 2 days after installing the kit we had a noise problem and have not been able to solve it. We had to grind down the lower edge of the brake pads, but that didn’t do much. We’re stumped. At this point I can’t really recommend this kit. Once we get this noise issue worked out we’ll see how it goes.
Van-Cafe sent us new calipers and pads, but the problem still exists. We’re almost positive it’s in the rotor or hub. We seem to have received bad parts, but can’t be 100% positive which part it is. Still working on it…..
We bought a Big Brake kit from Van Cafe (those guys are great to work with). It came in 2 small, but heavy boxes. We had a few issues with the tight fit, and poor work previously done on the back brakes that caused a low pedal. Once those issues were worked out the Big Brake Kit functions nicely.
If you are considering the Big Brake Kit please realize that there is no noticeable difference under normal braking conditions. It feels the same while you drive. The real benefit happens under extreme conditions. I’ve noticed better braking on hills. Nothing to knock your socks off, but better braking.