Brake disc shields in VAG vehicles are parts that wear out quite quickly, especially when driving during winter on Polish roads. Road salt only accelerates the rusting of this thin and poorly painted sheet metal. To make them last a bit longer, it’s always worth providing additional protection or painting them yourself.
Factory brake disc shields come in several sizes; all part numbers can be found here.
After several attempts, I decided to install 256 mm disc shields, which proved to fit best without requiring modifications.
Attempt 1: 288-310mm disc shields
I previously had 310 mm disc shields from Polo 6R WRC Street, so I wanted to order the same ones again. Unfortunately, this wasn’t possible as they are probably no longer manufactured and cannot be ordered. Fortunately, shields from the ⌀288 mm version (6R0615311D + 6R0615312D) also fit ⌀310 mm discs. So I ordered these shields from the authorized service center:
6R0615311D + 6R0615312D…but as it turned out later, their shape doesn’t fit larger calipers.
Problem with fitting ⌀288 disc shields
During the installation attempt, it turned out that shields from 288 discs, like those from 310, don’t fit larger calipers. They are too large on the caliper side:
They could be cut or bent, but as usual, I decided to check other options.
Attempt 2: Disc shields from Golf 4
From what I found online, Brembo 17Z calipers fit reasonably well with shields from Golf 4 R32 with 334 mm discs (8N0615311C + 8N0615312C). I wanted to buy them, but Tobiasz from the Polo 6R Poland group beat me to it.
The Golf 4 steering knuckles have the same brake caliper mounts, but the shield mounting brackets have a completely different spacing:
One would have to cut and reweld these mounts differently, which can be quite challenging in such thin sheet metal.
From what I’ve seen, many people in Russia do this; if you have a welder handy, it’s always a good option:
Attempt 3: Shields for discs with FS-III calipers
By complete chance, I noticed that the factory shields in Polos with the smallest 256mm discs with FS-III calipers have a quite nice bend that should visually fit under the larger caliper.
So I ordered aftermarket shields to check the fit:
6R0615311A) + VAN Wezel 5829372 (6R0615312A)Comparison of ⌀256 shields to ⌀288 shields
Below is a comparison of the aftermarket 256 mm disc shield to the 288 mm disc shield:
Test fitting of ⌀256 shields to Brembo 17Z calipers
Test fitting of 256 mm brake disc cover plate to caliper:
The shields fit, and the bend fits perfectly at the caliper, though it’s a shame they don’t have a slightly larger diameter. I’ve described the further stage of their preparation and installation in a separate post.
Other solutions
No brake disc cover plates
One of the simpler and commonly encountered solutions with larger calipers is to have no shields at all. However, in my opinion, it’s always better to have any shields than none at all. They protect the wheel bearings from contaminants and partly shield the discs as well.
However, if someone doesn’t intend to use the car normally and is preparing it exclusively as a show car, then it doesn’t really matter. In that case, it looks something like this:
Custom shields
Examples of shields made from sheet metal
Looking through various custom caliper sets, I noticed that shields are very often made from ordinary flat sheet metal. What surprised me is that even sets costing 95,000 PLN have such makeshift shields:
Custom shields for Brembo 17Z in Polo 6R
And here are photos of Polo 6R with custom shields made by Tobiasz – first a cardboard template, then a cut shield from sheet metal:
