Big Brakes - Recommend any?

Ash B

Ash B

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Hi

As always if i have any querys or want a bit of advise i come here :)

Im gonna need some big brakes soon due to the large increase of power my car will be taking in a few month's. Already decided what clutch kit to go for.

So decide i might aswell pick brakes i want and put money a side for them. Not sure where to look or what make to look for? So just wondering if any of you could recommend any? How much should i spend for some decent brakes. I was thinking about Brembo?

Thanks for the advice

Ashley
 
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What sort of dollar you thinking mate as brembos are rich, even an S3 set would be a fair upgrade, ok not as good as brembos but certainly improvement over the ones you have now.
 
I take it the 1.6 isnt like the old 8L 1.6 & 1.8 N/A where you needed to change the hub as well as the carrier wasnt seperate but part of the hub?
 
NHN said:
What sort of dollar you thinking mate as brembos are rich, even an S3 set would be a fair upgrade, ok not as good as brembos but certainly improvement over the ones you have now.
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Hi N

My budget £1,300 maybe £1,500 max and thats pushing it! I was thinking of these one's http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=390037981008
But think thats too much the asking price? Yes the S3 ones would certainly be improvement over the ones i have now. Are there certain brakes for the power ranage?
 
Khufu said:
I take it the 1.6 isnt like the old 8L 1.6 & 1.8 N/A where you needed to change the hub as well as the carrier wasnt seperate but part of the hub?
Click to expand...


Lol ummm im not too sure on what! Pretty sure i'll find out or some one esle may know? :)


Khufu said:
Look nice, I'm guessing you will have 18" wheels too.

Pads look tiny though LOL
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Yeah i'll either be keeping my S3 wheels as they are 18" or upgrading to some 19" depending on my funds after The conversion, big brakes, and coilovers:notme::3sadwalk:Doubt the 19" be any time soon mind! Probably end of this year or start of next!
 
I'll be selling my S3 brakes in a few weeks - 345mm with everything you need to make them work and also have the rears....

PM me if your interested :D
 
benskin07 said:
Hi

As always if i have any querys or want a bit of advise i come here :)

Im gonna need some big brakes soon due to the large increase of power my car will be taking in a few month's. Already decided what clutch kit to go for.

So decide i might aswell pick brakes i want and put money a side for them. Not sure where to look or what make to look for? So just wondering if any of you could recommend any? How much should i spend for some decent brakes. I was thinking about Brembo?

Thanks for the advice

Ashley
Click to expand...


Either Brembo or AP.

They don't look fancy and they dont have 10 pots.....

Not cheap,but they will work,and they wont fade.
 
brembo or AP i'd say. brembo, i think, are getting a bit like designer brands now, you pay more for the name, their kits tend to be fairly heavy, whereas AP racing are a lot more focused. you can get a great 330mm with 6pot calipers, you will pay over 1k but you will only get the fronts, you can also look at something like 300mm with a 4pot caliper for the rear, or fit s3 rears.

if you go for ap or brembo or something along them lines then this will allow you to keep on tuning the car and making it faster, the s3 brakes are good, but to get high performance you will start needing bigger, more powerful calipers.

another good upgrade, would be to get braided brake lines, i put them on my bike and made a massive difference, no spongy feeling under heavy braking.

you could always look into getting a new master cylinder along with a set of AP's but i wouldn't know what one to get, there are loads and you need to know the type of fitting of original one, which i dont know. probably best to speak to brake companies themselves regarding master cylinders
 
 
S3RYE said:
how about these? you would have to make up a kit but can u imagine the power! http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1120395.htm:eyebrows:
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:ohmy: Now thats would do the job great! Car gonna be at 330bhp for a few weeks then 350. Been told max i can put out is 350 due to my car being fwd:sorry: But i'm sure i can push more out;) Just have to watch the driving! Be a bit of a beast to control in the wet but fun :)

S3 Big Andy said:
RS4's baby!!!
Click to expand...

Love them RS4 brakes Andy but there well out of my budget and i dont think my bank account would allow any way! Aint they about £2k-£3.5k?
And i've already planned to go over my budget! lol
Thanks for the advise Andy

S3Alex said:
Either Brembo or AP.

They don't look fancy and they dont have 10 pots.....

Not cheap,but they will work,and they wont fade.
Click to expand...

Hi Alex thanks for the advise. I will check out some Brembo and AP out. Not looking for any thing fancy just some decent brakes that gonna do the job!

kaz219 said:
I'll be selling my S3 brakes in a few weeks - 345mm with everything you need to make them work and also have the rears....

PM me if your interested :D
Click to expand...

PM you mate! :)
 
you can go over 350 just fit a decent lsd and do the tt swing arm mod to adjust the camber.

you may as well get yourself the s3 brakes and some braided brake lines, decent pads and it should be ok then, better breaking power plus a lot cheaper
 
gixxer600k4 said:
forgot about the rs4's

now that would be a much better upgrade as it will probably be a lot cheaper

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...rakes&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en-us&sa=N&um=1

8 pot aswell.

what brakes do you have andy?
Click to expand...

Andy has the RS4 brakes think he had them fitted and supplied by TT-Shop i believe? Check this thread about his thoughts on them. Suppose to mean business those brakes!

gixxer600k4 said:
http://www.apracing.com/info/produc...uctpics%2Fcp5570%5F2%2Ejpg%22%2F%3E_2763_2570

http://www.apracing.com/info/index.asp?section=28mm+Thick_2186

for the rear

http://www.apracing.com/info/produc...uctpics%2Fcp5211%5F1%2Ejpg%22%2F%3E_2713_2565

http://www.apracing.com/info/produc...-200mm+P.C.D.+-+Bolted+-+CP2866-217_2337_2312

it will be something along these lines. not too sure about fitting so dont go and buy these ones. lol.

they do, do some kits for audis but none for the new a3 but im pretty certain, the fittings will be the same for most modals!

http://www.apracing.com/info/index....ng.com/pics/productpics/Audi+logo.jpg"/>_1040
Click to expand...

Hi Thanks for the links will check them out now! Yeah i wont get the ones you said ha! Have to have a good read over the links so i make the right choice


gixxer600k4 said:
brembo or AP i'd say. brembo, i think, are getting a bit like designer brands now, you pay more for the name, their kits tend to be fairly heavy, whereas AP racing are a lot more focused. you can get a great 330mm with 6pot calipers, you will pay over 1k but you will only get the fronts, you can also look at something like 300mm with a 4pot caliper for the rear, or fit s3 rears.

if you go for ap or brembo or something along them lines then this will allow you to keep on tuning the car and making it faster, the s3 brakes are good, but to get high performance you will start needing bigger, more powerful calipers.

another good upgrade, would be to get braided brake lines, i put them on my bike and made a massive difference, no spongy feeling under heavy braking.

you could always look into getting a new master cylinder along with a set of AP's but i wouldn't know what one to get, there are loads and you need to know the type of fitting of original one, which i dont know. probably best to speak to brake companies themselves regarding master cylinders
Click to expand...

I dont really want heavy brakes. But those AP racing ones sound quite good. I suppose i could get those AP Racing and some S3 rears or i may get S3 ones see how i get on. Do you mind explain about the braided brake lines? Not heard of them before! I've only really been into cars the last year and wasnt planning on any performance or handling mods till a few weeks ago! Car wont be that fast i suppose i'll have to think long and hard about the brakes as the car fwd and gonna be over 300bhp and doubt it will like the wet roads around by me should be fun mind:rolleyes: May be hard to tame:whip: But will bring a smile to my face on and off the track! Thanks for all the advise. Will go through the links now and see what i think.
 
gixxer600k4 said:
you can go over 350 just fit a decent lsd and do the tt swing arm mod to adjust the camber.

you may as well get yourself the s3 brakes and some braided brake lines, decent pads and it should be ok then, better breaking power plus a lot cheaper
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good plan! I think i'm have to have a good read over that thread regarding tt swing arm mods started reading it and seemed they are quite good! Think i'll see if i can get the S3 brakes off Kaz and i'll get as you said braided brake lines. I think im doing a bit dumb i dont know what lsd?:uhm::blush:
 
kaz219 said:
I'll be selling my S3 brakes in a few weeks - 345mm with everything you need to make them work and also have the rears....

PM me if your interested :D
Click to expand...

Are they the proper S3 ones are the 3.2 versions?

Although only difference are the caliper asthetics, apart from that they're identical in every way.

S3 Big Andy said:
RS4's baby!!!
Click to expand...

I thought your discs cracked?
 
limited slip differential. it is a massive improvement for handling, quaife are a very good manufacturer. it is a set of gears that always enable good traction with the ground, you have one main gear (for example, this gear moves the left wheel) which is driven from drive shaft, this gear has a bracket on it (imagine a toilet roll holder) which has a gear on eachside, in between these two gears is a small one which is connected to the right wheel, this enables all the power and torque to be sent to the wheels no matter what your doing. so on a hairpin corner you will get great traction out of the corner. its hard to explain. it allows each wheel to rotate at different speeds (such as round a corner) but still provide the same torque to each wheel. a LSD will also reduce torque steer, i have no idea how though, but i know it does. lol there are many designs out there, the one i explained is your basic bog standard LSD. quaife have a set up for the a3 which works in a similar way, it also uses helical gears which are just angled teeth providing a smooth rotation of gears so it is a lot quieter!

http://www.quaife.co.uk/Audi-A3-2-0...itre-TFS1-02Q-Quaife-Helical-LSD-Differential
 
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RS4 brakes are very heavy and the calipers are huge and wide. I bought a set a few years ago to go on my Audi but sold them on before fitting them, also heared people moan about the OEM discs cracking.If your on a tight buget K Sport get good reviews on Evo forums and a few friends have them and seem very good for the price or if your not intending to go much over 300ish bhp just get a good secondhand S3 setup and put some DS2500 pads on.
 
Yeap exactly my thoughts as that ebay S3 set is to expensive, you can buy the kit from audi cheaper I think.

Ok anyone got a fix for noisy clonking pads, only happens on the 1st brake forward & then 1st brake backward, if I brake a 2nd time forward without a reverse in between they dont clonk, if you get me, come on Mikey.

Was contemplating new pads or a shim to hold them tighter, we'll see unless someone else has a wonderful idea.
 
it does sound like something is incorrectly fitted, like a loose pad which is causing it to move around!
 
devonmikeyboy said:
RS4 brakes are very heavy and the calipers are huge and wide. I bought a set a few years ago to go on my Audi but sold them on before fitting them, also heared people moan about the OEM discs cracking.If your on a tight buget K Sport get good reviews on Evo forums and a few friends have them and seem very good for the price or if your not intending to go much over 300ish bhp just get a good secondhand S3 setup and put some DS2500 pads on.
Click to expand...

Hi Mikey

Car will be going over 300bhp be about 350bhp then try go for 380 max but have to change a few things so the car stays on the road. Yeah Andy said his discs cracked! I dont really want any heavy weights aswell. As after 2years i'll get a new car but be keeping this as a track car so then i'll start the weight saving! I'll check the K Sport ones out. Thanks for the advise and help...Appreciated

Ashley
 
If you think the pads are slightly loose you can get some anti rattle pads from Competition braking for about 50p each i think it was. The pads are about the same size as a credit card and you just stick them on the back of your pads. Done it to my pads as Hi Spec calipers don`t come with an anti rattle system. You might want to check the pads are fitted correctly still as the clonking might be them slipping forward or backward slightly which isn`t good.
 
All fitted correctly & tension on the retainer is good so must just need a little shim in there, I'll go find the pads you mention, cheers
 
benskin07 said:
I dont really want heavy brakes. But those AP racing ones sound quite good. I suppose i could get those AP Racing and some S3 rears or i may get S3 ones see how i get on. Do you mind explain about the braided brake lines? Not heard of them before! I've only really been into cars the last year and wasnt planning on any performance or handling mods till a few weeks ago! Car wont be that fast i suppose i'll have to think long and hard about the brakes as the car fwd and gonna be over 300bhp and doubt it will like the wet roads around by me should be fun mind:rolleyes: May be hard to tame:whip: But will bring a smile to my face on and off the track! Thanks for all the advise. Will go through the links now and see what i think.
Click to expand...

I've had AP Racing 330mm discs on a 370bhp GpN Escort which was a genuine 4s or less to 60mph car with cornering etc to match.

The APs never let me down,and whilst they are costly,I would recommend these to anyone....you only have to look at the number of competition cars using either AP or Brembo.

Braided steel brake hoses remove a lot of the flex and compression that is possible with standard brake lines,and provide better initial feel to the braking.
 
audi upgrades
devonmikeyboy said:
You will need to phone and ask about them as they didn`t used to be advertised on site. Contact details http://www.racepads.co.uk/contact.htm
Click to expand...

Yep you're right not on the site, spoke to Steve & they're pennies tbh against anything else we mod huh, lol, 60p a go, a 3M rubbery material, so will get 8 of them for now & future use, just gonna go check the brakes again, but think will resolve the issue.

I hate that clonking noise with a passion now, does my nut in, after changing the rack & arb for 26 instead of 28 no noise now except the brakes, when thats gone then blissssssssss & I will say I dont even notice the derv engine noise anymore tbh no matter what people say, non issue for me.

Ash, you sure you wanna spend £1300 on a brake system, why not just find a 2nd user S3 345mm brakes & they will be more than enough for your use, you dont track it so for me & only IMHO its an overkill, use the rest of the money for better upgrades then later down the road if the S3 ones arent to your liking then look at a better upgrade, they work well for me.
 
AP racing will have an official S3 6 pot set up available in approx 6 weeks time, I know this because my car has been used for development so once the design is finished they will be fitted at their HQ, not cheap but from what I have read and heard the AP product takes some beating, retail will be around £2K when released but includes all you need from braided Hoses to Race Fluid, the set up will be lighter than standard also.

AP did comment that the S3 set up is very good for a single piston kit and fine for road use, many parts as stated are shared with the R32 with just minor differences.

I'll keep you all posted once fitted.

Spin
 
S3 Big Andy said:
RS4 brakes are around £1700-1900 depends who you go to?

Where are you based? I may be able to get you discount!!
Click to expand...


Wow thats cheap still a bit over the budget. Suppose if i want them that much i'd cough up the cash and they are on the RS4. Im based all the way in sunny South Wales Cardiff. Discount be nice Andy and also very much appreciated! But was there any reason why your disc cracked? And cost much to fix?

Thanks

Ashley
 
Like to thank every one for the advise and answering my questions appreciated it a lot guys. Now i just got to work out costs and a long hard think before my bank account feels some pain! Any more comments would be great! At the moment im considering the APs ones, S3 and RS4 just for the due fact of what they are and reading over Andy comments about them when he first out them. Out of those 3 what would you lot pick taking in account the price, weight etc And that it could be over my budget. Thanks






NHN said:
Ash, you sure you wanna spend £1300 on a brake system, why not just find a 2nd user S3 345mm brakes & they will be more than enough for your use, you dont track it so for me & only IMHO its an overkill, use the rest of the money for better upgrades then later down the road if the S3 ones arent to your liking then look at a better upgrade, they work well for me.
Click to expand...

Hope you sort that problem out N. Well if i could save some that be great. But i want some brakes that gonna do the job. As im still not sure to just have the engine tunned to 350bhp or try 330 and see how the car gets on. I just want some good brakes that gonna stop the car in its tracks!
I suppose it would be good to try the S3 ones im pretty sure they can take 330 easy? Its just if i have extra cash gonna see if i can go to 380 and i dont want sh*t brakes. Suppose when i finish work i'll have to get all my paper work out. And work out some figures of the cost etc. If im being honest i'd be happy with the S3 ones. When the engine done i plan on doing track days quite a lot and advanced driving courses.
Just gonna have to have a long think and work out things as i suppose less i save on brakes can put that to other mods.
Thanks N

Ashley


S3Alex said:
I've had AP Racing 330mm discs on a 370bhp GpN Escort which was a genuine 4s or less to 60mph car with cornering etc to match.

The APs never let me down,and whilst they are costly,I would recommend these to anyone....you only have to look at the number of competition cars using either AP or Brembo.

Braided steel brake hoses remove a lot of the flex and compression that is possible with standard brake lines,and provide better initial feel to the braking.
Click to expand...

Hi Alex

The APS sound really good. And mean business. Take it they worked very well on the Escort!
I think at the moment top 3 are S3 brakes, Aps and RS4 depending on price. Aps how much do they cost? Aps and RS4 seem to be the top dog. Sure the APs will cost more than the RS4?


EDIT: Ok just had a thought and some quick figures. £1,500 max cant go any higher also if could like to have some change from that lol! I'm already £2.5k over my budget on the whole car after these mods. So gonna try keep it as low as i can without risking any thing.
 
Last edited:
AP make some of the best brakes on the market so you will not go wrong with then plus the calipers are narrow and light so less likely to need spacers to fit your alloys. RS4 calipers are Brembo`s if i remember correctly and as they are so wide you might want to make sure your alloys will fit over the calipers.
 
benskin07 said:
Hope you sort that problem out N. Well if i could save some that be great. But i want some brakes that gonna do the job. As im still not sure to just have the engine tunned to 350bhp or try 330 and see how the car gets on. I just want some good brakes that gonna stop the car in its tracks!
I suppose it would be good to try the S3 ones im pretty sure they can take 330 easy? Its just if i have extra cash gonna see if i can go to 380 and i dont want sh*t brakes. Suppose when i finish work i'll have to get all my paper work out. And work out some figures of the cost etc. If im being honest i'd be happy with the S3 ones. When the engine done i plan on doing track days quite a lot and advanced driving courses.
Click to expand...

Well all you need to do is look at the S3 boys running 330 horses with stock brakes, some have upgraded but most are on stock & they arent complaining mate so take from that what you will & 2nd user would leave you with 1k change leftover, now beat that, lol, its a no brainer mate tbh IMHO. Mine are same & they stop trust me.
 
benskin07 said:
Hi Alex

The APS sound really good. And mean business. Take it they worked very well on the Escort!
I think at the moment top 3 are S3 brakes, Aps and RS4 depending on price. Aps how much do they cost? Aps and RS4 seem to be the top dog. Sure the APs will cost more than the RS4?


EDIT: Ok just had a thought and some quick figures. £1,500 max cant go any higher also if could like to have some change from that lol! I'm already £2.5k over my budget on the whole car after these mods. So gonna try keep it as low as i can without risking any thing.
Click to expand...

Hi Ashley....thanks...they worked very well.

As NHN has said though,most of us with S3s are running stock brakes,and doing fine with them.
The problem (if any are likely in road use),would be repeated hard braking from high speed,where fade may be likely.
Other than that,the stock S3 brakes aren't bad at all.

The only brake mod I have in mind currently is to change the pads to something a bit more aggressive.
 
Questions for every one with an S3 running 300bhp or more on stock brakes how are you finding them? No complaints? thanks and appreciated

NHN said:
Well all you need to do is look at the S3 boys running 330 horses with stock brakes, some have upgraded but most are on stock & they arent complaining mate so take from that what you will & 2nd user would leave you with 1k change leftover, now beat that, lol, its a no brainer mate tbh IMHO. Mine are same & they stop trust me.
Click to expand...


Well if the S3 boys can run 330 with stock brakes...The S3 seem to be best and save me quite a bit aswell! Lol cant beat the £1k change! As you said N i can always change if i decide to go for more power and think they wont be able to handle it! Thanks
 
S3Alex said:
Hi Ashley....thanks...they worked very well.

As NHN has said though,most of us with S3s are running stock brakes,and doing fine with them.
The problem (if any are likely in road use),would be repeated hard braking from high speed,where fade may be likely.
Other than that,the stock S3 brakes aren't bad at all.

The only brake mod I have in mind currently is to change the pads to something a bit more aggressive.
Click to expand...

Hi Alex

Looks like i've picked and saved myself quite a bit aswell! S3 ones it is....What pads you considering? I'm gonna stick to the S3 ones as i change my mind alot! Hopefully me and kaz be able to sort some kind of deal out :)
 
benskin07 said:
Hi Alex

Looks like i've picked and saved myself quite a bit aswell! S3 ones it is....What pads you considering? I'm gonna stick to the S3 ones as i change my mind alot! Hopefully me and kaz be able to sort some kind of deal out :)
Click to expand...

If I can find the right ones my choice would be Pagid as I've used these before,but AMD have also recommended EBC.
 
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