Brake Upgrade-Opinions & Experiences

sebhar70

sebhar70

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Am due to replace the disks and pads on my 2.5 TDi so would be a good time to upgrade the brakes, have looked at
  • S4 B5 HP2 calipers (front)
  • S4 B6 calipers (front)
  • S4 B7 calipers (front)
I know that the B5 calipers are quite popular and are relatively cheap and easy upgrade but not sure of the improvement in stopping power. I don't intend to do track days so don't need race spec just something which is an improvement over the standard set-up. I would assume B6 and B7 S4 calipers would be better than B5, not sure how easy to install and also how much more I would be expected to pay for this upgrade.

Q. What is the best set-up?

Q. Should I consider other brakes (TT)?

Q. How much would it cost approx?

Finally is it worth upgrading the rear brakes or keep standard?
 
B5 S4 brakes are a good choice, they'll defo be better than what you got and I have heard some say the stopping power is far better than the B6 S4 brake set-up because of the 4 pot on the B5's....
I have the B6 S4 set-up and the stopping power is amazing. These brakes are built to handle the weight of both the 2.7bi turbo and the 4.2 V8 so we can say that they're up for the job on our lesser motors.
Out the lot id say either the B5 or B6 set up is what you want. B6 S4 discs are 345mm and the B5 S4 are 321mm IIRC.

Cost all depends, I picked mine up for £170 Calipers/Discs/Pads (which had only done 1500mls) then I had to buy the Guards/Fresh hoses (though its not really a must) which cost me around £70 with all the fresh nuts n bolts. I would have had either, just that the B6 came up first.

Ive seen the B5 S4 brakes go for as little as £75 but then you might end up having to buy new discs/Pads - I didnt bother due to them being more or less new anyway.

I thought about the rears too but then for how much you gain in size at the rear you may aswell leave them as they are unless you want to start spending a fair whack!

**** easy to fit, just need to bleed the system up and your good to go.Quite an enjoyable job to do too especially when your not expecting to stick your head through the screen - thats how much of a difference they made to mine. I now have more confidence in later braking when you need to wiggle in and out of that rush hr traffic.:eyebrows:
 
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I read the A4 mods.com post on B5 S4 upgrade and it does seem straight forward would just need to get a good brake bleeder kit, have been looking around classifieds/ebay and have noticed a few brakes were up for sale for around the £185-£200 mark but they looked like they were in need of a refurb ( I assume that would be at least £150 for refurb kit+shot blast+powder coat) so we're talking:

£185 Calipers/disc/dust sheild/pads
£150 refurb kit+powder coat

And what ever it costs for hoses, bleeder kit, etc.
 
The brakes are ok they do a good job I just need to change them due to uneven wear on the disks I've noticed that about 70% of the pads are making contact with the discs, you can see this due to the surface rust on the discs (this is on all four wheel). This could be due to incorrect seating of the pads or warped discs, I'm surprised that it's happened to all of the discs. It may be somethings else I'm not aware of all I know is that they need to be replaced. My garage has quoted me £550 for new discs/pads/brake fluid and labour for all four wheels, I don't know if this is a good price or I can get it done cheaper.
Considering that I am going to lay out some dough I might as well upgrade the system it will cost me about the same price as standard set-up.
 
£550 seems steep to me! so yes you are doing the right thing by upgrading to better brake set-up. Just make sure you find a decent set.
I had this uneven issue lastweek on my Van, I sometimes wondered why my brakes felt crap on sudden braking so I had a full service on it and new brakes all round which cost me £650.
Anyway back to the Audi - You can afford to splash out on a decent set-up so keep your eyes peeled Seb.
 
J7USS said:
£550 seems steep to me! so yes you are doing the right thing by upgrading to better brake set-up. Just make sure you find a decent set.
I had this uneven issue lastweek on my Van, I sometimes wondered why my brakes felt crap on sudden braking so I had a full service on it and new brakes all round which cost me £650.
Anyway back to the Audi - You can afford to splash out on a decent set-up so keep your eyes peeled Seb.
Click to expand...

I'm definately going to do them but not sure if I can be bothered to refurb some B5 S4 brakes or try and get some low mileage B6 S4 ones. My main priority is to refurb my alloys then tackle my brakes, I wanted to change the wheels just have'nt got a grand or two spare.
 
Yeah it'll defo pay to find a decent set then if you dont want to refurb. Mine wasnt too bad, just a real good scrub and a £10 tin of halfords caliper paint did the trick nicely.
You like the 'Hard to find stuff' hey,lol...Just stay on the Ball and ring round the breakers, Ive been getting more luck with breakes down south than I have Midlands/North!

Whichever you get whether the B5 or B6 they will bolt straight on anyway.

Grand or 2 on wheels? sounds like you going for a serious set....any clues??
 
I do like my wheels (Mk1 RS TT sport) just feel that I would like something different, been looking around for several months thought about:

VMR 710
710.jpg


BBS LM's
LMs.jpg


Neuspeed
Neuspeedrs10.jpg


Volk alloy
Volk.jpg


4218715690_72997c118c-1.jpg


I am beginning to warm to these: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-GENUINE-A...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item414b56b5ee

The only thing is that when you look at the US sites the price looks reasonable when you convert to £ unfortunately the shipping costs are huge, the same wheels sold by a UK retailer are like double the price. One thing I will say those boys stateside sure do know how to trick there cars no expense spared :hubbahubba:



http://www.a4mods.com/library/bodykits/index.php?album=S4
 
docurley said:
Also you could put B5 RS4 brakes on here.

Have a look on audisrs.com brake pop up on there quite a lot.
Click to expand...

Hi docurley,

Just had a look and someone is selling an RS4 front brake setup which looks in good condition, the only thing is I dont know if I need so much stopping power in a 2.5TDi I mean I do'nt want to lose my front teeth if I get a bit heavy with the brake peddle, I'm tempted though!! I can't believe it someone was virtually giving away a B5 S4 front calipers and rotors a couple of weeks ago, gutted!!...:crying:
 
You can never have too much :eyebrows: they where a great setup on my B5 and worked well and you adapt fast to them plus your car is somewhat heavier than my B5 1.8T so you will be fine plus mintex brake pads only cost £25 off eBay so they are cheap to run too.
 
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sebhar70 said:
I do like my wheels (Mk1 RS TT sport) just feel that I would like something different, been looking around for several months thought about:


I am beginning to warm to these: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-GENUINE-A...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item414b56b5ee

The only thing is that when you look at the US sites the price looks reasonable when you convert to £ unfortunately the shipping costs are huge, the same wheels sold by a UK retailer are like double the price. One thing I will say those boys stateside sure do know how to trick there cars no expense spared :hubbahubba:



http://www.a4mods.com/library/bodykits/index.php?album=S4
Click to expand...

It's only one wheel and they are for a RS4 i.e. offset 21 wont fit.
 
J7USS said:
B5 S4 brakes are a good choice, they'll defo be better than what you got and I have heard some say the stopping power is far better than the B6 S4 brake set-up because of the 4 pot on the B5's....
Click to expand...
B5 S4s have twin pot sliders stock so theres no 4 pots ,
and in all honesty unless your really driving hard on the brakes or doing track days theres nothing wrong with stock set up ,
and this isnt because i have not done a brake upgrade ever as i have on a few cars but for everyday use no point really only to fill 18s+ up .

IMG_1461.jpg
 
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I get ya Paul20V, just fancy doing it really, the discs and pads need changing and B5 S4 brakes are quite a cheap mod, aint it!!..
 
sebhar70 said:
I get ya Paul20V, just fancy doing it really, the discs and pads need changing and B5 S4 brakes are quite a cheap mod, aint it!!..
Click to expand...
Its cheap enough but there not the best set up going , the pads are to small really the disc size is good thou i have a set sat in my garage its a case of shall i or not they were the stockers off the S4 in the pic below but when you got used to the setup pictured below everything felt crap (8 pot brembos - 365mm full floating discs ) .:icon_thumright:
 
paul20v said:
Its cheap enough but there not the best set up going , the pads are to small really the disc size is good thou i have a set sat in my garage its a case of shall i or not they were the stockers off the S4 in the pic below but when you got used to the setup pictured below everything felt crap (8 pot brembos - 365mm full floating discs ) .:icon_thumright:
Click to expand...

I you want to get rid of B5 brakes send me a PM.
 
sebhar70 said:
Am due to replace the disks and pads on my 2.5 TDi so would be a good time to upgrade the brakes, have looked at
  • S4 B5 HP2 calipers (front)
  • S4 B6 calipers (front)
  • S4 B7 calipers (front)
I know that the B5 calipers are quite popular and are relatively cheap and easy upgrade but not sure of the improvement in stopping power. I don't intend to do track days so don't need race spec just something which is an improvement over the standard set-up. I would assume B6 and B7 S4 calipers would be better than B5, not sure how easy to install and also how much more I would be expected to pay for this upgrade.
Click to expand...

What's the difference between S4 B6 and S4 B7 brakes anyway?
And what size is your current ones?
I am in the same boat but mine are already 312mm at the moment so upgrading to S4 B5's 321mm seems a bit pointless.
 
I have to change my discs anyway, the garage has quoted me £550 I know that I can get B5 S4 brakes for about £180-£250 good nick and I've heard positives about this brake so it does'nt make any difference to me if I go standard set-up or S4. I'm sure that brakes designed for sports set-up perform better than a diesel set-up. What do you reckon!!.....
 
Hmmm!? £500??? I'm sure you can get standard discs for like £60 a pair and it takes a garage less than 2 hours to change :O
 
ooopps My bad! Twin pot sliders Seb, Not 4-pot.

B5 Rs4's are mega Heavy.
For what you going to pay to renew your stock brakes then go for the Upgrade - Even if its just for the Look! Bigger brakes behind the wheel look sexy!!!
 
Yeah I know big anchors look the part!!... I know Smoothassualt did this mod a little while ago, the brakes looked huge. Definately tempted although I think I will put that on hold for now alloys are what I'm interested in.
 
Does anyone know the part number for a S4 B5 HP2 caliper rebuild kit as shown in the "A4mods.com caliper rebuild how-to". Mine are the later HP2s with the aluminium housing and top retainer clip for the pads, earlier version had no pad clip on the top and steel/iron housing (i think it was steel or iron).

I've emailed A4mods but no answer yet.

Thanks
 
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