S4 front brakes

[S4SIMON]

Guys - hope you can advise me.
I've been using the same specialist for some time now and wanted to do a quick check on a price just for my own peace of mind.
New front discs & pads for B5 S4 £369 + VAT. £20 extra for Red Stuff.
So, a) is main price OK and b) is upgrade worth it?

Cheers

 

[Broken Byzan]

I think yes and yes, in short. There was a guy that was quoted nearly £700 for his brakes from a dealer

 

[S4AS]

why is that an upgrade?? the discs I am saying.... you have said new units but what are they? the same, just new.... look at this rear http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/USR909-EBC-SP...ryZ23013QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


front http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AUDI-S4-TWIN-...ZWD1VQQ_trksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem

to be honest the OEM brake disc is not that good..... it has been said that the cali is ok, ish but the disc is quite poor...... the price you have been given may not be woth it, I am not a fan of the S4 standard disc.

Thank you

 

[Markey]

Dont get EBC pads if you can help it use Ferodo or the other ones which i can not actually remember if you want to upgrade them.

 

[S4SIMON]

I must say I've read a lot of positive feedback on Red Stuffs, think I'll just suck it and see. On my head be it!

Discs are OE. Always difficult when you get different views in a forum. I don't push the car to its limit and don't do trackdays and I've never had any complaints with the OE brakes - probably because of what I was used to before <SAAB>

I have had a generic remap, which frankly hasn't blown me away. I think I'll concentrate on cosmetics now, as the car's a fast cruiser but not quite an STi beater..

If anyone knows of the best way to recover a heated leather seat ie OE part or retrim by specialist let me know... Also windscreen trims are crumbling away and look rotten. I guess this is a common fault..

Thanks again for all your advice chaps

 

[Markey]

It is totally down to individual choice just my 10p

Who did you mapping what were the results sounds like it was not that good a job ?

 

[Blue_Thunder]

If you're happy with the standard brakes, then do not bother upgrading just for the sake of it. I found my OEM brakes to be as good for normal driving as the RS6/RS4 setup i've got now, but I did notice that they faded fast on country roads. When I got a generic K03 remap, I found this to push the brakes beyond their limit much more often.

Would have thought you could get them cheaper though. Have you tried all the usual suspects? (Vagparts, DSGWagen on eBay, GSF)

As for fixing the heated seat elements, a good interior retrimmer should be able to replace them without too much hassle.

 

[S4SIMON]

Angel Tuning standard remap. 2wd dyno only so no verification.
Nice guy, and at the time it did give a bigger thump in the backside, but EGT sensor failed so ECU trimmed boost back. Fixed sensor and running well now, but hard to discern a big difference. Does seem torquier in high rev range.
IMHO if I book an S4 in for a remap I want to be told it's not possible to dyno it afterwards as it should be obvious it's a Quattro vehicle. Overall I don't feel like I've got £399 worth - same old story though - do I travel down there just to be told the problem must lie elsewhere or that I was expecting too much? Shoulda stayed local and gone to REVO or another big tuning house I think...false economy.

Would like more low end grunt and thinking of a sprint booster to sharpen up throttle response a bit. Again, feedback is I would say 85-90% +ve on these little fellers. My specialist also pushes Nology products, but not sure they're worth it - for me anyway.

 

[Blue_Thunder]

Do you have Vagcom to log some figures for a power estimate?

 

[S4AS]

omg a remap on an s4 makes a massive gain....you should really feel it.... its the best bang for buck you can get.... there is something wrong there 100%

 

[S4SIMON]

Nope - but it sounds like I need to pursue this a bit more. Just wish I'd gone local...

 

[S4SIMON]

If that's the case I will have to give them a call I think...have been putting it off if I'm honest. Too busy.

 

[S4AS]

well I am sure 99% will agree with me you should be going from say 265 to 310-320.. 320bhp makes a fairly quick car, in any terms.... you should wip most things.

 

[stapo69]

I've just bought and fitted EBC red pads on the front, for £135, and their Ultimax discs, for £190, so £325 plus £15 postage, off a shop on ebay, AZCARPARTSCOUK. So a bit cheaper than you've been quoted, if thats the route you wanna take. I've found them pretty good so far, now they've bedded in a bit. I couldn't afford silly money for the big RS4/6 upgrade, didn't seem worth it as I'm only running remap and exhaust. It's all down to personal opinon I suppose. I don't see a problem with them, can't be any worse than standard discs and pads, certainly getting less fade.