Thread: S3 brakes - brake lines

Hi all,

Keeping it simple:

I've been in contact with a fella (not on here) for a few days about a set of S3 brakes. He's got calipers, carriers, discs, pads. I got sent some pictures which are phone quality. They look mint apart from the brake lines. I said to him they look cut. He said they have but there is a good amount left on each.

I may sound totally stupid here as I've never touched my brakes but: why would they have been cut?

Supposed to be looking at them tomorrow, apart from that look perfect.

Cheers,
Scott

Maybe he couldn't get his brake lines off? Of the fittings were toast or stripped? You can order steel lines anyhoo, those can improve braking by causing less flex in the line, which can increase pressure to brakes.

Agreed with the above. If you're changing the brakes anyway i'd be looking into getting steel braids, not sticking with standard ones! What kind of brakes are you swapping out?

My brake guy will sort you out with braided lines

Standard lines are perfectly sufficient for these brakes in your current/future setup I'm aware of atm, I cant see them flexing at all unless its under immense & I mean immense pressure, I have stock on both my cars & I have no issues whatsoever.

I've had braided before on my S3 & noticed no difference tbh & this was running some mighty 10pot tarox units.

Its not like you're stopping a fighter jet in 2 yards is it, oem's are cheaper & do a great job.

Note though, if you do go for braided then goodridge when I last checked didnt do 8P version, so others have used the R32 mk5 lines which are identical of course as same brakes for 3.2, S3 & R32

How many people understand the composition of braided lines?

Not wishing to appear aloof or anything, but people talk about like they are the "messiah" of all things. But understand nowt about the composition.

I went for ordinary lines on my sunday driver after negotiating this minefield. and have no issues what -so-ever.

kevin

I've bought the brakes and they're fine, of course the brake lines have been cut but I'll replace them with either oem or braided lines depending on price difference.

For the rears do I need new handbrake cables as they have also been cut or will my current ones be ok?

Cheers,
Scott

Shouldnt need, but I'd say the lines & handbrake cable were cut to remove them quicker, need I say more.

Originally Posted by Scott

I've bought the brakes and they're fine, of course the brake lines have been cut but I'll replace them with either oem or braided lines depending on price difference.

For the rears do I need new handbrake cables as they have also been cut or will my current ones be ok?

Cheers,
Scott

That's just such a shoddy way to remove anything from a car,and says a lot about the seller.

Braided lines?...my 2p's worth...as has been said,on most brake setups you won't notice any difference,but on some,you may notice a bit of an improvement in feel,and they should certainly outlast an ordinary set...if you really want that!

OEM sets these days, albeit accident damage, should last the life of the car tbh.

Originally Posted by NHN

OEM sets these days, albeit accident damage, should last the life of the car tbh.

I'm sure you're right...it was more of a tongue-in-cheek comment.

If you're old enough(which I certainly am!) you'll probably remember some of the awful lines that cars used to be fitted with....

Yeah "some" parts have come a long way huh, so have the prices lmfao

here here on the damn prices !!

Your std hoses will prob suffice tbh, as Audi tend to use short metal pipes to do the "conversion" and a std flexi across the board. ( i might be wrong, but deffo the case on B5s)

TBH the 345mm calipers pipes are fairly robust, nice & thick & certainly IMHO wouldnt bulge as such, I cant see them flexing at all tbh

This is all useful information. I plucked a full set of 2010 S3 brakes off eBay a few days ago, and they will be arriving tomorrow. Front and rear calipers, discs, pads and brackets, with only 3,000 miles on them! I am aiming to fit them to my 2005 A3 2.0 TDI, which has 18" wheels these days. I assume from this thread that neither the front NOR the rear brake lines from the standard brakes will reach to the new calipers? Are there any other niggles that I'd rather find out now than when I've got everything on the floor?

Originally Posted by heeman10

This is all useful information. I plucked a full set of 2010 S3 brakes off eBay a few days ago, and they will be arriving tomorrow. Front and rear calipers, discs, pads and brackets, with only 3,000 miles on them! I am aiming to fit them to my 2005 A3 2.0 TDI, which has 18" wheels these days. I assume from this thread that neither the front NOR the rear brake lines from the standard brakes will reach to the new calipers? Are there any other niggles that I'd rather find out now than when I've got everything on the floor?

Pretty sure you bought them off the same seller as me as I was going to buy those and they sold!
Think I saw your brakes (he showed me another set) - the seller is very, very dodgy, so be glad if they're being couriered and you're not collecting lol. All I've ordered is the front/rear hoses (approx £40 Audi) as they had been cut by the seller and I'm hoping everything else is ok.

Scott - I saw them, ummd and ahhd a few minutes, and realised I'd just have to buy them because they'd disappear in a heartbeat. I can't say I like his style much, but all being well, they should be with me in an hour or two via Interlink. I'll be happy when they're in my hands! It was a killer price wasn't it! You went to his place then? Did my brakes look okay? I asked him to include any bolts, but I suspect they'll all be chewed and rounded. £40 sounds extremely reasonable from Audi! I'll try going through TPS I think. When are you carrying out the conversion then matey?

Originally Posted by heeman10

I assume from this thread that neither the front NOR the rear brake lines from the standard brakes will reach to the new calipers?

Its not a case of reach, the existing brake lines on stock brakes arent the same as the 345mm verions, you need to get new lines for a minimum of fronts & possibly rears, I havnt bothered uprating rears as I see no benefit on these cars with the power rating, 345mm on both mine stop almost on a dime with just fronts changed.

Have you not found the car nose dives with the little stock setup at the back? I put big brakes on the front of my last project car and it almost picked the rear wheels up off the ground under hard braking, so I fitted big discs at the back too, and bias adjustors.

TBH 345 front with 280-288 rear work perfectly ok on both my cars, now of course common sense tells us if we're doing 150mph then braking with foot in the tarmac you will get as you say imho on this setup, but no probs here.

Well I'm not fitting these brakes to help me gradually slow to a halt in 30 zones

They have just arrived, in a proper state. Calipers scuffed up, every single hose hacked off, one of the metal pipes has even been cut, and the handbrake cable snipped. Oh, and two of the three Pampers boxes had come open in the van. Thankfully the driver was careful with them.

Will my standard handbrake cable marry up to the rear calipers okay? Looks like I'll be buying a few bits and pieces before these are ready to go anywhere near my car! Infuriating.

Just spoke to Audi, and he wouldn't do much for me without the chassis number from the S3 the brakes came off, which is often the case for us folk!

He said the front brake hose is the same all across the board, for 1.4s, 1.6s, Quattros, S3s etc, is that correct? So I can expect to bolt my S3 calipers straight on and my 2.0 TDI's hose will screw in without issue? From what people on here have said, that's not the case?

Also, he's removed the bolts from the rear caliper sliders, along with ONE of the four large star-drive cap headed bolts that bolt through the main caliper body. Audi don't list them, I'd have to buy a whole new caliper, and the seller doesn't have it. Perfect!

The S3 hoses use threaded fixing on each end, the 2.0 tdi's I've come across all use thread on car end & a banjo bolt fixing on the other.

Okay, just another parts man who can't use the system then I guess, thanks

Any bright ideas about where I can get the nuisance missing bolts? The short metal pipes on one front caliper and one rear caliper are also munched. Again - not sure Audi will sell those separately.

Originally Posted by heeman10

Just spoke to Audi, and he wouldn't do much for me without the chassis number from the S3 the brakes came off, which is often the case for us folk!

He said the front brake hose is the same all across the board, for 1.4s, 1.6s, Quattros, S3s etc, is that correct? So I can expect to bolt my S3 calipers straight on and my 2.0 TDI's hose will screw in without issue? From what people on here have said, that's not the case?

Also, he's removed the bolts from the rear caliper sliders, along with ONE of the four large star-drive cap headed bolts that bolt through the main caliper body. Audi don't list them, I'd have to buy a whole new caliper, and the seller doesn't have it. Perfect!

Ah! ****!
My calipers have a few little scuffs on them but not too bad.

My brake hoses were also cut along with handbrake cable. I've been told my current cable will fit ok. As for hoses, you need:

3C0 611 701 J x 2 (£28) - front hoses
1K0 611 775 C x 2 (£12) - rear hoses

excluding VAT

You've worried me now about having bolts missing. I haven't noticed any but I think I need to double check.

They are being fitted Saturday so we'll see.....

Cheers,
Scott

I have checked mine and no bolts missing. I'll check etka and see if I can find yours mate. You might always be able to get them off your current brakes.

Thanks for those part numbers, I'll get them ordered once I have the bolts and metal pipes I need. Thank you for checking on ETKA, whenever you get round to it. I've told the seller he needs to get all the missing bolts for me (he wanted to go to a "bolt shop" to get them!), as well as the metal pipes that were damaged. He told me the best he could do would be to give me £25 to buy it all with, as though (a) it's just a case of walking into Audi and buying the five parts I need and (b) £25 would get me more than an M8 washer from Audi! He is going to try and get hold of the parts, but hopefully I can find a way of getting them new from Audi, then he can cover the cost.

I'll wait to hear back from you and your ETKA findings matey I look forward to seeing your brakes fitted!

My netbook is in my car still which has etka installed - I will check Saturday (when brakes are being fitted) if no one else has a look before. I can also let you know if the brakes went on ok with new hoses or if I needed anything else, as a few sites suggest lines, clips etc but I've spoke to someone who knows and he said: no - hoses only. I'm not sure how my brake cable for handbrake is going to connect up either looking at it..... but that's why I'm not a mechanic.

I'm not being funny mate but tread very carefully with this guy (remember I've met him). I made very sure he didn't get my address and I didn't pick them up in my own car as something just doesn't add up with him. Dodgy to say the least.

Cheers
Scott

Dodgy or not, his advert said the brakes I bought were in excellent condition, and ready to fit to a car. He can be as dodgy as he likes, but there are laws about what you sell. He's finally admitted that he just bought them to sell on, and was "told that they were okay". I really hope you can dig the bolts and pipes out as individual items on ETKA, otherwise I'm pretty stuck really.

I'll wait until after the weekend before I try to make any progress then, I hope it's a success for you matey