Pads and Discs

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SlyDave

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Hey,

I'm due new pads and discs on all 4 corners on my 2009 8P S3 2.0 TFSI

My local dealer has quoted me £455 for the front, and £320 for the back. this seems rather high? I know a mechanic that can fit and stamp my book, so I was looking to get the parts myself and get them fitted that way.

Which led me to the question, "which parts"? I've got a Parts Request in on as.net to see what's on offer for geniune bits. but I wanted people's experience/opinions on other parts.

Seeing as all the autumn/black friday sales are on, there might be a chance to save some additional cash.

So, what do people recommend for new pads and discs, and why? (I had a quick search of the forum, but couldn't find too many relevant posts strangely, some talk about EBC at least.)

My driving is mostly "enthusiastic" A and B roads, with the normal daily trundle down a motorway, only pushing around 6k a year (on this vehicle)

I see that part-box.com has Cosworth StreeMaster Front's for £92.40 down from £132.00, and Rear for £62.16 down from £88.80, and euro car parts (can you tell I don't know what I'm doing?) has discs for around £30-50 front, and £25-40 back. that gives me total figures of around £150 front, £100 back. or £250 then cost of labour, ves the £455+£320 (£775) Audi has quoted...

Of course I have no idea if the Cosworth stuff is any good, I suspect if I can just get the OEMs cheap they'll be fine for me. Are EBC brakes still something talked about? Redstuff looks suitable and still comes in cheaper than the dealer...

Thoughts?
 
Nothing wrong with ECP, just always buy the known brands, many of them are OE manufacturers anyway. For your brakes buy the Pagid discs and pads. The discs have a coating to limit rusting on the edges and hub but the pad contact area does need de greasing before fitting.
I reckon your local mechanic buys ECP parts anyway. If you order them yourself by click & collect and check Hotdeals.co.uk for the best discount code, it's often cheaper than the trade discount your mechanic will get them for.
Never been a fan of EBC parts myself, there have been instances of pads breaking up and inconsistances in production in the past, so I stick to the big OE suppliers.
 
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I would totally avoid Pagid discs. I fitted a set to my son’s TTS and they warped when hot. He had them exchanged under warranty and they did it again. Another refund and then used EBC with no apparent problems.
 
audi upgrades
I wouldn't pick Pagid again the rears have more lip than the fronts suggesting they know the rears last donkey's and so don't make to the same spec .

The front , yeah braking isn't smooth past 70 , I'd go Brembo next time around .
I'm very aware of not holding the brake pedal when stationary when they're hot!

EBC Redstuff pads got sorted after 2009 when now retired Andy Freeman took the helm as CEO .

Got them on two cars front and rear , OEM+ with much less dust .
 
Gazwould said:
I wouldn't pick Pagid again the rears have more lip than the fronts suggesting they know the rears last donkey's and so don't make to the same spec .

The front , yeah braking isn't smooth past 70 , I'd go Brembo next time around .
I'm very aware of not holding the brake pedal when stationary when they're hot!

EBC Redstuff pads got sorted after 2009 when now retired Andy Freeman took the helm as CEO .

Got them on two cars front and rear , OEM+ with much less dust .
Click to expand...

I have Pagids and you are spot on about rears.
With regards to warping when hot, it happened to me only because the cowboy mechanic that fitted it didn't adjust the calliper properly and the pads were in contact with the disc!
 
I’ve fitted Pagid discs and pads for 20+ years on numerous cars in the family and used to swear by them but after having a set of brand new Pagid pads squeal like a pig when fitted to my Beetle (new discs as well) and a pair of discs for my A3 that appeared to contain casting cracks out of the box I’ve gone right off the brand, sadly.
My A3 has Brembo front discs now coupled with Textar pads front and rear and I cannot fault the brakes.
Regarding comments about a lip on some rear discs, I think there are 253mm and 255mm versions of the (virtual) same disc, so it looks as if the aftermarket discs are 255mm.
I’m guessing buying Genuine from a dealer would be the correct 253mm?
 
Can anyone with a TPS account tell how much OE pads and discs normally cost?
 
You'll never get a consistent answer on a forum. :haha: I don't rate aftermarket Brembo as I've had BMW pads from them that didn't clip properly inside the ATE calliper piston and terrible squealing - like one sometimes experiences on cheap brands. Always been happy with Pagid. Pagid are part of TMD friction who also make Textar and Mintex.

In my personal view, EBC appeal to those who like descriptions such as "performance" of "fast road" whilst Brembo trade on their name :glee:

You have to be very careful buying car parts nowadays as the market is flooded with counterfeit parts from places like China. Companies like Bosch are very concerned about it. I would always recommend buying from a trusted source like ECP, GSF or the OE supplier etc
 
Thanks guys, all solid information.

A parts request has provided the following prices for OEM:

Front pads £90.00
Rear pads £54.00
Front discs £180.00
Rear discs £108.00

Total £432

Looking at Brembo from ECP

Font pads £50-70
Rear pads: £40-50
Front discs £50-100
Rear discs £40-60

Total: £180-280

Pagid, similar prices (couple of quid cheaper here and there), but must admit I'm leaning towards Brembo if only because that is a name I've heard, and reputation must count for something?

I obviously need to confirm precisely which dia pad and size disc I need as ECP apparently isn't capable of telling me this from the reg alone. but even the high end prices are coming out cheaper than OEM (assuming I buy today or in the next sale...)

The price difference between the OEM stuff and the aftermarket stuff is so large I can't really justify going OEM, Or what I mean to say is, a brake is a brake, it has to meet a standard (unless cheap knock off..). So saving £150 is going to get me a brake that will stop my car more or less the same as the OEM bits (which are most likely Mintex).

Is there any fault in my logic there ?
 
SlyDave said:
Thanks guys, all solid information.

A parts request has provided the following prices for OEM:

Front pads £90.00
Rear pads £54.00
Front discs £180.00
Rear discs £108.00

Total £432

Looking at Brembo from ECP

Font pads £50-70
Rear pads: £40-50
Front discs £50-100
Rear discs £40-60

Total: £180-280

Pagid, similar prices (couple of quid cheaper here and there), but must admit I'm leaning towards Brembo if only because that is a name I've heard, and reputation must count for something?

I obviously need to confirm precisely which dia pad and size disc I need as ECP apparently isn't capable of telling me this from the reg alone. but even the high end prices are coming out cheaper than OEM (assuming I buy today or in the next sale...)

The price difference between the OEM stuff and the aftermarket stuff is so large I can't really justify going OEM, Or what I mean to say is, a brake is a brake, it has to meet a standard (unless cheap knock off..). So saving £150 is going to get me a brake that will stop my car more or less the same as the OEM bits (which are most likely Mintex).

Is there any fault in my logic there ?
Click to expand...
Always remember this phrase when buying something ( You only get what you paid for ) .
 
Haha, well indeed!

Which is the real question isn't it. Is the Brembo aftermarket stuff at that price as a good or better than the OEM stuff at the higher price?
So we can boil that down to Brembo vs Mintex. Or another way to say it are the OEM £250 better than the Brembo?

I am thinking for my amount and type of driving any choice will be fine, as long as I don't disrespect my car and go bargain basement, or buy from a non-name site on the cheap (read: knock off)
 
64c1b501-b951-41ea-9cd0-1b4764125e71-jpg.63192
 
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Ha! Excellent.

Then I think I'll save my self £250 and get as good or better kit
 
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Recently got Brembo disks and pads in one of the recent ECP sales and have no complaints at all with them - like throwing anchors out now compared to the prior disk and pads
 
SlyDave said:
Ha! Excellent.

Then I think I'll save my self £250 and get as good or better kit
Click to expand...
Its all personnel peference mate and it is your money but as i said just remember the phrase as it does you no harm ,
 
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To find which discs etc you need, you need to know the PR code which is on a sticker in the spare wheel well of most VAG group vehicles and there is also a duplicate on the inside of the original car service booklet.
As an example ,the front brakes on my A3 are code 1ZE and rears 1KD.
To add to my earlier comments, I’ve fitted Jurid discs to my sisters Mini ( from GSF) and they’ve been great, seemed very good quality and perform very well.
 
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Not sure about the above "chart"??

ATE are a top/premium make - used by BMW - not on the chart?
BMW Mini OE use Jurid and TRW (my wife's had TRW front and Jurid rear) - from the factory!
Toyoto/Citroen/Peugeot use a lot of Bosch
Mintex has an old reputation for quality but is now the budget arm of TMD friction and make ECP Eicher brand at the same Scottish factory.

Take your pick :haha:
 
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All the factory pads on my mothers old 2002 Merc were Textar, and Jurid were OEM manufacturers to VW dating back to the 1950’s so I’d happily fit either brand to any of my cars, and I have,lol.
I haven’t fitted any Mintex pads since the early 1990s (when the quality was good) so can’t comment on them now, although I always thought Eicher stuff from ECP was utter junk and refused to use it!
If Eicher stuff really is made by TMD Friction albeit their budget end does this mean that Eicher items are better than I’ve given them credit for?
 
Got the 345mm brembo discs on front with Brembo Hp2000 pads. Nice little upgrade.
I did buy 340mm TTS discs to go with them but there was more like 3mm overhang on the disc not 1mm quoted around. Mechanic refused to fit them.
Main thing is no more squeaking from the old pads.
 
You're all legends guys.

So I found http://prsearch.planetvag.com/
Plugged in my numbers from the Service Book, and that works out as 1ZK Front, and 1KW rear
which translates into 345mm Front, and 310mm Rear

Took the dive, and went Brembo all corners for a total of £225.22, I can get fitted and stamped for free, so I've just saved £600 vs the garages quote.

Bargain. and virtual pints on me! :beermug:

Out of random interest I did a bit of ebaying a found a few "original" kits on there, not cheap, but they're all branded ATE, seeing what Retroman was saying about the BMWs, and the fact we're talking an S3 here, it could very well be that the OEM parts are ATE and not Mintex.

It does seem however, that the difference between all these brands is fairly insignificant as long as it stops the car without too much dust or squeak...
 
A friend of mine bought the cheapest discs and pads he found on AutoDoc (great place to buy parts by the way, rivals carparts4less) - Ridex I believe, for his Alfa Romeo 166, that cost peanuts and his setup works flawlessly. No rust on the back discs either. Unless you're doing track days or playing fast an furious on the streets I think anything from a reputable manufacturer will do.
 
SlyDave said:
You're all legends guys.

So I found http://prsearch.planetvag.com/
Plugged in my numbers from the Service Book, and that works out as 1ZK Front, and 1KW rear
which translates into 345mm Front, and 310mm Rear

Took the dive, and went Brembo all corners for a total of £225.22, I can get fitted and stamped for free, so I've just saved £600 vs the garages quote.

Bargain. and virtual pints on me! :beermug:

Out of random interest I did a bit of ebaying a found a few "original" kits on there, not cheap, but they're all branded ATE, seeing what Retroman was saying about the BMWs, and the fact we're talking an S3 here, it could very well be that the OEM parts are ATE and not Mintex.

It does seem however, that the difference between all these brands is fairly insignificant as long as it stops the car without too much dust or squeak...
Click to expand...
If you buy the same parts from https://www.carparts4less.co.uk (same owners as ECP) you can get the whole shebang for £201. CP4L is doing 20% off today and they tend to have 12-14% discounts over weekends regularly.
 
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Ahhhh!, ya tell me that now! order already placed. doh. Not going to go through the effort of cancelling for £25 tho. Damn good to know for future mind! thank you.
 
If you're enjoying a range of views, now ask what brand of tyre is best? :glee::haha::congratulatory:
 
It's been posted by an ECP employee on one of the VAG forums , can't remember which , might of been here ?
 
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