Which front brake pads do people use? (standard S3)

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Splab333

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Hey all, i need some pads for my 2001 s3, what makes do people recommend?? I cant afford anything fancy, i just want something as good as what it would have come out of the factory like. Im guessing a 25gbp set from ebay will be sub standard??? Brake upgrades to come at some point but just need to be able to stop normally for now, what sort of prices am i looking at for pads alone or both discs and pads?? Thanks, james
 
They look alright :eek:) but is the price a bit suspicious in terms of quality when some pads alone cost more than that? Have you get these steve???? thanks

Looking at your sig tho, semms like you have shiny red ones eh!?
 
James333 said:
They look alright :eek:) but is the price a bit suspicious in terms of quality when some pads alone cost more than that? Have you get these steve???? thanks

Looking at your sig tho, semms like you have shiny red ones eh!?
Click to expand...


Mintex are a very well known braking company, and yes i have used these and they are perfectly ok for normal road use, infact the braking was noticeably better than the standard Audi parts i took off to fit them. Obviously they arent as good as say Ferodo DS2500 pads but the question was about standard replacement not uprated pads.

Here are the front pads on there own.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AUDI-TT-FRONT...ZWD1VQQ_trksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem

I think the price says more about the mark up on most shop prices than the quality of these pads, the companys selling these on ebay will buy in bulk and have very small overheads due to not needing to have a shop.
 
good good, thanks steve, that site abdus posted seems worth a look to, many thanks :eek:)
 
audi upgrades
Redstuff? Utter blige...
There are many better pads out there with better bite, modulation and outright stopping power.
I liked the Greenstuffs...but the Redstuffs...not so much!
 
jesters3 said:
Just ordered a set and will fit them at the weekend. Can't argue for £75.99, unless they are *****!
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Dont think you will be dissapointed mate, they are perfectly adequate for normal road use. I found them a slight improvement over the standard Audi equipment.
 
Thanks to everyone :eek:) i ordered the mintex ones on ebay, just hope the 1mm pad i have on the passenger side is ok for the next 2 days!

Cheers
 
jesters3 said:
Just ordered a set and will fit them at the weekend. Can't argue for £75.99, unless they are *****!
Click to expand...

Need new pads for the front but thought to hell with it, an bought the discs and pads set for the front and the rear. Cant argue with £135 posted! Will find out if they are any good or not, dont see why not if they are mintex.
 
Crossdrilled so be wary for cracking.
Cheap though
Yes TT, Skoda VRS, Audi S3, are the same
 
S3Steve said:
Dont think you will be dissapointed mate, they are perfectly adequate for normal road use. I found them a slight improvement over the standard Audi equipment.
Click to expand...

Yeah I think I read an old post by you a while back and some on other forums that made up my mind for me.

In the meantime will be saving for the big brake upgrade so these Mintex should hopefully last a good few thousand.
 
jesters3 said:
Crossdrilled so be wary for cracking.
Cheap though
Yes TT, Skoda VRS, Audi S3, are the same
Click to expand...

Oh do they crack easily then???

Thanks for the info on the TT brakes as they don't have any left on ebay for the S3 but do have some TT ones for the same monies so will keep my eye on them.
 
vrbob said:
Any good?? they do come with the greenstuff pads which Ess Three said were pretty good.
Click to expand...

I liked the Greenstuff pads..but:
EBC no longer suggest them for the S3 due to it's power and weight..they were fine, don't get me wrong...but the glue holding the pad material onto the backplate let go...slightly worrying/
EBC were great, and replaced them straight away...with Redstuff...which I don't rate.

So..if you go with Greenstuffs...just be aware...
 
vrbob said:
Oh do they crack easily then???

Thanks for the info on the TT brakes as they don't have any left on ebay for the S3 but do have some TT ones for the same monies so will keep my eye on them.
Click to expand...

Yes and no, some people have the Brembo Xdrilled with their big brake upgrade and have said they have had no cracking issues, same with the Black Diamond lot then others say they snapped after 6k and warp easily blah blah.

You then look at Grooved as they have the better tensile strength as they haven't got lumps of metal drilled out of it and you get the problem of 'rumbling' underfoot

No point in the combination as they have the holes drilled out and the rumbling problem so you are back to square one.

You then look after the OE ones and there are ***** loads to look at, EBC, Brembo, Mintex, Febi, etc so which one now hmmmmmm.

For me it came on price and avalibilty so I went for the Mintex. I'm saving up for the Big brake system so will just worry about finding bigger discs at a later point. However looking around the next ones on the market would be Rossini Discs - these seem to be well priced - however are the combination, but on the basis of their design and what they are made from I am tempted over the Black Diamond set-up (particulary as the 'blackness' flakes/falls off under hard braking and can cause a stink).
 
Ess_Three said:
I liked the Greenstuff pads..but:
EBC no longer suggest them for the S3 due to it's power and weight..they were fine, don't get me wrong...but the glue holding the pad material onto the backplate let go...slightly worrying/
EBC were great, and replaced them straight away...with Redstuff...which I don't rate.

So..if you go with Greenstuffs...just be aware...
Click to expand...

Cheers think i may just go with the Mintex option for now as Jester suggested and then big brakes at a later date.

jesters3 said:
Yes and no, some people have the Brembo Xdrilled with their big brake upgrade and have said they have had no cracking issues, same with the Black Diamond lot then others say they snapped after 6k and warp easily blah blah.

You then look at Grooved as they have the better tensile strength as they haven't got lumps of metal drilled out of it and you get the problem of 'rumbling' underfoot

No point in the combination as they have the holes drilled out and the rumbling problem so you are back to square one.

You then look after the OE ones and there are ***** loads to look at, EBC, Brembo, Mintex, Febi, etc so which one now hmmmmmm.

For me it came on price and avalibilty so I went for the Mintex. I'm saving up for the Big brake system so will just worry about finding bigger discs at a later point. However looking around the next ones on the market would be Rossini Discs - these seem to be well priced - however are the combination, but on the basis of their design and what they are made from I am tempted over the Black Diamond set-up (particulary as the 'blackness' flakes/falls off under hard braking and can cause a stink).
Click to expand...

Sounds like good advice so may well be a copycat and do the same
 
vrbob said:
Oh do they crack easily then???

Thanks for the info on the TT brakes as they don't have any left on ebay for the S3 but do have some TT ones for the same monies so will keep my eye on them.
Click to expand...


When i rang for mine, i gave the item number of the TT ones and asked if they are ok for mine, its a 51' amk s3, she took my number and rang me back, good servive as i rang real late, they shut at 5 30 and still rang me back after that anyway :icon_thumright:

I had drilled and groved discs and greenstuff pads on my 190bhp MK2 golf, standard 256mm size but made a huge difference i guess the main difference was the pads, as i never really got them overly hot, had them for 10k and the only bad thing i found was the rumbling noise/feel, no cracks etc but then, they are much smaller in size too if that made a difference.

Again, thanks for everones input
 
Cool sounds like a good company then and for disks n pads for less than £80 delivered for a reputable brand you can't go wrong really roll on payday!!

Also i have changed disks n pads on previous cars myself (my old Scooby Turbo for example) Is it reasonably straight forward to do on the S3 or is it ****** complicated like most of the Audi Mechanics!!
 
vrbob said:
Cool sounds like a good company then and for disks n pads for less than £80 delivered for a reputable brand you can't go wrong really roll on payday!!

Also i have changed disks n pads on previous cars myself (my old Scooby Turbo for example) Is it reasonably straight forward to do on the S3 or is it ****** complicated like most of the Audi Mechanics!!
Click to expand...

It's fairly simple - just one thing that caught me out was the screw holding the disk on was made from toffee - be gentle with it as it's easier than drilling it out!

and make sure you've got a caliper winder to hand just in case
 
MikeA3 said:
It's fairly simple - just one thing that caught me out was the screw holding the disk on was made from toffee - be gentle with it as it's easier than drilling it out!

and make sure you've got a caliper winder to hand just in case
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up, will give it ago then rather than pay a mechanic to do it!!
 
Just arrived. Look reasonable and are fecking heavy. Roll on the weekend
 
MikeA3 said:
It's fairly simple - just one thing that caught me out was the screw holding the disk on was made from toffee - be gentle with it as it's easier than drilling it out!

and make sure you've got a caliper winder to hand just in case
Click to expand...

Is a caliper winder essential? Is it just for the rears?
 
i fitted EBC reds and black diamond discs all round you need a winder for the rear calipers only!
they do work really well once warm but i have to be careful when cold!
 
picked up mine up from the postman today. Cant believe the weight!

16odd KGs for the front discs an 9ish for the rears, plus all the pads equals one heavy box. as well as a crazy amount of unsprung weight :-(

Do halfrauds selll teh caliper winder thingy?
 
Fitted DS2500 and standard discs on the front today, initial thoughts are very good

D
 
Couldn't get the frigging tyres off!! Christ they are locked on tight, nearly put my back out trying to do it. I remember when the tyres were changed they had a problem and showed me the bolt, pretty rusty even with Coppergrease on them. Going to have to get a Torque Wrench this afternoon and some new bolts....roll on the weekend.
 
jesters3 said:
Couldn't get the frigging tyres off!! Christ they are locked on tight, nearly put my back out trying to do it. I remember when the tyres were changed they had a problem and showed me the bolt, pretty rusty even with Coppergrease on them. Going to have to get a Torque Wrench this afternoon and some new bolts....roll on the weekend.
Click to expand...

lol...the wheels or the bolts? which one you couldn't take off?

get a breaker bar and a 17 socket too :)
 
abdus said:
lol...the wheels or the bolts? which one you couldn't take off?

get a breaker bar and a 17 socket too :)
Click to expand...

Sorry, yeah, the bolts were seized on the wheel, so I couldn't get the bolts off let alone the wheel!

Ah breaker bar...cheers abdus
 
I had to use an old straight section of exhaust pipe as leverage for my wheel bolts! whoever done them up last was a bit trigger happy with the air gun i think......... If you are stuck with no breaker bar or leverage, you can get the wheel brace from the spare wheel kit and put the jack under it, the weight of the car should be enough to slowly turn the bolt??
 
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