Rubbish brakes

[s11nny]

Ever since owning my a3 the brakes are not sharp and dont give a good bite. The disc and pads were changed by previous owner also reciepts show good quality parts.

Also the car locks up too under heavy brakeing, some lock up is acceptable but this is doing at low speeds. No lights show in dashboard,
Any ideas

 

[xpoweruk]

Are the tyres of good quality and condition ?

 

[S3Alex]

What are the specs of the current brake setup?

Discs/pads etc,and how is it used.....driven hard etc?

 

[desertstorm]

Does the ABS not work if the brakes are locking up ?. As Xpoweruk says the tyres play a big part in braking especially this time of the year when it's cold and wet. If they are cheap ditch finders that will probably be most of your problem.

 

[s11nny]

tyres are Pirelli pzero rosso all round have about 5mm of tread, standard disc and pad setup for a 1.8tfsi, changed recently by the old owner have receipts from eurcarparts shows up as pagid pads(which are oem).
it locks up even at low speeds 20mph, not even that much force is applied,
approaching lights, junctions also is poor performance, theres no feel in them,

 

[desertstorm]

When you say it locks up do you mean the ABS is kicking in. This can happen if the ABS sensor is faulty or not in the correct position or quite often the reluctor ring is split. Had this happen twice on cars I have owned.
The ABS sensor sees missing pulses and thinks the wheel has locked so the ABS kicks in.
Also the Pagid parts ECP sell I don't think are the same quality and same parts as the OE parts. They are good pads but I know the Pagid discs ECP sell are not the same parts as the OE discs.
http://www.reluctorrings.com/fitting/slotted

 

[s11nny]

deffo locking up, as you can hear it/feel the tyres skidding. also can feel it lock through the steering, and brake pedal, may take it to get investigated when my service is due,

 

[s11nny]

just drove to work and tested them, its more of a grinding, vibrating sound, how much are reluctor rings, can you replace them without a new driveshaft as some cars require a new driveshaft if these have gone

 

[Sayam]

Has the car been scanned with vcds? Any codes?

 

[s11nny]

car has been on a diagnostic machine for a previous issue by audi, they never picked anything up,

 

[Ibisa3]

How does your pedal feel when you are stationary ?

Check all the flexis for damage. have an assistant apply a good amount of pedal pressure whilst you check them over ;-)

 

[SootySport]

Your not confusing the abs applying and releasing the brakes with the grinding of the brakes are you? This is how it should work. Only mentioning this as my neighbour bought his first newish ABS car last year and didn't realise he had to keep his foot hard on the pedal constantly. The pedal then vibrates as the abs sets to work until you stop.

 

[s11nny]

Your not confusing the abs applying and releasing the brakes with the grinding of the brakes are you? This is how it should work. Only mentioning this as my neighbour bought his first newish ABS car last year and didn't realise he had to keep his foot hard on the pedal constantly. The pedal then vibrates as the abs sets to work until you stop.

hi, its deffo something wrong, my old car had abs, and never had these issues, I'm going to take to a garage. have checked the pedal, when pumping it with foot resistance builds up so no air in system, may do a brake fluid service change may fix it, main issue is that they are not sharp, my old Astra had way sharper brakes,

 

[Sayam]

main issue is that they are not sharp, my old Astra had way sharper brakes,

I came from a Corolla 2.0D4D and again, when I first got the A3 the brakes aren't sharp at all. The only thing I will say (mines had new pads all round and brake fluid upgraded to DOT5.1) is that speaking from experience these brakes will stop the car on a dime.

But I know what you mean. For example in mine, when driving up to a junction just before you come to a stop they don't give you that 'bite' or 'clamp' that I was use to in my old car. It's almost as though you have to push the pedal further to make the car come to a stop, whereas in the corolla, the same constant pressure would make the car come to a stop.

Tbh I've just written if off as a quirk of the braking system, but if you do fix it please let me know

 

[Jimboginge]

Might be worth checking the rear calipers. If these weren't rewound properly then it could cause problems. Maybe they have been forced back instead of being rewound, I've seen people make this mistake a few times.

 

[Sayam]

Might be worth checking the rear calipers. If these weren't rewound properly then it could cause problems. Maybe they have been forced back instead of being rewound, I've seen people make this mistake a few times.

I was there when the mechanic changed the pads and he used the caliper tool to wind it back.

The time before that (before I owned the car) Audi changed the discs and pads.

What would be the way to tell damage and is it a new caliper to fix?

 

[s11nny]

might have found the problem, have looked at the receipt for the pads that were fitted and after searching euro car parts using the part number on receipt, it comes back as eicher pads, which are rubbish, I will be changing these the ebc green stuff, what pads are best for a standard a3 tfsi, cant afford a s3 conversion so needs to be oem,

 

[desertstorm]

I wouldn't bother with Green stuff pads just pay the extra £10 and go for red stuff. A lot less dust and a much better pad.
I believe if you have 288mm or 312mm ATE brakes the correct pad is these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EBC-Redst...004953?hash=item43e3b39119:g:zroAAOSwgNRV8AYY

Eicher pads seem to get a lot of bad press if you google them . But according to this they are made in Britian by TMD friction. They make Textar , Mintex and Pagid pads.
http://accreditation.theimi.org.uk/magazine-product/eicher-brake-pads

 

[leshkin]

One thing I've learned after using Red Stuff pads with EBC Ultimax disks on my S3 is to never completely stop after driving and braking hard even for for a short period of time without letting them cool. The pads leave brake residue/imprints on the disk if you keep the brake pedal pressed, which causes brake judder down the line due to the deposits causing uneven braking - very not pleasant. I guess it goes for any brakes, but the best advise I got given is to always ensure that brakes cool down a little before coming to a complete stop. Not knocking EBC gear - just sharing my experience with it.

 

[desertstorm]

The same is true of any pad. If you read the brake in instructions for most pads it specifically states not to stop completely, and to make sure the brakes have fully cooled before stopping and applying the handbrake. If you have to stop probably better to put the handbrake on as the rear discs don't get anywhere near as hot as the front brakes.

 

[s11nny]

thanks for the replies will be changing these now, I have 288 mm disc can I put the larger 312mm on without changing the calipers and carriers

 

[SootySport]

I always use Pagid pads on my road cars, can't beat 'em. If you do go the 312 route you'll be using the same pads anyway.

 

[desertstorm]

You need to change the carriers, the calipers are the same. The 312mm carrier space the caliper further out so it's in the correct position for the larger disc.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-A3-8...846950?hash=item20de51a866:g:9LwAAOxyOMdS2prx

 

[thesaint08]

I wouldn't expect poor pads to cause the brakes to lock up at slow speeds.

 

[s11nny]

wasn't locking, just vibrating grinding noise, sounded like locking, I am changing pads tomorrow, pagid as they seem respected on forums also Euro car parts have 50 percent off all parts

 

[thesaint08]

wasn't locking, just vibrating grinding noise, sounded like locking, I am changing pads tomorrow, pagid as they seem respected on forums also Euro car parts have 50 percent off all parts

You could see how I was confused:

Also the car locks up too under heavy brakeing, some lock up is acceptable but this is doing at low speeds.

it locks up even at low speeds 20mph, not even that much force is applied,

deffo locking up, as you can hear it/feel the tyres skidding.

 

[audismart]

Pagid pads and discs on mine and Ive got dsg, stops on a dime and very sharp to stop, dsg have slightly larger pads and discs but you shouldnt see much of a difference with a standard set up. Dont bother green stuff red stuff or whatever stuff on a road car,

 

[s11nny]

Yep can see how u got confused. It sounded at first like locking up to me. Upon further investigation its just noise and vibration. also because pads were rubbish i had to put more pressure on which caused a few lockups. Will be going pagid
Thanks for all the help

You could see how I was confused:

 

[mookster]

The 3.2 brake set-up is pretty smart, and probably a cheaper upgrade than S3. Don't forget to change/upgrade fronts and rears together to ensure the brake bias remains as designed

 

[s11nny]

have gone for pagid discs and pads at the front, already noticed a difference much sharper, not run in properly yet, but once they are then they will be perfect, old pads went straight in the bin lol,

 

[Rob C]

The 3.2 brake set-up is pretty smart, and probably a cheaper upgrade than S3. Don't forget to change/upgrade fronts and rears together to ensure the brake bias remains as designed

I thought the 3.2 and S3 brakes were the same?

 

[audismart]

Find a DSG scrap car and use the calipers and discs from that, even cheaper.

 

[Sayam]

I thought the 3.2 and S3 brakes were the same?

They are.

 

[mookster]

Ah, I didn't think mine were the same, they just look like large normal sliding calipers, not the four pots like an S3. Perhaps they were changed on later 3.2s

 

[Rob C]

Ah, I didn't think mine were the same, they just look like large normal sliding calipers, not the four pots like an S3. Perhaps they were changed on later 3.2s

S3's don't have four pots ;-)

 

[Sayam]

Ah, I didn't think mine were the same, they just look like large normal sliding calipers, not the four pots like an S3. Perhaps they were changed on later 3.2s

They're the same. S3 ones look prettier because of the fancy clip with S3 written on it lol.

Lots of people with R32 brakes order the Golf R one from the mk6 to achieve the same look

 

[Techen]

My pedal was great until a few days ago, I found a cracked hose that leads into the master so thats getting replaced, Also checked my front discs and pads, Welp... Xmas has to wait now

 

[mookster]

They're the same. S3 ones look prettier because of the fancy clip with S3 written on it lol.

Ha, gotcha