RS4- Time for a 'stopping' upgrade

[swisstony]

When I bought the car, there was always a small niggle in the back of my mind that the brakes were not as good as they could be. Dont get me wrong, they worked but from closer inspection I could see , both front and back, uneven wear on the discs and you felt it when coming to a hard stop.
I also looked at the condition of the callipers and could see they needed a freshen up so here is the plan. Bearing in mind that new discs for the rears are crazy money, I had to be mindful of cost.
1. Callipers. Sent them off to BCS ( who I have used in the past just for the calliper paint ) as they do a full re-manufacturing service on them, strip them down, rework the pistons, all rubbers etc , dipped and then pro paint service which is guaranteed for life.
2. Front discs. Floating two part Brembos were heavily scoured so instead of renewing the entire assembly I opted to buy new discs from Reyland with J Hooks and re-use my existing bells. Add in new bolt/nut set. Bought new Brembo pads. Tidy up dust guards and hub assembly.
3. Rear discs. They were not as badly scoured as the fronts and as the price is way too high, I opted to reuse them , including pads and just rework them a little , clean up the dust guards and hubs etc. Then add on the fresh new callipers.

So thats the plan, lets get cracking on the strip down. I dont have a ton of photos of the front discs and callipers before but you can get the rough idea from these shots

Front discs and callipers Before

Front Hubs and Dust Guards Before

Hubs etc were all degreased, scrubbed and buzzed and then janolite on them to keep the rust at bay

Dust guards and bells were cleaned up and spray painted

Then the Reyland front discs arrived and built them back up to spec

Whacked them back on the car, copper slip for the troublesome disc screws so they come off easier in the future. All ready for the callipers

Now the backs. As mentioned they are just getting reworked and cleaned up

Before

Half way through the rear discs, back

Ready to go back on

Once the rear hubs have been cleaned

And done, just need callipers now

Next post will be the callipers when they hopefully arrive today.

 

[mikep99]

good work fella

 

[Charlie Farley]

 

[swisstony]

Callipers as promised did arrive
Tasty !

Superb job by BCS as always and it has taken me the better part of the day to fit them so ran out of time and so will do the brake needling tomorrow and more photos of them on .


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[Charlie Farley]

Now they look awesome chap, too good to put back on the car, just mount them on the wall in a frame.

 

[swisstony]

Now they look awesome chap, too good to put back on the car, just mount them on the wall in a frame.

True !!! My wife had a delivery of a Kate spade handbag and was trying to convince me her delivery was better than mine
I beg to differ

 

[swisstony]

Well it took the best part of half a day to do this... not because I am slow but because I had forgotten to take photos of the callipers as they were on and trying to work out which bolt went where and the handbrake cables were a faff on the rear but got there in the end. Did the rears first and as they are 1 pot sliders, getting in the pads was a breeze as you would expect.

I have found a chap that does the calliper caps off a b8/9 I think so will ask him for matching yellow ones.

Now onto the fronts. They were a lot harder ! Holding up big heavy 8 pot callipers whilst trying to locate the ****** big bolts was tricky and then we have the pad insertion. As the pads are considerably thicker , I found with the shims that the Brembo pads came with were just too tight to get the pads slotted in even with pushing all the pistons flush..near impossible. Anyway with lots of swearing they finally slotted home and I could button it all up.

Onto the bleeding..I have posted separately on this asking for advice so hopefully someone will come along to advise. Next photos will be when they on with the wheels and I have been out for a test run and to bed in the new pads and discs.
Going to do a gentle running in procedure like below

• Perform 20 (ish) brake applications slowing from 60mph to 20mph
• • Allow 15-20 seconds between each brake application
• • Use medium deceleration, approximately 60% of maximum
• • DO NOT brake to a stop! (Friction deposits are likely to 'bond' to the brake disc and you will believe you have a warped brake-disc...)
• • When completed, drive the vehicle for at least 5 minutes with little or no braking allowing the brake discs and pads to adequately cool
• All done

 

[swisstony]

Well disaster has struck , typical of my bad luck
Thought the front n/s banjo bolt was dodgy as it seemed to weep a little even when the system was empty and the nut was starting to round .
So when it came time to fit the bolt just didn’t sit all the way in so I filed it down to a 10 brake spanner and managed to get it tight as hell . Then pressurised the system and fluid came streaming out where the nut is so it must be broken somehow .
So clamped it close and set about bleeding the remainder three . Managed to get them semi bled so so much air in the system ! Managed to get it kind of done but guess the remaining calliper is still full of air .

So my only course of action is to get the car recovered to a garage and see if they can replace the banjo bolt and then bleed the brakes .


So close but then I guess some things are sent to trip us up


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[swisstony]

Small update, with the help of you chaps, got the annoying rounded flared nut out and replaced the fronts with braided hoses ( matching yellow as I am a tart ) and finally got it all buttoned up and wheels back on for a bedding in test drive. Brakes could do with one more final bleed I think but aside from that they look awesome

 

[Frizzley]

Callipers as promised did arrive
Tasty !

Superb job by BCS as always and it has taken me the better part of the day to fit them so ran out of time and so will do the brake needling tomorrow and more photos of them on .


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They look stunning x did BCS do the RS decals too?

 

[swisstony]

They look stunning x did BCS do the RS decals too?

Yes I sent though some images of the colour combo I prefer and they applied them

 

[flybynite]

They look great, ( not my colour but still great )

I would be interested how long they last, I have had a few sets done by various 'specialists' over the years that never seem to last. I have ended up taking them to a local blaster who I know does good work and doing the oily bits myself. That was the way I did one of the first sets and they have outlasted everything done since (sometimes twice).

 

[swisstony]

Good point but I ask for the pro painting service which has a lifetime guarantee or as long as I have the car so let’s see

I have painted my own callipers in the past using their paint and seems to hold up


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[Charlie Farley]

The longevity of the finish is dictated to a more or lesser degree by the paint finish.
If they are dipped /blasted and powder coated the finish is very hard wearing and in many cases will outlast wet paint , but a lot also depend on how the calipers are maintained,
Regular proper cleaning will always extend the lifespan of any painted surface, but powder coating is the more durable finish.

 

[flybynite]

If they are dipped /blasted and powder coated the finish is very hard wearing and in many cases will outlast wet paint ,

That is interesting as I have had a few conversations over the years about this, I think the main reservation about powder coating is the temperature resistance. Some cars/brake setups/users will be heavier on them than others but some brake refurbers prefer paint because they can get higher temp resistance. The ones I have that have lasted best were blasted locally and I sprayed them with por15, still going strong compared to the others, including one set that were powder coated.

but a lot also depend on how the calipers are maintained,
Regular proper cleaning will always extend the lifespan of any painted surface, but powder coating is the more durable finish.

All my machines get a good clean each time I swap wheels to and from winters, I treat them to some ACF50 on the arms and subframe too

 

[Charlie Farley]

My racing ducati Brembo calipers are powder coated and withstand the heat very well.