RS3 brake problem , please help !!

[Sam81]

Hi Guys , so I got myself an RS3 15 plate 6 month ago and loved it !! But breaks starts squicking in all weather conditions and I know it’s common problems with this model

Went to Audi which was useless and wate if time ! They plug it in and say nothing wrong with it ( pads and disc in good conditions )

I started to really hate the car now as it’s embarrassing sound and doesn’t make me enjoy driving it

I know breaking hard on high speed will get rid of the dust and will solve it temporarily but I live in London and can’t be on motorways breaking all the time

So what’s my options are or is there any good garage can sort my breaks out ?? Obviously I don’t want spend ££ on replacing or swaping the breaks ,

Thanks in advance for your help

Sam

 

[Evil Diesel]

Redstuff pads appear to be the popular answer.

 

[DW81]

Red stuffs here zero squeal

 

[bqik]

Hi Guys , so I got myself an RS3 15 plate 6 month ago and loved it !! But breaks starts squicking in all weather conditions and I know it’s common problems with this model

Went to Audi which was useless and wate if time ! They plug it in and say nothing wrong with it ( pads and disc in good conditions )

I started to really hate the car now as it’s embarrassing sound and doesn’t make me enjoy driving it

I know breaking hard on high speed will get rid of the dust and will solve it temporarily but I live in London and can’t be on motorways breaking all the time

So what’s my options are or is there any good garage can sort my breaks out ?? Obviously I don’t want spend ££ on replacing or swaping the breaks ,

Thanks in advance for your help

Sam

Were are you from?

best think is to contact AUDI directly.

in my brothers RS3 8V 2015 plate he is on 3rd set of disc and pads all of them from AUDI after arguing a lot.

in my RS3 8V 2016 I amb in my 2nd set.

regardss

 

[DW81]

Were are you from?

best think is to contact AUDI directly.

in my brothers RS3 8V 2015 plate he is on 3rd set of disc and pads all of them from AUDI after arguing a lot.

in my RS3 8V 2016 I amb in my 2nd set.

regardss

****** hell three sets of brakes well just shows how s... the oem brakes are then. All seriousness you can go back and forth from the dealer and bash your head against a wall why doing so, or bite the bullet and sort an alternative.

 

[T-800]

Ferodo DS performance FDS 1664 cured my squeal on a Late 2015 RS3.
Miles better than the OEM rubbish.

 

[Hal Adams]

Hi Guys , so I got myself an RS3 15 plate 6 month ago and loved it !! But breaks starts squicking in all weather conditions and I know it’s common problems with this model

Went to Audi which was useless and wate if time ! They plug it in and say nothing wrong with it ( pads and disc in good conditions )

I started to really hate the car now as it’s embarrassing sound and doesn’t make me enjoy driving it

I know breaking hard on high speed will get rid of the dust and will solve it temporarily but I live in London and can’t be on motorways breaking all the time

So what’s my options are or is there any good garage can sort my breaks out ?? Obviously I don’t want spend ££ on replacing or swaping the breaks ,

Thanks in advance for your help

Sam

Where are you in London? Do you know anyone who is capable of changing brake pads (The RS3 is no different from any other front disc car in this regard)?

Your squeeling is not a huge problem - other than the problem of Audi not addressing it. All you need is:

1. From ebay, item 332368782466 - Redstuff pads front.
2. From ebay, item 232504506510 - Redstuff pads rear
3. From ebay, item 351459693225 - anti squeel paste.

99% guarantee these will fix it when properly installed.

 

[Sam81]

Thanks for reply guys !
So replacing Brajes from Audi will sort the problem ? And are we talking changing pads + discs ?

Will changing pads with red stuff or other brand will resolve the issue ?

Last thing , I think I only have the noise coming from front or do I need change front and back ?

 

[Sam81]

So you guys reckon red stuff or DS performance?

 

[Hal Adams]

I do not wish to be patronising, but I really think you need to talk with someone who really knows brakes and their problems. I appreciate that this should be Audi, but they are sadly, less than adequate. This is why I ask where you are in London as there are several experts in and around the place. the reason why I suggest this is that you end up asking if changing the pads resolves the issue - this despite sevearl telling you that it does/will..!

Squeel is nothing to do with discs. Squeel is the high frequency vibration between two pieces of metal - in your case, the pad backing plate in the caliper slider. This will only happen at low speeds where the pad is allowed to move around its location in the caliper. Sort this out and the problem is cured. The reason why Redstuff or DS appears to work is that the backing plate is maybe larger by a mm or two giving it a better fit in the caliper.

 

[Sam81]

Oh ok thanks for replying again Hal , I’m based at west London (south ken ) and willing to go somewhere you recommend who can actually sort my issue if you don’t mind put me on the right direction?

And you right I have huge amount of vibration along side with squeaking noise !
It’s sounds when airplanes taking off if you know what I mean

 

[T-800]

DS Pads fitted to my 2015 car.
No anti-Squeal shims (Ferodo don’t supply them with their pads)

Just a light coating of Wûrth anti squeal spray let it sit for 10 mins then fit.

Job done

Never squealed after that at all.

Improved bite over oem pads and they got better the more they were used.

 

[D0C]

Oh ok thanks for replying again Hal , I’m based at west London (south ken ) and willing to go somewhere you recommend who can actually sort my issue if you don’t mind put me on the right direction?

And you right I have huge amount of vibration along side with squeaking noise !
It’s sounds when airplanes taking off if you know what I mean

Stick with the car. I had horrific squeal from my brakes in the beginning. One day I was in a traffic jam for nearly two hours...stop start, stop start, squeal squeal, squeal squeal. I was apoplectic by the time I got home as it was annoying and really embarrassing. I got straight onto Audi threatening all kinds and they had the car in and put these balancing weights on. It has 90% cured the problem but is not perfect.

What Hal says is almost certainly the cause and I would probably take the plunge and change the pads as he has suggested. Then you can get on with enjoying what is a great car.

One final thing I would say is that it is appalling from Audi. These are long running problems that should have been sorted a long time ago.

 

[Beebee-one]

Considering how fancy they look, the OEM brakes are the biggest disappointment on the RS3. The squealing started after around 4K miles on my car but they were also suffering from brake fade after several hard stops during some 'enthusiastic' driving.
After reading all the threads on brake problems I decided that getting Audi to keep replacing them with the same parts is not the answer.

I went for the REVO Alcon brake disc upgrade.....

However, I made the mistake of fitting EBC Redstuff pads which were way too hard for the disc and the disc overheated very quickly (went blue and made the discs vibrate badly).
After a tip off from a well known Audi tuning company, I swapped out the Redstuff for Ferodo Premier pads which were a huge improvement and only cost around £130 for a full set. I ran them for around 2000 miles with no issues at all.
I was wondering how good the Ferodo DS Performance pads would be, so I swapped the Premiers out for the DS Performance versions. IMO there is not much difference between the two except perhaps the initial cold bite of the DS pads is not as good. The DS pads have been on the car for around 7000 miles now with no squealing or fading brakes. Dust is fairly minimal too.
Both the Ferodo pads also work really well with the OEM Audi disc and eliminate squealing, fading or grinding brakes. It makes the car soooooo much more enjoyable to drive.

 

[Sam81]

Thanks very much for the info guys I’m just gonna go ahead with set of those DS performance then

Anyone can provide me with link where I can buy them from ? Can’t find them on DS fredo website

Appreciate it in advance

 

[T-800]

Thanks very much for the info guys I’m just gonna go ahead with set of those DS performance then

Anyone can provide me with link where I can buy them from ? Can’t find them on DS fredo website

Appreciate it in advance

Trevor Leigh
General Manager - Sales and Operations
Performance Parts RFT



93 Mytchett Road,
Mytchett, Surrey,
GU16 6ES

Tel: 01252 494016
Mob: 07788 540410

 

[AudiNutta]

Considering how fancy they look, the OEM brakes are the biggest disappointment on the RS3. The squealing started after around 4K miles on my car but they were also suffering from brake fade after several hard stops during some 'enthusiastic' driving.
After reading all the threads on brake problems I decided that getting Audi to keep replacing them with the same parts is not the answer.

I went for the REVO Alcon brake disc upgrade.....
View attachment 142299

However, I made the mistake of fitting EBC Redstuff pads which were way too hard for the disc and the disc overheated very quickly (went blue and made the discs vibrate badly).
After a tip off from a well known Audi tuning company, I swapped out the Redstuff for Ferodo Premier pads which were a huge improvement and only cost around £130 for a full set. I ran them for around 2000 miles with no issues at all.
I was wondering how good the Ferodo DS Performance pads would be, so I swapped the Premiers out for the DS Performance versions. IMO there is not much difference between the two except perhaps the initial cold bite of the DS pads is not as good. The DS pads have been on the car for around 7000 miles now with no squealing or fading brakes. Dust is fairly minimal too.
Both the Ferodo pads also work really well with the OEM Audi disc and eliminate squealing, fading or grinding brakes. It makes the car soooooo much more enjoyable to drive.

Brilliant thanks for that, very useful. How much were the discs?

 

[Beebee-one]

Brilliant thanks for that, very useful. How much were the discs?

I bought my discs using a deal through a REVO distributor and managed a reasonable price at £850 the pair (usually about £950 I think). It gives the car the brakes it deserves, plus mine is running MRC stage 2 tune so it needs something better than the standard set-up to CONSISTENTLY haul it to a stop. If money is no object, the Tom Wrigley brake conversion is probably the best steel brake upgrade for the RS3 this side of ceramics.
(TX has the full kit fitted front and back)

Ferodo Pads can be bought using the contact details in T-800 post above. Note: The Ferodo pads come with a brake sensor connector that is not compatible with the RS3. You will need to cut and solder your old OEM connector on. Alternatively, fit a dummy connector (available on Ebay) then clip off the cables on the replacement pads and keep a check on the wear rate.

 

[D0C]

I bought my discs using a deal through a REVO distributor and managed a reasonable price at £850 the pair (usually about £950 I think). It gives the car the brakes it deserves, plus mine is running MRC stage 2 tune so it needs something better than the standard set-up to CONSISTENTLY haul it to a stop. If money is no object, the Tom Wrigley brake conversion is probably the best steel brake upgrade for the RS3 this side of ceramics.
(TX has the full kit fitted front and back)

Ferodo Pads can be bought using the contact details in T-800 post above. Note: The Ferodo pads come with a brake sensor connector that is not compatible with the RS3. You will need to cut and solder your old OEM connector on. Alternatively, fit a dummy connector (available on Ebay) then clip off the cables on the replacement pads and keep a check on the wear rate.

How do you find MRC stage 2? I'm almost daily trying to convince myself to go MRC stage 1. They are only down the road from me.

 

[AudiNutta]

I bought my discs using a deal through a REVO distributor and managed a reasonable price at £850 the pair (usually about £950 I think). It gives the car the brakes it deserves, plus mine is running MRC stage 2 tune so it needs something better than the standard set-up to CONSISTENTLY haul it to a stop. If money is no object, the Tom Wrigley brake conversion is probably the best steel brake upgrade for the RS3 this side of ceramics.
(TX has the full kit fitted front and back)

Ferodo Pads can be bought using the contact details in T-800 post above. Note: The Ferodo pads come with a brake sensor connector that is not compatible with the RS3. You will need to cut and solder your old OEM connector on. Alternatively, fit a dummy connector (available on Ebay) then clip off the cables on the replacement pads and keep a check on the wear rate.

Nothing is ever cheap with these cars is it?

I’m hoping I will get lucky with my Facelift but I’m unlikely to stay sane if my brakes get squeaky so will have to look for another solution. The one benefit to it is free brakes from Audi, but it’s not worth the noise if it’s as bad as people say. I think my first call would be to replace the pads to what you’ve recommended, so many people seem to use those.

How long do these discs last people? £1000 for the front end isn’t exactly cheap to be changing every year.

I think I want to upsize my rear discs, they look awful compared to the fronts but I haven’t seen an OEM larger calliper upgrade yet? My detailer sent me photos of both, which made things worse for me mentally haha.

 

[Splathead]

I wonder if these will be available for the RS anytime soon?

http://www.bosch-mobility-solutions.com/en/highlights/automated-mobility/idisc/

 

[Sam81]

Do you guys recommend any good garage in London to fit those new pads for me as I have no clue with how’s those sensors works or connected !

 

[Beebee-one]

How do you find MRC stage 2? I'm almost daily trying to convince myself to go MRC stage 1. They are only down the road from me.

The MRC stage 1 (they actually call it just a custom map) is a couple of hours on the dyno tailoring/optimising the fueling and boost to suit the engine characteristics of your car (including any extra bits like filter or decats you may have added). Cost is around £700.
Typical result should be around 430ps (note: not bhp) which is not a massive increase over stock (remember stock power can be 385/390ps) but the torque increase is the big gain at around 600nm (442lbs/ft). This gives the car a really big difference in how it drives with lovely mid-range punch. Some people also opt for the DSG map at the same time (offered at £250 extra), but having experienced numerous changes with my DSG mapping this year, I am not 100% convinced its worth doing at this power level.
Now here's the problem.....regardless of which tuner you opt to use. The OEM intercooler is really poor, even in stock power mode. It just does not provide enough cooling to control intake temps at a constant level. However, I found the stage 1 power increase was ok during the colder UK months and would only feel the ECU pull the power when stuck in traffic with the engine really hot. To overcome this you need to upgrade the IC which is effectively the stage 2 option. The tuner will then optimise the fueling and boost on the dyno again to suit the engines ability to maintain cooler and constant intake temps.
Below is a copy of a dyno plot comparison for my car at stage 1 and stage 2 tune. The increase in torque is good but the overall power gain is much less than that at stage 1 due to the limitations of the stock turbo. Fuel is Tesco Momentum 99RON.
Sorry the post is bit long but hope you find it useful.

 

[D0C]

The MRC stage 1 (they actually call it just a custom map) is a couple of hours on the dyno tailoring/optimising the fueling and boost to suit the engine characteristics of your car (including any extra bits like filter or decats you may have added). Cost is around £700.
Typical result should be around 430ps (note: not bhp) which is not a massive increase over stock (remember stock power can be 385/390ps) but the torque increase is the big gain at around 600nm (442lbs/ft). This gives the car a really big difference in how it drives with lovely mid-range punch. Some people also opt for the DSG map at the same time (offered at £250 extra), but having experienced numerous changes with my DSG mapping this year, I am not 100% convinced its worth doing at this power level.
Now here's the problem.....regardless of which tuner you opt to use. The OEM intercooler is really poor, even in stock power mode. It just does not provide enough cooling to control intake temps at a constant level. However, I found the stage 1 power increase was ok during the colder UK months and would only feel the ECU pull the power when stuck in traffic with the engine really hot. To overcome this you need to upgrade the IC which is effectively the stage 2 option. The tuner will then optimise the fueling and boost on the dyno again to suit the engines ability to maintain cooler and constant intake temps.
Below is a copy of a dyno plot comparison for my car at stage 1 and stage 2 tune. The increase in torque is good but the overall power gain is much less than that at stage 1 due to the limitations of the stock turbo. Fuel is Tesco Momentum 99RON.
Sorry the post is bit long but hope you find it useful.
View attachment 142449

Thanks, that's really useful. I'm assuming that chart show stage 1 vs stage 2? If so, the torque gain for stage 2 is impressive (an extra 78nm?)

 

[Terminator x]

The torque goes crazy when mapped @D0C and the standard car is not short on torque either remember!

TX.

Sent from my STV100-4 using Tapatalk

 

[Beebee-one]

Thanks, that's really useful. I'm assuming that chart show stage 1 vs stage 2? If so, the torque gain for stage 2 is impressive (an extra 78nm?)

Thats correct, its straight back to back comparison of a dyno plot for stage 1 v stage 2 done on the same day after fitting the intercooler upgrade. Regardless of any arguments of whether this dyno or that dyno is more accurate, its an 'apples for apples' comparsion under same day conditions and you get to see what you are getting for your investment. As a bonus, you also get to hear your car at full chat on the dyno- awesome sound!
I still don't understand how some owners opt to spend lots of cash on fitting upgrade parts, and yet are happy to have a 'plug n play and drive away' map uploaded with no fueling or boost optimisation or dyno print out of how the car is performing.
Focussing back on the thread theme, if you decide to tune the car you will need the best brakes you can afford to fully enjoy the extra performance

 

[D0C]

Thats correct, its straight back to back comparison of a dyno plot for stage 1 v stage 2 done on the same day after fitting the intercooler upgrade. Regardless of any arguments of whether this dyno or that dyno is more accurate, its an 'apples for apples' comparsion under same day conditions and you get to see what you are getting for your investment. As a bonus, you also get to hear your car at full chat on the dyno- awesome sound!
I still don't understand how some owners opt to spend lots of cash on fitting upgrade parts, and yet are happy to have a 'plug n play and drive away' map uploaded with no fueling or boost optimisation or dyno print out of how the car is performing.
Focussing back on the thread theme, if you decide to tune the car you will need the best brakes you can afford to fully enjoy the extra performance

It gets ever more tempting to tune my car. Not sure I could stretch to stage 2, mind. I would imagine intercoolers aren't cheap!

Re the brakes, I don't track my car and am mostly sensible on the road. It would be more the straightline performance and additional torque for the occasional blast down the motorways it would be for.

 

[Beebee-one]

It gets ever more tempting to tune my car. Not sure I could stretch to stage 2, mind. I would imagine intercoolers aren't cheap!

Re the brakes, I don't track my car and am mostly sensible on the road. It would be more the straightline performance and additional torque for the occasional blast down the motorways it would be for.

Best intercooler (high quality) is the Wagner EVO3 which is around £1,350, Forge FMINT4 is also good at about £1,000. You then add a couple of hours fitting and some dyno time to otpimise the fueling and boost - around £1,750 in total.
Tuning is a game of diminishing returns. The inital big gain is at stage 1, from there onwards the incremental gains cost loads more for just a few tenths here and there.
In my opinion, a stage 1 custom tune with Milltek secondary decats, Ferodo brake pad upgrade on standard discs and an H&R rear ARB is all you need to make it a really enjoyable car to drive as a daily driver.

 

[Hal Adams]

Do you guys recommend any good garage in London to fit those new pads for me as I have no clue with how’s those sensors works or connected !

Try Germantech in Wimbledon - used to be very good on Porsche and Audi - but give them a call first and double check they properly understand brake squeel and will not just re-fit oem stuff and say it is ok.

 

[Hal Adams]

Nothing is ever cheap with these cars is it?

I’m hoping I will get lucky with my Facelift but I’m unlikely to stay sane if my brakes get squeaky so will have to look for another solution. The one benefit to it is free brakes from Audi, but it’s not worth the noise if it’s as bad as people say. I think my first call would be to replace the pads to what you’ve recommended, so many people seem to use those.

How long do these discs last people? £1000 for the front end isn’t exactly cheap to be changing every year.

I think I want to upsize my rear discs, they look awful compared to the fronts but I haven’t seen an OEM larger calliper upgrade yet? My detailer sent me photos of both, which made things worse for me mentally haha.

You will have the frequency cans fitted, so you should not have the squeel problem. But if you do, just tell your Audi dealer to call in someone who knows the issue and not just sit there and say the brakes are ok because that is what it says in the service book!

There is no rear caliper upgrade other than using the R8 setup. If you are going to do this though, then a complete change to AP front and rear would be in order - see Tom Wrigley's post on this in his write up. A classy installation imo, if not cheap though
.

Fitting RS7 discs to the rear though is a good change and gets rid of the small discs and matches up to the fronts. A simple installation, and again one in Tome Wrigleys post - but get him to re-quote his price as there are cheaper sets out there now which he must realise.

 

[AudiNutta]

You will have the frequency cans fitted, so you should not have the squeel problem. But if you do, just tell your Audi dealer to call in someone who knows the issue and not just sit there and say the brakes are ok because that is what it says in the service book!

There is no rear caliper upgrade other than using the R8 setup. If you are going to do this though, then a complete change to AP front and rear would be in order - see Tom Wrigley's post on this in his write up. A classy installation imo, if not cheap though
.

Fitting RS7 discs to the rear though is a good change and gets rid of the small discs and matches up to the fronts. A simple installation, and again one in Tome Wrigleys post - but get him to re-quote his price as there are cheaper sets out there now which he must realise.

Thanks for the detailed reply!

Yes I haven’t seen behind the calliper yet but it should have the cans on. I’m really hoping I won’t get any but supposedly some owners have had it with the FL.

Yeah I would want to try and avoid changing both ends but understand you can’t just upsize the rear without the front. The Tom Wrigley setup sure is expensive and is something you’d do when you are due a full set of discs / pads anyway, only around 3x the cost of that then

I had already thought about the RS7 discs, but I have the circular discs on the front so wouldn’t want wavy for the rear.

 

[Hal Adams]

D'uh - I was not thinking - of course, the wavy discs are finished! But I am sure one of the German tuning shops will come up with a suitable round disc to do the same thing..

 

[Terminator x]

You will have the frequency cans fitted, so you should not have the squeel problem. But if you do, just tell your Audi dealer to call in someone who knows the issue and not just sit there and say the brakes are ok because that is what it says in the service book!

There is no rear caliper upgrade other than using the R8 setup. If you are going to do this though, then a complete change to AP front and rear would be in order - see Tom Wrigley's post on this in his write up. A classy installation imo, if not cheap though
.

Fitting RS7 discs to the rear though is a good change and gets rid of the small discs and matches up to the fronts. A simple installation, and again one in Tome Wrigleys post - but get him to re-quote his price as there are cheaper sets out there now which he must realise.

Ahem ...




TX.

 

[DW81]

If I sell a kidney give as much blood as I can maybe might have enough for the mounting plates

 

[DW81]

You can’t beat well engineered products fit for purpose

 

[D0C]

Best intercooler (high quality) is the Wagner EVO3 which is around £1,350, Forge FMINT4 is also good at about £1,000. You then add a couple of hours fitting and some dyno time to otpimise the fueling and boost - around £1,750 in total.
Tuning is a game of diminishing returns. The inital big gain is at stage 1, from there onwards the incremental gains cost loads more for just a few tenths here and there.
In my opinion, a stage 1 custom tune with Milltek secondary decats, Ferodo brake pad upgrade on standard discs and an H&R rear ARB is all you need to make it a really enjoyable car to drive as a daily driver.

It is indeed diminishing returns. However, there is something vaguely fascinating wondering what nearly 700nm of torque would feel like in an A3!

 

[ChrisRS3]

I had the same problem with my RS3. I went to Audi and they fitted some "weights" on my brakes and now it dosnt squeal anymore. It was a few month ago and it was a "new technique" to stop the breaks from squealing. I didnt have to pay for anything.

 

[T-800]

Are we still talking about 'Brakes'........

Or is this thread about 'Breaks' of another variety

 

[D0C]

Are we still talking about 'Brakes'........

Or is this thread about 'Breaks' of another variety

It's about brakes that break, I think?!

 

[T-800]

It's about brakes that break, I think?!

Or broken maybe