I am poised to upgrade my AR's front brakes to used RS6 8-piston calipers and big disks from JHMotorsports or comparable source -- after I upgrade to 18" wheels.

I know this is overkill for the AR; there are other options (stop||tech, etc.). But going the used route will allow me to go big for the fun of it. Also, I know there is custom modification required to achieve the install. That's all fine.

MY QUESTION: Will the the 8-piston size make the brakes harder to modulate or (worse) make it impossible to achieve correct brake bias, making the car less safe?

Thanks!

 

Bigger isn't always better, as you've hinted at realizing. If the master cylinder can't move enough fluid to operate those 8 piston calipers you'll actually get decreased braking performance. There's a couple guys over at the quattroworld.com AR forum who've swapped on 6 Piston brembo calipers. These were used on Touraeg's/cayenne's etc. This is the "low buck BBK" of choice for the AR. I believe you can do it for anywhere from $500-1000 dollars. (depending on the deal you get on the calipers) You may want to go over to QW and search the archives for related threads. search "BBK" or "brembo" in the AR forum.
user "ricam" already has them installed on his car, you could ask him his opinion of the setup.
It was common opinion at QW that if you have the stock (better) HP2 calipers, those along with good pads provide more than enough braking power for the average street vehicle. BBK is mostly for looks. You should be able to pick up HP2 calipers for a fraction of the price of the BBK parts.
I've been thinking of upgrading to the HP2's myself. I think (but am not totally sure) that the HP2 is a four pad caliper and non-hp2's are two pad calipers.

 

Thanks, Swamper8. Great feedback. The "machismo" aspect is fun but not at the cost of performance. I have checked out the 6-piston options and will read up on it more.

Thanks again!

 

Any photos out there of the (four pad?) HP2 and the 'non HP2' for easy check?