well i am actually doing the tt carrier upgrade, along with all the way round ebc rotors.. just wanted some input on how the greenstuff and redstuff held up.. think i ll go red.. warm up is no problem for me! since i went with 19s i think my brakes are hurtin and my rear pads are wearing about three times faster than they should... really need to do an s4 rear upgrade but cant afford it right now... any other ideas for somethin cheap to help my *** end???

 

You will be happy with the ebc's redstuff i am

 

Carbotech, Redstuff, and Greenstuffs do not come anywhere near Hawk HPS.

Greenstuff are OE style replacement and will not reduce stopping distances over new OEM pads.

Redstuffs are ceramic and will actually increase stopping distances, but won't fade under heavy highway braking like OE style pads. These are pretty good for weekend track use/ DD use, but they absolutely eat through rotors. I had these on my Jag X (because Hawk didn't make pads for X-Types) and I honestly felt I wasted my money. They were noisy, stopped longer than new OEM pads, and destroyed my rotors. Matched with EBC slotted and dimpled rotors, they were extremely noisy, and the only improvement I ever felt was when I was braking hard down the front straight at Limerock.

Carbotech doesn't make a single pad as good as Hawk for street use.

Hawk HPS is hands-down the best pad for better street performance and occasional track use.

Hawk HPS aren't super aggressive on rotors, are quiet, and have a good service life. They also stop much better in all conditions than OE style pads and better than Redstuffs. Match them with blank A8 rotors up front, and they won't fade on the street at all.

 

thanks tweaked for the words of wisdom.. sounds like you know what your talking about so i think i'm gonna take your route with the blank a8s and hawk hps... now what for the *** end???

 

No problem. ECSTuning carries the HPS pads and the A8 upgrade. Their basic A8 upgrade comes with Zimmerman rotors, which are an OE style German-made rotor. Perfect for the street or occasional track use and won't brake (break, haha, get it!?) the bank.

For the rear, use stock blank rotors and Hawk HPS pads in the stock calipers. If you want a -hair- bigger rotor in back, go for an S4 upgrade with stock S4 blank rotors, stock S4 calipers, and Hawk HPS pads. The largest difference between the A4 and S4 rear discs is that the S4 is a vented disc (like the front) as opposed to the A4's solid tea-cup saucer disc.

You won't notice a real difference in braking with S4 rear brakes on the street, but you'd likely notice a bit more stability due to even less fade on the track. Judging by your 19" rims, you're likely not tracking the car, but an S4 rear upgrade might help fill up a -hair- more of the negative space in your rims. If this isn't an issue, go with stock rotors and HPS pads and spend the money from the S4 upgrade elsewhere.

 

All ceramic pads make noise. On the street, they not only are noisy, but can actually take a longer time to stop the car under regular traffic conditions.

PBR makes good pads, but their ceramic is pretty aggressive to use on the street. This is why I keep recommending Hawk HPS. Better than stock braking, lower dust, and just as quiet.

 

greenstuff is great but if you do quite a bit of spirited driving i highly suggest the red stuff, ive used both and red stuff was just better, greenstuff is still somewhat of an organic pad and will catch on fire (experience of mine brakeing from 110 on a highway after a semi cut me off), red stuff replaced my greenstuff and it was much better espacially during autox. currently i have PBR ceramics which are ok but nothing major, mintex redbox is OEM and was really good on my old S4, Hawk cermic pads are on my buddies 90 and they feel the same as teh PBR.

 

I assure you, this is not the norm.

But fires aside, GreenStuff is simply OE style replacement.

 

no, i'm not tracking the boat just spirited driving so yea, i will just be ordering the little batch of parts from ecs.. ~$500 for everything is pretty unbeatable in my wallet!! so, thanks again Tweaked

 

No problem. Let us know how you like it. Be sure to read the bed-in procedures for the Hawk HPS pads. Combined with the new coated rotors, it will take some time, so be patient. Once they are properly bedded in, you'll notice a nice bite and better braking without noise or fade.