Let's talk Brakes
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2nd Gear
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 540
Let's talk Brakes
Hey guys,
So as you may have seen/heard/noticed I'm redoing my control arms and brake lines this week and I'm starting to think, well I'm already up in there might aswell do the brakes also lol. The brakes needed to be done sometime soon anyways.
I was thinking about the A8 brake upgrade but I don't really have the budget or need for that much braking power right now. I'm just going to get some new rotors/pads. Which rotors/pads would you guys recommend?
Standard OEM style rotors or slotted/drilled rotors? The standard style will last longer no?
And what pads do you recommend? I was thinking either EBC Greenstuff or HAWK parformance ceramic pads...
These brakes are for everyday driving, what do you guys think?
Thanks
So as you may have seen/heard/noticed I'm redoing my control arms and brake lines this week and I'm starting to think, well I'm already up in there might aswell do the brakes also lol. The brakes needed to be done sometime soon anyways.
I was thinking about the A8 brake upgrade but I don't really have the budget or need for that much braking power right now. I'm just going to get some new rotors/pads. Which rotors/pads would you guys recommend?
Standard OEM style rotors or slotted/drilled rotors? The standard style will last longer no?
And what pads do you recommend? I was thinking either EBC Greenstuff or HAWK parformance ceramic pads...
These brakes are for everyday driving, what do you guys think?
Thanks
2nd Gear
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,465
From: Massachusetts
Slotted rotors are fine (though not necessary), but AVOID drilled rotors. They crack!
I recommend Brembo blanks, ATE, and Raybestos Advanced Technology. If you plan on doing the upgrade eventually then don't even bother replacing the rotors now.
I've used Greenstuff and liked them, but a lot of people call Hawk HPS better. But I'm using Raybestos Advanced Technology for the fronts and the step under for rears. Bendix also makes a cheap but pretty good brake pad.
I recommend Brembo blanks, ATE, and Raybestos Advanced Technology. If you plan on doing the upgrade eventually then don't even bother replacing the rotors now.
I've used Greenstuff and liked them, but a lot of people call Hawk HPS better. But I'm using Raybestos Advanced Technology for the fronts and the step under for rears. Bendix also makes a cheap but pretty good brake pad.
2nd Gear
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 545
From: CT
If you want to upgrade you brakes I would recommend this:
http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B5_A4-...rake_OEM/ES89/
BUT, if you don't have the money for this right now, just replace your pads. I use and recommend Hawk HPS. When I ordered mine last Summer, Tire Rack had the best prices. (Why do you think you need new rotors?)
When you are ready for the OEM Big Brake Upgrade, don't spend your money on drilled or slotted rotors. Unless you track the car, just go with plain. Drilled rotors are good for wet stopping on the track, but on the road they create longer stopping distances. Slotted rotors provided better initial bite on the track, but on the street they are very noisy and reduce pad life significantly because they chop the pads up.
http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B5_A4-...rake_OEM/ES89/
BUT, if you don't have the money for this right now, just replace your pads. I use and recommend Hawk HPS. When I ordered mine last Summer, Tire Rack had the best prices. (Why do you think you need new rotors?)
When you are ready for the OEM Big Brake Upgrade, don't spend your money on drilled or slotted rotors. Unless you track the car, just go with plain. Drilled rotors are good for wet stopping on the track, but on the road they create longer stopping distances. Slotted rotors provided better initial bite on the track, but on the street they are very noisy and reduce pad life significantly because they chop the pads up.
A little reading about brakes
The first is heat. When the brake pad grabs the rotor, it creates friction, which creates heat. If that heat can't escape, it leads to brake fade, which reduces the brakes' stopping power. The second reason is gas build up. This actually isn't much of a problem any more; however, the materials used in some older types of brake pads caused gas to build up between the rotors and pads. That gas also limited stopping power. The last reason is water. If a car drives through a puddle, a carwash or even a rainstorm, the brake rotors can get wet. A wet brake rotor is slippery and difficult for the brake pads to grab. Having drilled holes on a brake rotor makes it easy for heat, gas and water to be quickly moved away from the rotor surface, keeping the brake performance strong.
The downside of using drilled rotors on your vehicle is that all of those holes tend to weaken the rotors -- just like punching holes in the wall of a house would weaken the wall. After repeated stressful driving, the rotors can even crack. But what if you're into driving performance? Are drilled rotors right for you, or should you consider another kind of brake part for your spirited driving? Keep reading to find out.
Slotted brake rotors u*se slots carved into the flat metal surface
to move gas, heat and water away from the surface of the rotors.
You can think of the slots as irrigation ditches that move the unwanted materials safely out of the way.
Slotted brake rotors are popular with performance car drivers because the type of driving they
do puts a lot of stress on the rotors. As we mentioned on the previous page, drilled rotors have been weakened, which makes them prone to cracking around the holes, particularly when they've been repeatedly driven hard. Because they tend to be a little more durable than the drilled brake rotors, slotted brake rotors may be a better brake part choice for some performance car drivers.
Of course, slotted brake rotors aren't perfect, either. They tend to wear down brake pads very quickly. Because of this, the most common type of performance brake rotors found on production performance cars are of the drilled variety. While that type of construction is seen as too weak for racing applications, most everyday drivers should have no trouble with drilled rotors on their street cars and can save the slotted rotors for cars that are racetrack-bound.
The downside of using drilled rotors on your vehicle is that all of those holes tend to weaken the rotors -- just like punching holes in the wall of a house would weaken the wall. After repeated stressful driving, the rotors can even crack. But what if you're into driving performance? Are drilled rotors right for you, or should you consider another kind of brake part for your spirited driving? Keep reading to find out.
Slotted brake rotors u*se slots carved into the flat metal surface
to move gas, heat and water away from the surface of the rotors.
You can think of the slots as irrigation ditches that move the unwanted materials safely out of the way.
Slotted brake rotors are popular with performance car drivers because the type of driving they
do puts a lot of stress on the rotors. As we mentioned on the previous page, drilled rotors have been weakened, which makes them prone to cracking around the holes, particularly when they've been repeatedly driven hard. Because they tend to be a little more durable than the drilled brake rotors, slotted brake rotors may be a better brake part choice for some performance car drivers.
Of course, slotted brake rotors aren't perfect, either. They tend to wear down brake pads very quickly. Because of this, the most common type of performance brake rotors found on production performance cars are of the drilled variety. While that type of construction is seen as too weak for racing applications, most everyday drivers should have no trouble with drilled rotors on their street cars and can save the slotted rotors for cars that are racetrack-bound.
2nd Gear
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,465
From: Massachusetts
Yeah, just quote some text from some unnamed source which backs up absolutely nothing that it says. Also, drilled rotors eat pads faster, too. If you have a drilled rotor, spin it and hold your fingers across the drilled surface and tell me you can't feel the holes. Yes, your skin is not quite as flat or ridgid as a brake pad, though the pad isn't completely flat. And, wow, that's SUCH a great benefit - one that isn't proven to be necessary at all (where are all the braking problems in the rain that drilled rotors are solving?). On the other hand, you can look and find very real evidence of drilled rotors cracking with street use.
For the record, I don't hate everything and I am actually a dog lover. I offer lots of advice and recommend plenty of things and you just ignore them and label me as hating everything on your own. You seem very eager to judge people without really thinking about the conclusions that you're jumping to.
For the record, I don't hate everything and I am actually a dog lover. I offer lots of advice and recommend plenty of things and you just ignore them and label me as hating everything on your own. You seem very eager to judge people without really thinking about the conclusions that you're jumping to.
Yeah, just quote some text from some unnamed source which backs up absolutely nothing that it says. Also, drilled rotors eat pads faster, too. If you have a drilled rotor, spin it and hold your fingers across the drilled surface and tell me you can't feel the holes. Yes, your skin is not quite as flat or ridgid as a brake pad, though the pad isn't completely flat. And, wow, that's SUCH a great benefit - one that isn't proven to be necessary at all (where are all the braking problems in the rain that drilled rotors are solving?). On the other hand, you can look and find very real evidence of drilled rotors cracking with street use.
For the record, I don't hate everything and I am actually a dog lover. I offer lots of advice and recommend plenty of things and you just ignore them and label me as hating everything on your own. You seem very eager to judge people without really thinking about the conclusions that you're jumping to.
2nd Gear
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,002
From: Toronto
lol relax everyone.
So lets say he wants drilled or slotted rotors just for normal street use. Will he have to worry about it cracking? I mean, I would only want it for at least some benefits of its stopping power, if any, but also for the looks. OR should we just steer clear away from them even for daily driving purposes.
So lets say he wants drilled or slotted rotors just for normal street use. Will he have to worry about it cracking? I mean, I would only want it for at least some benefits of its stopping power, if any, but also for the looks. OR should we just steer clear away from them even for daily driving purposes.
2nd Gear
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 545
From: CT
lol relax everyone.
So lets say he wants drilled or slotted rotors just for normal street use. Will he have to worry about it cracking? I mean, I would only want it for at least some benefits of its stopping power, if any, but also for the looks. OR should we just steer clear away from them even for daily driving purposes.
So lets say he wants drilled or slotted rotors just for normal street use. Will he have to worry about it cracking? I mean, I would only want it for at least some benefits of its stopping power, if any, but also for the looks. OR should we just steer clear away from them even for daily driving purposes.
When you are ready for the OEM Big Brake Upgrade, don't spend your money on drilled or slotted rotors. Unless you track the car, just go with plain. Drilled rotors are good for wet stopping on the track, but on the road they create longer stopping distances. Slotted rotors provided better initial bite on the track, but on the street they are very noisy and reduce pad life significantly because they chop the pads up.