Brakes, Brakes, Brakes - Audi s3 8P SB upgrade advice

[Brett Butler]

I don't know where that video is, thought it was on U tube somewhere, I just relised not even posted last 3 trip to NBR photos, , i got 1000's

NBR Cars APR 2011 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Not a 3, but still , Great place for a weekend, as long as weather is good

 

[c_w]

i think main problem with s3 brakes is the discs. they easily get bent after a track session.

for a budget solution i would recommend you ss brake lines, good discs with good pads, brake fluid and brake cooling.
you can remove fog lights and put a cooling duct.(u will need to cut the wheel arch liners)

I have never seen a warped discs, they generally don't warp but will suffer from pad deposits from overheated pads causing judder which makes people thing they're warped.

if you're going Ksport, throw away the standard pads as they are shocking! when you order them spec the ferodo pads as they are an optional extra and well worth the extra money!

Which supports my earlier post about pad and disc being the most important! Spend all that money on a big brake kit with multi pot calipers and they're still not great...because the pad isn't! AP brake kits normally come with DS2500 which are an issue too with judder when they get hot.

The power from brakes comes from the hydraulic force and friction on the disc, so essentially the foot pedal effort / master cylinder plus the servo boost on the disc diameter and pad selection. With a decent plain OEM disc and uprated pads monster stopping forces. The main issue is with cooling or capacity to deal with heat, that's where the factory calipers can let the setup down (among a few other things like unsprung weight, pad wear, feel etc)

 

[Spin140]

AP no longer use Ferodo, for the S3 set up they manufacture their own.

 

[Adamantium]

May no longer be relevant to the conversation but just wanted to say, you can't compare alcons with APs. Alcons are in a different league. AP and brembo are the same company and are primarily OE equipment. They are the weakest link on my other car and were the first thing I chose to get rid of in favour of an Alcon six pot front and rear kit. Different car though and the brakes suffer a lot more hauling 1700kg down from over 200mph.

 

[Paullie]

Got any pics of them?

Here's my black set :

Lol, love the 'Bru' cans Adam, ..can't fit a Jack Daniels bottle inside mine, so here are the calipers on their own xx

 

[Adam.]

Very nice.

Just found this pic on my Flickr of my white ones

 

[Paullie]

Very nice.

Just found this pic on my Flickr of my white ones

Not fizzy or ginger, ..but definitely PHENOMENAL, Adam! xx

 

[Adam.]

Brake dust....LOL.

They went for a refurb after 500 miles!

 

[Spin140]

The white R8 calipers are lovely. Drilled discs do look good but not supposed to be as good as grooved ? If the upgrade is mainly for aesthetics though who cares as they look superb ?

I have had AP in the past mainly because I offerred the cars up for development so this resulted in an excellent discount, performance wise they are amazing with a very oem pedal feel but more progressive as pressure is applied, I wouldn't say they are the best looking but always create a reaction and tend to get the nod of approval from fellow enthusiasts based on function over form.

I have also used Brembo 6 pot kits on several BMWs - again no issues and nice wow factor. It's all very subjective and I'm guessing if the OP was prepared to pend these large amounts required he would be more than happy with either AP, Brembo or if feeling flush Alcon.

If I was approaching the upgrade from the same angle - one of cost and affectiveness I'd be getting in touch with Dave B.

 

[N8]

Did someone say 8 pots & TT-RS M/C?

Thought not

 

[Kelza]

Very nice

 

[Paullie]

Did someone say 8 pots & TT-RS M/C?

Thought not

xx

 

[Adamantium]

It's not about how many pots you have, it's the relative size of them and the pad area. It's also about thermal management. You need a billet monobloc caliper, not a two piece cast unit with a fancy name.

This is how it's done!







Out with the old (above) and in with the new (below)

 

[0nemotion]

Wow, loving all those pics guys, sorry I've been away with some family stuff (hate hospitals). Anyway, I cancelled the deal on my used s3. Decided to buy a new one instead. Should complete at the end of the month. Although I'm torn between a panther black and an estoril blue sportback, blk ed. lol. Thoughts?

Back to to point on brakes though, I need some brembos in my life and I am definately looking to upgrade. However without changing the wheels for larger units what is the best option for discs that is available to me that still fis under std 18" wheels? 350mm ? 362mm?

P.s those Alcon units are epic.

 

[MartayMcFly]

My standard wheels fit over my Brembo 4-pots sitting on 362mm APRacing rotors, but there's barely daylight between them. Apparently there's a lot of Merc-fit discs that are 350mm that'll fit insude an 18" wheel no bother.

 

[Gryphon001]

Since youre obviously going to modify the car... Go with blue. My lava gray I find is tricky to get right because of the dark colour and hard to get good pics with so little contrast.

 

[0nemotion]

All ordered. Estoril Blue Sportback Black Edition arrives from Germany in roughly 12-14 days.

Now then, what's the price difference in these setups? (350mm vs 362mm)

How can I get hold of mr Dave B the brake setup guru?

 

[Kelza]

Dave ,VAGBremTechnic | VAGOC.co.uk

 

[saq85]

I just want some brakes :'(

 

[S3_Mat]

Holy thread revival...

 

[saq85]

Yeah sorry for thread revival its a bit pointless in making a new thread as they are already so many out there. I just want a decent big brake setup that will fit under my OEM 18inch alloys currently got the original s3 setup which sucks at stage 2+. The disks need replacing so I thought I might as well get the whole lot replacing. Trouble is I can't get the ap racing kit. I've messaged Dave on here but I don't think he comes on much any more. Can anyone recommend or vouch for a kit that would be good? I'm not really going to be doing trackdays but may in the future.
Regards,

Saq

 

[Sayam]

Get some really thick rubber soled shoes and open the door, stick your foot on the road?

Joking aside is the OEM brake setup that bad at stage 2+ cos big brakes are £££

Have you considered RS3 setup? Although not sure which wheels it will/won't fit under

 

[saq85]

Get some really thick rubber soled shoes and open the door, stick your foot on the road?

Joking aside is the OEM brake setup that bad at stage 2+ cos big brakes are £££

Have you considered RS3 setup? Although not sure which wheels it will/won't fit under

Lol, well the just won't stop. Plus I need to change my discs anyway so I thought I may as well upgrade the whole lot. I have a budget of 2k I've been quoted £2300 for a tarox set but I'd rather see of if I can source ap racing. The rs3 setup doesn't fit according to past threads. I have stock OEM 18 alloys. Nothings straight forward

Bah.

 

[S3Alex]

Either drop DaveB a PM and be prepared to wait,or go with the AP kit.

Personally,Tarox isn't for me,but I know some people like them,but the AP setup is excellent.

 

[S3_Mat]

You will be hard pressed to fit most setups under stock OEM rims without spacers. RS3 brakes will fit under pre facelift wheels with a 12mm spacer I know that much. Paired with DaveB's AP discs and pagid rs4-2's or mintex 1155's they will be good brakes that will take track punishment.

 

[saq85]

Think I'm gonna wait for a reply from Dave if not it will be AP thanks for replies