Calling all B8/8.5 S4 owners.. show us ya brakes!

[g00se]

Hi all - I am on the verge of pulling the trigger on the MRC stage 2 ECU and stage 1 TCU package via CM Tuning (as its closer to me than Banbury!).. and I'm trying to gauge what sort of front brake stopping power I'll need for fast road use/occasional track days.

Options
1. Stick with stock calipers, but upgrade std 345mm disks, pads, braided lines, fluid
2. 4-pot Porsche Macan /Q5, calipers, but upgrade std 345mm disks, pads, braided lines, fluid
3. 6-pot B9 S4 Akebono calipers/spacers/adapters etc, upgraded 350mm disks, pads, braided lines, fluid
4. Yellowspeed or K-Sport kits, upgraded 356mm disks, pads, braided lines, fluid
5. 8-pot RS Brembos, upgraded 365mm disks, pads, braided lines, fluid
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?

The options seem endless, as long as your budget is endless too.

Thoughts?

Cheers,
goose

 

[Simon]

B9 S4 with 356mm A6 discs.

https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/b8-s4-project-thread.416964/page-3 about halfway down the page includes all the part numbers and details you will need.

 

[ninjag]

I don't know much about brake systems, but I'm wondering if you upgrade the discs and calipers significantly would you need to think about the master cyclinder and bore size etc as well? Or is the S4 already overcompensated?

 

[g00se]

So having spent the day scouring t'interweb for deals on brakes i happened upon a BBK for the above 6-pot Akabono's in black with S logos, c/w disks, pads, caliper carriers, spacers, and brake lines.. all in for £1300 delivered - big brake bargain!!

I then carried on my research, and spoke to a VERY reliable industry expert who then informed me that Audi, who ditched Brembo for Akebono on all S & RS cars in 2017, has subsequently fallen out with them, and terminated their contract 6 months ago (this wont effect cars production for circa 2 yrs), to return to Brembo.

I know this wont effect the performance of the brakes.. but it does make me question the longevity of supply of performance disks/pads for this caliper..?

Back to the drawing board

goose

 

[Simon]

I paid way less than a grand all in on my brakes and that includes the £250 on brackets I didn’t end up using. Having tested them on track I can confirm they really do the job and weigh less than the standard S4 brakes.

 

[Simon]

With respect to the master cylinder, that is tied to the total piston area and so long as they remain broadly the same the the master cylinder does not need to be changed.

 

[Simon]

And it is worth noting there are a LOT of cars running those brakes, brake pad supply isn’t going to be a problem long term.

 

[RyanJonS4]

 

[joedredd]

See my signature, and can recommend the Yellowspeed BBK. Look out for S4 UK owners group on FB

 

[bobby singh]

Bobby Singh A4 3.0 TDI build thread

is yours a Variable geometry turbo Bobby? Yes Mike Its a s200v

www.audi-sport.net

 

[VTEChnician]

2008 B8 SE TRW scrap front and rear calipers £60-80 per pair. Hand-tool finished, serviced then gently bead-blasted and powder coated in nickel silver by "Giraffe Techs" at a cost of £160.
Fitted over new standard discs. Simply hand painted the centres using Tetrosyl engine lacquer. Goes on well. Dries super quick, lasts well if re-touched every 18mths.
Calipers looked fab for 8 months then signs of edge rusting began to show. Showed them to the powder coater. He said he would re-do them. Fat chance! He should have done a more robust job in the first place. I spent hours getting them prepared.
Next try will be with hi temp etch primer and 2-pack hi temp gloss, probably supplied from a brake refurbisher in Long Eaton Notts.

 

[s4chopper]

A blend of option 1 and 2 for me. New brakes were stripped and sent for professional Cerakote.

 

[g00se]

A blend of option 1 and 2 for me. New brakes were stripped and sent for professional Cerakote.

nice! This is also my current preferred option, as i want to retain a stock pedel feel... what pads did you go for, and whose J hook disks are these?

cheers

 

[s4chopper]

nice! This is also my current preferred option, as i want to retain a stock pedel feel... what pads did you go for, and whose J hook disks are these?

cheers

MTEC C hook discs, brembo pads, SS braided lines.

 

[g00se]

MTEC C hook discs, brembo pads, SS braided lines.

Hhmm MTEC C hooks are £100 cheaper than the VBT J hooks... and are 99% identical.. if only i hadnt fallen out with MTEC a yr ago. (Reasonable products / shocking customer service!!) I already have SS lines, and my Macan Brembos are now in the hands of BCS for painting.. so need to make my damn mind up re disks/pads.

Am leaning towards Ferrodo DS2500s but you cant run the wear sensor.. so may still with EBC yellows...hhmmm

goose

 

[g00se]

Update - opted to go for Porsche Macan 4-pot Brembos, upgraded disks and pads, to go with my existing SS braided lines i already have...

But wanted them more OEM+ looking, so shipped them off to BCS for painting in gloss black...

Now i need to get decals on, piece it all together, and bolt it all on.. more pics to follow

goose

 

[Simon]

That is a solid option.

 

[g00se]

That is a solid option.

Cheers Simon - my heart defo wanted to go full-on BBK porn.. but my head said this option will retain an OEM peddle feel, and be more than enough for 95% of what i need for "fast road" use, but i wonder how they'll hold up on full track days with multiple sessions ?!?

Time will tell.. if i end up going bigger again at a later date, then so be it. Car modding is not an exact science right

Am excited to get this kit all together and bolted on.. decided to try EBC yellows, so i can retain the pad wear sensor. Have had them on various other cars in the past and found them to be pretty good. Would have gone DS2500s, but they dont run sensors...

More to follow...

goose

 

[Simon]

Fast/hard road use the Macan solution will certainly be fine, track use is perhaps debatable the RS4/5 had bigger discs for a reason and that for me is where the macan option is lacking.the question really is how often will you track it to need the. Jogger disc area?

I run yellow stuff with my b9 Calipers and they work plenty well enough.

 

[g00se]

Now just waiting on my ZeroSixty drilled/dimpled disks and ECS Tuning air ducts.. and all this can get installed

goose

 

[V6_Man]

Now just waiting on my ZeroSixty drilled/dimpled disks and ECS Tuning air ducts.. and all this can get installed

View attachment 248122

goose

Good choice @g00se. Macans definitely provide better braking. You might feel the paddle a bit spongy as it travels a bit further compared to the stock setup but it will get better once the disks have bedded in.

When I was doing the upgrade I did consider ZeroSixty but then went with StopTech grooved with DS2500s, which based on my reading / talking to people were much better combo!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[g00se]

Good choice @g00se. Macans definitely provide better braking. You might feel the paddle a bit spongy as it travels a bit further compared to the stock setup but it will get better once the disks have bedded in.

When I was doing the upgrade I did consider ZeroSixty but then went with StopTech grooved with DS2500s, which based on my reading / talking to people were much better combo!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cheers V6 Man.. ive tried dozens of different pads / disk combos over the yrs.... bedding in will done swiftly - trust me!

As to DS2500s, they were high on my list, however i wanted to retain the stock pad wear sensors so opted for EBC yellows, as ive used them on my old R32, B7 S4 & st2 Tig and found them to be v.good all round for fast round and occasional track use

goose

ps never tried stoptech tho..

 

[g00se]

Still waiting to get all this bolted on... couldn't get the Zerosixty disks in the end so opted for VBT J-hook disks instead... updates to follow.

goose