Carbon brakes?

[fiberoptic]

I'm thinking about a full set of ceramic brakes for my RS4.

Should call Audi next week and see what they say, but meanwhile, what are your opinions on this? Cost? Should I get them from Audi?

[EuroSag]

Probably about £8-10k fitted by Audi.

The parts alone retail at £6800. You might be better speaking to someone like MRC, they'll do a better job and for quite a bit cheaper I guess.

[P_G]

I may be worng but it is not only the fronts that are ceramic, the rears are still steel?

[pippyrips]

Yep, only the front are ceramic.

Do you track much? Unless you do you'd be better off spending the money on suspension and engine. As cool as ceramics are the costs are silly.

[P_G]

What are your reasons for wanting set of ceramics? Do you have issue with the standard brakes?

[fiberoptic]

My brakes work fine and I don't track. I just thought that ceramics supposed to last for much longer, so would not be that costly in a long run as you would have to change the steel ones 2-3 times? But they are also supposed to be more effective, much lighter don't produce brake dust. This is what I have heard. I may be wrong.

Pippyrips, I've been reading the threads/posts where you had work done to your engine to develop 431 bhp by MRC. I definitely want to spend money on that and get the carbon buildup dealt with. Where are MRC with your engine now, after opening it up again?

[SVSkiRenner]

from what i understand, and i say this living in the mountains, ceramics wont do you much good anyways unless you daily drive in mountains, but even then, with the availability to downshift, you wouldnt need them. ceramics actually require heat to work effectively, thats why you see the brakes on cars at 24 hours at lemans actually glowing. if youve ever heard the crew chiefs, theyll basically tell their drivers to heat up the brakes more.

[Nib]

Well, my experience from 20k miles with them is:-

Pros: Amazing stopping power from hot & cold, no dust, lower unsprung weights (= better handling), good for 100k miles (so they say) & no warping, look niiiiice
Cons: Cost as much as SHMO's car (don't tell her), heeling & toeing difficult & can lead to noses being pressed to the windscreen, can get "graunchy" if not used enthusiastically, err, that's about it!
Summary: If you can do. If you can't, you've still got one heck of a capable car. Enjoy!

[P_G]

Nib, do you know how heavy the ceramic disks are?

[Nib]

Sorry P G. Don't know. Did read somewhere that Audi quoted a total weight saving of about 20kg, which sounds an awful lot to me. I thought regular discs were about 8-9kg. Perhaps the calipers are lighter too...................... Well, just a thought!

[pad125]

Trust me, the ceramics work just fine when cold. Most people tend to use them like normal brakes when they first drive my car, which normally results in having to peel yourself of the windscreen. Get them hot and you're in another dimension. I have SS+ but the brakes even manage to out-perform this. The Highway code should have a disclaimer at the bottom of the stopping distance page '........unless you drive Audi Ceramics then you can make your own distances up!'

[fiberoptic]

Thanks for your feedback! I will definitely think about the ceramics a bit later, but for now ... in the near future, I think I'll the car to MRC and get the manifold job done (clean carbon buildup, polish and port) and then possibly a remap and free flow downpipes.