B7 Brake Pads?

[Tile Diver]

Cheers for the opinions everyone!!

It's looking like a toss up between, OEM, Ferrodo DS2500 or the EBC Yellow Stuff. I'll keep you posted on what I go for and how they feel. Not that I have much of a clue to be honest!!!!

[sonny]

You know how OEM feel.

EBC YS will be more grippy esp when hot...but wont last as long

DS2500 are even more grippy when hot (and cold) but dont come with wear sensors.

Fit them both with shims to stop squealing

[gareth_oau]

I spoke with EBC and they recommended the Red Stuffs unless I was planning to track the car.

I just purchased some Red Stuffs for front and rear ex US for USD275 plus USD45 for delivery.

They get fitted next week, so fingers crossed the wheels wont look so dirty after 24 hours!

[sonny]

I would stay clear of the red stuff as imo there not up to the job on the RS 4. Will be interested to hear your opinion Gareth.

[Spaceman_RS4]

I ran red stuff on my Subaru bout 3sets as they were a good price but they were no good even the Subaru was too hard on them, 5k miles a set of pads.

[sonny]

Red stuff is what the Barry boys use on there Novas...thats all there good for.

[Spaceman_RS4]

The owner of ebc was also on scoobynet when he took over and said the high powered saloons were too much for the red stuff and that blue stuff was ideal or yellow if you preferred.

[caldy]

Can't understand why anyone would seek advice on a specialist forum and then not research all suggestions elsewhere on other sites to further rationalise their choice.

These 'performance pads' reviews can be found all over the internet and are discussed in great detail on Evo and Subaru sites in particular. The general consensus seems to be:

Ferodo DS2500's feel a bit wooden underfoot but effective. All EBC's are crap although you get what you pay for. Pagid's are more track orientated and some who have tried them on the road have been less than impressed. Carbotech are expensive but will have you straining against your seatbelt. OEM are OK but do not offer value for money. All squeal and dust to varying degrees and that is often a consideration for some. Ferodo/Carbotech do away with wear sensors but they offer by far the best stopping performance of the lot. RS4's are heavy and take a bit of stopping from the speeds that they can easily achieve. If I lived in the French Alps, stopping power would be my most important consideration!

Everyone has their own preferences and priorities but judging by your interests, I assume that you will drive 'in a spirited manner'! Therefore why try to save a few £'s whilst sacrificing braking performance?

[stu]

Always an education, Caldy.

[Tile Diver]

Can't understand why anyone would seek advice on a specialist forum and then not research all suggestions elsewhere on other sites to further rationalise their choice.

These 'performance pads' reviews can be found all over the internet and are discussed in great detail on Evo and Subaru sites in particular. The general consensus seems to be:

Ferodo DS2500's feel a bit wooden underfoot but effective. All EBC's are crap although you get what you pay for. Pagid's are more track orientated and some who have tried them on the road have been less than impressed. Carbotech are expensive but will have you straining against your seatbelt. OEM are OK but do not offer value for money. All squeal and dust to varying degrees and that is often a consideration for some. Ferodo/Carbotech do away with wear sensors but they offer by far the best stopping performance of the lot. RS4's are heavy and take a bit of stopping from the speeds that they can easily achieve. If I lived in the French Alps, stopping power would be my most important consideration!

Everyone has their own preferences and priorities but judging by your interests, I assume that you will drive 'in a spirited manner'! Therefore why try to save a few £'s whilst sacrificing braking performance?

Cheers Caldy and all,

Well, I've played it safe and spent the cash on the OEM pads, they should be here along with the OEM discs in a few days so I hope to get them fitted soon after.

Looks as though I'll have to follow the outrageous Audi bedding in procedure, I'll have fun doing that I'm sure!!!!

http://db.tt/8kbAS3Da

[supersi]

Good option for fast road is to use OEM rs6 c5 pads, recommended and used by many that's using our upgraded 362mm discs

[stu]

[...]
Looks as though I'll have to follow the outrageous Audi bedding in procedure, I'll have fun doing that I'm sure!!!!

http://db.tt/8kbAS3Da

Forum users with much more motoring experience than me think it's a bit daft. I did it anyway to keep good on the Audi parts warranty side of things, even though it's neigh-on impossible for them to do it themselves.

On a completely empty road at night it will take minimum 75 miles and an hour and a half to do. It's actually quite fun if you enjoy that sort of thing - really methodical, really consistent. Learn how to use the lap timer beforehand. Click the '+' button at the end of every deceleration, then watch for the two minutes to appear; decelerate, then click + again, travel at the steady speed until 2mins appears again... etcetera until you've logged fifty laps. You absolutely must do the next two steps or you could end up with knacked pads, but they're much more fun.

Don't even bother trying to do the bedding in procedure on anything less than a completely empty road at night (think B road, minor A) if you're following the instructions to the letter. Trust me, it can't be done anywhere else at any other time! Any Audi service tech that insists they do it is talking out of their arse

That db.tt is a short link to a shared file on my Dropbox account - I've uploaded and attached it here now.

[gareth_oau]

I would stay clear of the red stuff as imo there not up to the job on the RS 4. Will be interested to hear your opinion Gareth.

haha sonny, the only opinions I have are the one my wife gives to me!!.

to be honest, my wife drives the car more than I do, so as long as she doesnt run up any truck rear ends going shopping, they should be fit for purpose.

However, it will influence what I do nect time around