RS4 brake wear

[daviscup]

Hi guys,

New to the site so hello to you all. Currently driving a S3 8P, but looking to change up to a RS4. I looked at one yesterday at a main Audi dealer here in N.Ireland. It was an 06 with 27k on the clock. The thing that concerned me was it has'nt had either brake pads or discs changed since new. I think I've read that the RS4 is very hard on both, and they are very expensive to replace? Should I be worried or is it normal for them to last so long?

[rjkflyer]

Welcome first of all!

Miracle that it has done that mileage without changes! Must be one very careful lady owner...

Generally i think you'll find that typically we're getting 11k - 15k from the front pads. The issue is that although the pads are quite expensive (200 quid), the discs are even more so (650 i think).

The problem is that if the pads are allowed to wear to the pad wear warning light you will probably find that the rivets in the pads that help secure the friction material to the steel backing plate have scored the discs. So it pays to change pads a bit early and save discs.

Mine wore to the light on and i was faced with a bill of 850 quid for the lot to be replaced, because the grooves had reduced the discs to the wear limit. Luckily it was a co. car at the time... Now it's mine, i will simply watch more carefully and change pads earlier. You can, of course get pads cheaper elsewhere than the dealer, and there are alternatives - see other threads.

The bottom line, seeing as you're seeking advice: ask if they've been done (since 27k is amazingly good) - an Audi dealer can search the history. If not, or the dealer isn't placed to inform on this, then look at the discs - if you see two or three concentric grooves, then you are close to having to do the discs.

[PetrolDave]

Generally i think you'll find that typically we're getting 11k - 15k from the front pads.

I disagree - I've done 27k and I drive enthusiastically but I also look ahead and anticipate so I rarely need to use more than gentle braking. When I had my wheels off for a full wash & brush-up a couple of weeks ago there was plenty of life left in the front pads.

[daviscup]

Thanks for the welcome! I did get the salesman to check the service history while I was there. Basically it showed that the car has not had pads or discs replaced since new. I had a good look at the front and rear discs while I was there. The rears did'nt look too bad but the fronts seemed to be quite worn. They had a groove about the width of a brake pad worn in them, but no concentric circles like you mentioned. He assured me that the car had been fully checked and had been fitted with everything required. I just dont want to buy a car now only to be hit with a huge bill for new discs and pads a few months from now. Ah the joys of buying second hand uber performance saloons! P.S. Man the test drive was amazing. The car corners like its on rails. So much better than the S3!

[victor2vt]

Try asking him (the dealer) to fit all 4 new pads and discs and you'll buy the car, if that's all that's putting you off buying the car.

[P_G]

I have 33k miles on my car and the discs and pads were changed at 19K and there is plenty left in discs and pads having just had my 2nd AVS. You would really have to be hammering your brakes to be using them every 11-15k miles, saying that I drive what sounds like similar to Petroldave and use blipped in gear engine braking in addition to minimise brake usage.

[rjkflyer]

Looks like i have been maligning the populous, so appears you should fare much better than I.

Tend to agree with Victor2vt - the pads etc MUST be getting to their end, so work on the assumption they wouldn't very long and you wouldn't want to buy a car from a dealer with a material service item being required soon after purchase. Bit like you wouldn;t want to have to put two new tyres on within e.g. 6 months or purchase.

As for engine braking: brake pads are cheaper then gearboxes. I'm being a bit flippant as of course it's a great technique in many circumstances, so take my comment in that spirit...!

[daviscup]

Thanks Guys, think I'll be pushing to have all replaced before purchase or looking elsewhere.

[SR71]

Personally, I think the brakes on the B7 are one of the best things on the car....much better than the under-engineered original items they stuck on the S2. I upgraded my S2 brakes to a 996 set-up but they were still nothing like the performance you get from the B7 configuration.

I was just lucky that at about 6000 miles, I developed a slight vibration at the front under light braking and to be fair, Audi replaced both front rotors and pads under warranty, claiming they were warped....I was about to argue that it must be virtually impossible to warp a set of 365mm rotors on the road but I didn't need to...

Personally, I think the "warping" excuse is BS, but looking at my fronts again, the car now has ~12000 miles on it and I may get the front pads replaced at the first AVS in ~2000 miles.

If you need 'em, use 'em!

Great fun!

[P_G]

Thanks Guys, think I'll be pushing to have all replaced before purchase or looking elsewhere.

They should replace them if they are within the toleranc of being replaced under the Audi approved schemee anyway, when I picked up my RS4 I got all four tyres replaved and an AVS 1 in for free because they were within the parameters that Audi use to qualify for replacement before selling on. I would imagine that brakes are the same.

[Iain_S4]

Anybody know how much wears off the pads before the rivets are exposed?

I have around 18,500 miles on my car on the original pads so have been a little paranoid about catching worn pads before the discs are grooved. I thought I had spotted the very early stages of grooving and ordered new pads. When I went to fit them at the weekend the pads were fine and only have about 2mm worn off.

A lot of my mileage is from a 25mile each way commute which tends not to be hard on the brakes hence the low wear compared to some.

[RS4Molar]

Generally i think you'll find that typically we're getting 11k - 15k from the front pads.

I disagree - I've done 27k and I drive enthusiastically but I also look ahead and anticipate so I rarely need to use more than gentle braking. When I had my wheels off for a full wash & brush-up a couple of weeks ago there was plenty of life left in the front pads.

PD "gentle braking" your so soft on your RS4. LOL !!
Molar

[PetrolDave]

PD "gentle braking" your so soft on your RS4. LOL !!
Molar

I don't think it thought that on Saturday when the oil temperature was showing 111 Celsius after a spirited drive.

The amount of braking you need is down to looking ahead, anticipating, being in the correct gear and being ready rather than leaving it to the last second - that's fine if you want to set the fastest lap time on a circuit but IMHO not the safest way to drive quickly (but legally) on public roads where having something in reserve to cope with the unexpected actions of someone else is essential for safe progress.

[rAudiguy]

Guys slight change in topic and apologies for high jacking the thread for a minute. Has anyone on here tried different pads on the car i.e. EBC, black diamond? just wondered if they were worth thinking about or if the OEM pads were the best route by far??

cheers

Jim

[Lancia]

ProjectMu Race pads at present. Squeel like buggery but seem to be nice on discs and are lasting, Dont wear out after 2 track days like the stocks ones do. Also work suprisingly well cold.

Stock pads are fine on the street, just dont rely on the wear sensors, by that time its too late and the rotors need replacing as well.