DRC Checks and Braking?

4.2 V8 32v Naturally Aspirated - 414 bhp
Post Reply
Sit
Neutral
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:15 am

DRC Checks and Braking?

Post by Sit » Mon Apr 09, 2018 3:27 pm

Afternoon all,

I am planning to go and view an RS4 in the next day or so which I am very interested in, perfect colour, nice miles/spec etc.

I am aware of the failings with DRC but not found any detailed information on how to check it’s function when viewing a car?

Is it a visual inspection to ensure no leaking/weeping from the individual shocks or is there something more conclusive I can do to ensure it’s in full working order and not requiring imminent investment?

I suppose the bonus is by buying from a garage if something was to come to light in the early days then it would be their responsibility to get it fixed.

Also I know from posts of old, one of the things that used to put people off the RS4 was the horrendous cost of replacement disks for the front, as time moves on are there third party suppliers or chosen products which can be used to avoid the rumoured £2k for new brake discs??

I am it’s fair to say very excited, always had a love for the RS4 and think they still look very special. The soundtrack is intoxicating and having weighed up between V8 M3 and V8 RS4 I think the RS4 is the right choice and feel confident that it’s done most of its depreciating and should prove a good buy.

Will of course keep you posted but any advice on the above would be most welcome.

Si

User avatar
12th
3rd Gear
Posts: 259
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2018 3:37 pm

Re: DRC Checks and Braking?

Post by 12th » Mon Apr 09, 2018 4:10 pm

Can't help with DRC (81k from new and no issues here), but the brakes are steep (more like £1,600 than £2k). Local indy only really seemed to be able to trim labour costs, but others may fare better.

The bigger brake issue was that they started out recommending new sets after bugger-all mileage. I am a long, long way from the last of the late brakers, but my first set were recommended for change after around 15k miles. Next set lasted twice as long, third still going strong (and this is all at the same dealership). In short, they were recommending that discs were changed when there was no need. Naughty.
Sprint Blue B7 RS4 Saloon with MRC tweakery.

User avatar
Jon_J
5th Gear
Posts: 1383
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2017 12:20 am

Re: DRC Checks and Braking?

Post by Jon_J » Mon Apr 09, 2018 5:02 pm

12th wrote:Can't help with DRC (81k from new and no issues here), but the brakes are steep (more like £1,600 than £2k). Local indy only really seemed to be able to trim labour costs, but others may fare better.

The bigger brake issue was that they started out recommending new sets after bugger-all mileage. I am a long, long way from the last of the late brakers, but my first set were recommended for change after around 15k miles. Next set lasted twice as long, third still going strong (and this is all at the same dealership). In short, they were recommending that discs were changed when there was no need. Naughty.
The DRC is an easy visual inspection, if it’s leaking it’s fairly obvious, misting on the shocks. They do have symptoms when they fail but not all of them and not all the same symptoms.

As for brakes, EuroCarParts sell the front discs at 50% a few tones a year so you can get both front discs for under £500. The pads are £140 ish. Easy enough to change yourself but if you are not comfortable doing it it’s not a big job so a couple of hours labour should cover it.

The tears are a little harder to come by. My advice is when they come up on offer by them, that way you have them as and when you need them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
RS4 B7 Sprint Blue
- Titanium Pack
- Black Optics
- B16's
- RNSE2 with AMI
- Reverse Camera
- Full Stereo install

S5 8T Cab White
S4 B7 Phantom Black (gone but not forgotten)
A4 B7 Avant 2.7 TDI Brilliant Red
A5 Cab 3.0 TDI Phantom Black

Sit
Neutral
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:15 am

Re: DRC Checks and Braking?

Post by Sit » Mon Apr 09, 2018 6:21 pm

Jon_J wrote:
Mon Apr 09, 2018 5:02 pm
12th wrote:Can't help with DRC (81k from new and no issues here), but the brakes are steep (more like £1,600 than £2k). Local indy only really seemed to be able to trim labour costs, but others may fare better.

The bigger brake issue was that they started out recommending new sets after bugger-all mileage. I am a long, long way from the last of the late brakers, but my first set were recommended for change after around 15k miles. Next set lasted twice as long, third still going strong (and this is all at the same dealership). In short, they were recommending that discs were changed when there was no need. Naughty.
The DRC is an easy visual inspection, if it’s leaking it’s fairly obvious, misting on the shocks. They do have symptoms when they fail but not all of them and not all the same symptoms.

As for brakes, EuroCarParts sell the front discs at 50% a few tones a year so you can get both front discs for under £500. The pads are £140 ish. Easy enough to change yourself but if you are not comfortable doing it it’s not a big job so a couple of hours labour should cover it.

The tears are a little harder to come by. My advice is when they come up on offer by them, that way you have them as and when you need them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Some cracking advice there, thank you for the heads up - seems like a good idea to buy them when on offer and stash them away until required.

Sounds like a visual inspection should suffice, if at some point the DRC fails and a decisions is made to switch to Bilsteins or similar, does all the DRC gubbins have to come out as well or is it just swapping the shocks over and recoding the car so it knows DRC is not active/fitted?

Si

Pistolpete2543
3rd Gear
Posts: 367
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 11:11 am
Location: Northern Ireland

Re: DRC Checks and Braking?

Post by Pistolpete2543 » Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:34 pm

DRC doesn’t need coding, it’s purely mechanical/hydraulic system. If you can, get the car on a ramp & closely inspect the DRC steel pipes, these are likely to be heavily corroded if original. In particular, up above the fuel tank. You’re talking £900 just for the 4 replacement pipes, then £4-500 to fit them and £250 to recharge the system. Not the end of the world but a reasonable expense, however a fully working DRC system is awesome & in my opinion makes the car more desirable.

Sit
Neutral
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:15 am

Re: DRC Checks and Braking?

Post by Sit » Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:43 pm

Thanks for that, will have a good look at them in that case as like you say its not the end of the world but after spending on buying the car it always hurts to then sink another £1k or more on repairs.

Everyone is very complementary about the system itself so would like to have it in tip top shape.

Si

rs user
4th Gear
Posts: 694
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 5:01 pm

Re: DRC Checks and Braking?

Post by rs user » Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:58 pm

hunting around can get front and rear discs/pads for around £1100-fitting is simple enough d.i.y-as long as front caliper pins come out-if not be prepared for a nippy few hours
drc-coilovers sorts it at 1k ish,my opinion differs-quality coilovers means no future drc issues
if its a megga low sub 20k car-fair enough,everything standard makes sense

jon_273
Neutral
Posts: 47
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2016 10:07 pm
Location: Geneva

Re: DRC Checks and Braking?

Post by jon_273 » Tue Apr 10, 2018 5:53 pm

Also with the DRC Audi say some misting is normal (there is a technical bulletin about it).

Mine is going to a specialist on Thursday to have the system drained and refilled and checked over after another garage told me it was "dead". I gave it a visual check myself on a ramp, with is about the only thing you can do yourself to check it. Apparently by draining and refilling they can monitor how the pressure builds up to know if the accumulator valves are OK or not.

rs user
4th Gear
Posts: 694
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 5:01 pm

Re: DRC Checks and Braking?

Post by rs user » Tue Apr 10, 2018 11:07 pm

sadly audi have never really got the drc right over the years-always a weak point on the cars-once the car is a few years old its just an expensive liability

Pistolpete2543
3rd Gear
Posts: 367
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 11:11 am
Location: Northern Ireland

Re: DRC Checks and Braking?

Post by Pistolpete2543 » Wed Apr 11, 2018 12:33 am

arthur.d wrote:
Tue Apr 10, 2018 11:07 pm
sadly audi have never really got the drc right over the years-always a weak point on the cars-once the car is a few years old its just an expensive liability
I think to view DRC as a weak point is clearly missing the point, the DRC is part of what makes an RS4 such a great car (along with engine, steering, manual gearbox), the balance of ride and handling is something to behold. The later v3 dampers are far more reliable than the original items, and many will have already had replacements fitted under the extended warranty Audi offered. The biggest expense is likely to be the steel pipes. The cost of a decent coilover set fitted is going to be around £2k (KW V3 or Bilstein B16), so this is also a big bill to fork out.

Ultimately it is your decision, either fix the DRC if it fails or replace with coilovers. When my DRC pipes failed I considered both options as the overall costs were similar, but I stuck with the DRC and love it.

rs user
4th Gear
Posts: 694
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 5:01 pm

Re: DRC Checks and Braking?

Post by rs user » Wed Apr 11, 2018 1:54 pm

quote
I think to view DRC as a weak point is clearly missing the point, the DRC is part of what makes an RS4 such a great car (along with engine, steering, manual gearbox), the balance of ride and handling is something to behold. The later v3 dampers are far more reliable than the original items, and many will have already had replacements fitted under the extended warranty Audi offered. The biggest expense is likely to be the steel pipes. The cost of a decent coilover set fitted is going to be around £2k (KW V3 or Bilstein B16), so this is also a big bill to fork out.

Ultimately it is your decision, either fix the DRC if it fails or replace with coilovers. When my DRC pipes failed I considered both options as the overall costs were similar, but I stuck with the DRC and love it.
[/quote]

once you fit coilovers-thats it[in general terms anyway] the drc will fail again,and again etc turning the car into an[even bigger] moneypit
imho the drc is "ok" but coilovers do the job nicely
i dont think i really missed the point-the drc for me isnt a must have at all no question if the drc was good for the life of the car i wouldnt remove it-i like the height,coilovers are a little low for my taste-i think this avant i have now handles better with b14 than my old saloon did with healthy drc if i"m honest

coffey555
5th Gear
Posts: 1137
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2011 2:41 pm

Re: DRC Checks and Braking?

Post by coffey555 » Wed Apr 11, 2018 7:19 pm

My car rides on KW3's with H&R anti-roll bars and yes, the handling is better than the DRC system.

However the ride quality is now very harsh.

So the above statement is correct, the DRC system is the best compromise between handling and ride comfort.

The ride with just the KW3's is actually pretty good,it is the combination of the coilovers and uprated ARB's that destroys the ride quality.

But you need the ARB's to offset the lack of DRC effect in the corners (high speed body roll).

Depends what you want out of the car really.
Misano Red RS4 B7 Avant

jon_273
Neutral
Posts: 47
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2016 10:07 pm
Location: Geneva

Re: DRC Checks and Braking?

Post by jon_273 » Fri Apr 13, 2018 7:52 pm

Well I had my DRC 'serviced' yesterday and it held system pressure which is good news. The two N/S shock absorbers have signs of weeping but they seem ok for now. I had a very comfy 3 hour drive home :D. We will see how long it lasts (car has done 115k miles) but it's a deal breaker for me to keep DRC on the car.

I've had KW coilovers on previous cars and quickly got bored of the poor ride (this was on a lightweight short wheelbase car, a heavy RS4 might be better), and also I don't think the build quality is what everyone makes out to be. All the paint had flaked off the springs and they generally looked trashed by only 20k miles. I think the service life is shorter than OEM stuff too - a friend of mine needed new dampers for his KW's after 50k miles. Although I suppose it would be a worry free 50k miles, unlike with DRC.

Post Reply

Return to “RS4 (B7 Typ 8E) 2006–2008”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google Adsense [Bot] and 516 guests