Brakes and Carbon Clean

[Rellis]

Took my motor to my local independent on Thursday for discs and pads all round (previously purchased from a couple of sources).

Also got it in for a carbon clean.

Here’s some photos of the front and rear brakes and the pre-carbon clean. Looks like it’s never had one to me.

[tommchowat]

Looked like mine, absolutely caked. Wait til they show you the after pictures. Then put your foot down and enjoy the kick up your arse at 5500rpm.

[Rellis]

Can’t wait to get it back mate. I’m hoping for a completely different experience in terms of performance.

[MikeFish]

Can’t wait to get it back mate. I’m hoping for a completely different experience in terms of performance.

Don't get too excited. Mine idled smoother and was smoother in traffic. Other than that it pulled a little harder at the top of the rev range. Not a big difference though. A lot of people see a big difference because a vac leak is fixed as the engine is reassembled. Personally, I think it is a waste of time and money.

[James1984]

Surely has to be worth it if its never been done and down 40hp?

[MikeFish]

My car was at 70k miles, never had it done and was running 400ps with mods. After the clean it was 438ps.
Was it worth it? Nope.
Would I do it again? Nope.
I'd be happy running 400ps and not have to worry about cleaning it once a year. You know that it comes back very quickly? If you regularly thrash it, it will help prevent it but it doesn't take long to look like the photos above.

[Rellis]

I guess you’re entitled to your opinion and probably have a point, but as a new RS4 owner I want my car to be running optimally.

At least I can then make my own judgement on whether a carbon clean should be allowed for in my ongoing maintenance costs.

[MikeFish]

Your money, your choice, just my opinion that others will disagree with.

[Covkiller]

Some just like it dirty

[12th]

I do low mileage (5k p.a.) so am only budgeting for every four years or so. But why put up with an RS4 that's in less than peak condition? It makes enough of a difference to be noticeable whenever you drive, and for the car to feel livelier and faster. Surely that's the whole point of that wonderful engine?

[MikeFish]

The engine is still wonderful with 400ps.
I owned my B7 for over 7 years so had plenty of time to make an informed opinion I think.
Unless you plan on getting a decoke every year then you will also be running it in less than peak condition. But it is still a fantastic car and engine even in a coked state.
You don't have to listen to me, I'm just giving you my opinion from many years owning one and too many days spent wasted on this forum. I think too much emphasis has been put into the decoke and many people have confused the benefits of fixing a vac leak to the benefits of a decoke as they often get fixed buly removing and replacing the head. When the car was first released and people started to test them on dynos there was a panic that they were never capable of 420ps but they soon realised the engines do produce this power but only when they are coke free. Yes decoking will give you the big ps numbers for bragging rights down the pub so if that's what you are interested then go for it, but in real world driving difference an MRC stage 2 remap is a much better investment and is a permanent upgrade whereas a decoke is only temporary and the benefits are not as great as the remap. And personally I'd rather remap it when coked up intead of clean as I'd rather it was performing at it's peak in the condition it will spend most of its life rather than remap when clean for max ps but be performing non optimally for most of its life.

[12th]

11 years and counting, so I think I've got you there!

I don't think that they coke up as quickly as people seem to think, and again I think I've enough experience to offer that view. But for me it's not just headline figures or bragging rights, I think a coked engine feels less exuberant, for want of a better word, and that does matter (to me at least).