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Seen an RS4 but it has ceramics!!

Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:26 pm
by chrisd31
As above but what are peoples opinions on cars fitted with the ceramic brake option?

Chris

RE: Seen an RS4 but it has ceramics!!

Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:49 pm
by N11LS_J
Pros (from what i can think of) : Very expensive option when purchased at new, long term cost saving, much lighter than stock setup hence 'should' give the car a more nimble feel and better steering response, perform brilliantly, especially when worked hard! No brake dust, look fantastic with the bigger disc and Ceramic calipers...

Cons : Expense if and when something was to go wrong

I'm sure someone will be along to add more

(if you don't want, you can have my 380mm Brembo from my B7 :lol: )

RE: Seen an RS4 but it has ceramics!!

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 12:21 am
by pad125
Had mine for 44k miles now and not an ounce of trouble. They are off at the moment and it gave me a good chance to inspect them with the master tech and he pointed out all the area's to check. They still look like new but then I must brake like girl!!

I'm told they are about 2k a disk plus £500 for the pads plus labour but should last between 100-140k miles

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:48 am
by neckarsulm
Wasn't it Porsche that promised 100k + miles but in reality it was far less? [just found link see below]
http://www.evo.co.uk/news/evonews/46530 ... blems.html

My opinion (and it's justs that) is that there is a good chance that the first owner will have driven the car hard including track use if they were going to spec these which isn't what I'd want from a previous owner of my car even if I tracked it myself.

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:16 am
by Steve_C
neckarsulm wrote:My opinion (and it's justs that) is that there is a good chance that the first owner will have driven the car hard including track use if they were going to spec these which isn't what I'd want from a previous owner of my car even if I tracked it myself.
+1

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:28 am
by matthew.lewis2
Steve_C wrote:
neckarsulm wrote:My opinion (and it's justs that) is that there is a good chance that the first owner will have driven the car hard including track use if they were going to spec these which isn't what I'd want from a previous owner of my car even if I tracked it myself.
+1
Or it could be that some people simply like to have the best of whatever they are purchasing i.e do you buy a bog standard "hoover" or do you go for the Dyson? Thus, when the RS was ordered it could have been treated to options simply so the owner could 'have them' rather than to expolit every performance benefit from them.

I know I slip into this trait from time to time (when speccing PC's, buying suits, ordering wine when out for dinner etc) so I wouldn't dismiss this vehicle immediately.

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:33 am
by P_G
If you like the car but not the ceramics chrisd31 I'll happily swap you my front steel brake set.

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 12:32 pm
by Nib
matthew.lewis2 wrote:
Steve_C wrote:
neckarsulm wrote:My opinion (and it's justs that) is that there is a good chance that the first owner will have driven the car hard including track use if they were going to spec these which isn't what I'd want from a previous owner of my car even if I tracked it myself.
+1
Or it could be that some people simply like to have the best of whatever they are purchasing i.e do you buy a bog standard "hoover" or do you go for the Dyson? Thus, when the RS was ordered it could have been treated to options simply so the owner could 'have them' rather than to expolit every performance benefit from them.

I know I slip into this trait from time to time (when speccing PC's, buying suits, ordering wine when out for dinner etc) so I wouldn't dismiss this vehicle immediately.
Quite. That was my situation. Unusually (for me), I was in the lucky position in 2007 of being able to order exactly the car I wanted and I went down the options list accordingly. I doubt I'll be able to do that again for a little while.

Would I buy a car with ceramics? Absolutely. Would I worry that it might have been tracked? Not in the slightest, so long as it had also been properly maintained. Aren't these cars are designed for it?

IIRC, the pads and discs are warranted for 150k miles, although I've never seen that in writing........ I do know that after 25k miles there was no visible wear (on the fronts). Plenty on the back though.

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 12:51 pm
by 22B
Ceramics on mine. I'll echo exactly what Nills said, no brake dust, fantastic performance, lighter, and they look great with the huge calipers. Cost is scary should anything go wrong but I heard somewhere that the brakes can outlast the rest of the car!

Regarding the reasons for them being fitted originally, I disagree with Neckarsulm on that one and think it more likely that they would have been added when speccing the car as 'must-have' option. (great if you've got the money to do so!) I could be wrong but I doubt that many new RS4 buyers would be thinking about tracking their car seriously when buying it. Lucky for me, my own car is one of those where the original owner was a 'box ticker' and specced everything worth having when he ordered it.

Go for it!

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 1:25 pm
by Revolution
22B wrote:Lucky for me, my own car is one of those where the original owner was a 'box ticker' and specced everything worth having when he ordered it.
Iain,
i've seen your white weapon and I think that the 1st owner filled in a 2nd page with the options!

I would defo' take the ceramics spec car over a std one - and they're are suppost to be bullet proof...

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 1:52 pm
by pad125
Thinking about the costs, I wonder how many people ordering their car would have thought more about ceramics if they had been told how quickly the steel option warp and how often they would be looking at changing them in the cars lifetime. Not to mention the all the other positive comments above.

It was the dealmaker for me. I’m going to find it hard not to have ceramics on my next car

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:06 pm
by Terry1948
pad125 wrote:Thinking about the costs, I wonder how many people ordering their car would have thought more about ceramics if they had been told how quickly the steel option warp and how often they would be looking at changing them in the cars lifetime. Not to mention the all the other positive comments above.

It was the dealmaker for me. I’m going to find it hard not to have ceramics on my next car
I think you are right but sometimes you run out of money before ticks at least that is my excuse for not speccing them

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:15 pm
by P_G
pad125 wrote:Thinking about the costs, I wonder how many people ordering their car would have thought more about ceramics if they had been told how quickly the steel option warp and how often they would be looking at changing them in the cars lifetime. Not to mention the all the other positive comments above.

It was the dealmaker for me. I’m going to find it hard not to have ceramics on my next car
C6 RS6 for you then, and you get them on the rear as well!

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:19 pm
by pad125
[quote="P_G]C6 RS6 for you then, and you get them on the rear as well![/quote]

You're just making me drool now and its embarrassing

Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 2:40 pm
by sonny
Revolution wrote: Revolution said, Iain,
i've seen your white weapon
Can you keep that to yourself please :lol: