rusty_67

iTrader: (1)

So my pads are wearing thin and its about time for new rotors and I'd like to get something that'll livein it up under the wheel. I am having trouble finding any kind of performance brake kits (pads, rotors, calipers, etc. front and rear). I have a 2002 quattro 3.0.

Here are my options:

1. Whole performance kit: Big Money. Aftermarket calipers, cross drilled/slotted rotors, pads, and stainless steel lines. (where would I get??)

2. Split it up: Cross drilled/slotted rotors (can probly get a set off ebay that work with stock calipers for aound $150-200), some decent pads (~50 Bucks), paint up the calipers, keep stock lines cuz no one sees them anyway.

3. regular replacement parts, that probly wouldn't cost much less if not more than the above, and leave it the way it is.

Thoughts and suggestions?

1move

iTrader: (1)

Yeah dont use cross drilled as they will crack/snap and you will have to replace a whole bunch shiznit....Go with the slotted rotors and hawks rake pads it will decrease the brake dust and increase stopping power roughly will run you around $400 ish for the entire car. Best place to buy is tirerack.com in my opinion

marcj

IMO: a lot of the upgraded braking kits are intended for racing, where there's lots of possibility of brake fade (overheating) which is where the cross drilling and slotting comes in. For street use, slots and drilled rotors can actually increase stopping distance since the surface area that the pads come into contact with is smaller. Also some are really not made for street use because they're not durable - they're made to last one race, period.

So my view is understand what you're upgrading to before sinking a lot of money into it. If you're not spending time on a track, brake fade is less of an issue than stopping distance when cold.

mech120

If you want to upgrade the brakes going to a company with a really good reputation is going to pay off the most. If I remember right the company that did the brakes for the Stasis Engineering Audi's that ran, or run, in the Speed World Challenge Series did a lot of engineering to get the balance of the brakes right and developed a street system out of it that works correctly with the rest of the brake system, including the ABS. They'd probably be a good place to start.

rusty_67

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the tips guys, I guess cross drilled isn't the way to go, as for slotted, is there any particular shape that works best, I know canadian tire just came out with those eliptical slots, not really a fan of anything canadian tire, but maybe you guys know more.

oni-kyan

brembo blanks slotted if you can
I love my hawk hp+ pads on and off the track
and even though no one sees the stainless line will improve your stopping power a bunch as the don't bulge under braking the bulge in stock lines lowers the actual pressure that is exerted on the calipers lowering your braking force.

Mael

Black_RS4

I would personally not got with the canadian tire rotors... tirerack.com is your saviour for brembo blanks...

986Jim

I was just going to say brembo solid rotors (vented of course, not cross drilled) and some Hawk or EBC pads will be your best bet.

Cross drilling is mainly for looks regular rotors that are drilled. I was looking at an S55 AMG sitting in the parking lot. The brakes looked to be 15" on the front of this thing and the calipers were about 10" long, they were HUGE. It had cross drilled rotors on it. With rotors that size you can cross drill them and the surface area is still MASSIVE plus they would need heat disipation with the sheer size and amount of heat that would create.

On a stock sized rotor it's basically a waste of time, umm k?

Regards,

akula-ssh

Big Brake Kits, while having an effect in day-to-day driving, is mostly for reducing fade under repeated use usually seen only on track days. I don't regret upgrading mine, but it's not strictly necessary. Some companies you may want to look into if you want a BBK are (in my preference) STaSIS/Alcon, AP Racing, Stoptech, Brembo, and BIRA/Porsche.

Upgrading the pads is the most cost-effective way to either increase brake performance or reduce brake dust. Some pads you might want to consider are Carbotech Bobcats, Hawk HPS, Ferodo DS2000 (not low dust).

ECS Tuning offers light-weight 2-piece rotors, if you feel like something other than OEM or OEM replacement rotors from, eg, ATE, Zimmerman, etc. Like others I would recommend against cross-drilled rotors, especially when there's road salt to worry about. Slotted *might* be a good idea if you see a lot of rain, but otherwise unnecessary too.

dsq

^what most people said.

2 easy components for better stopping are good brake pads and good tires.