B6 S4 Rear Brake Install

[drjonez]

Not that this is rocket science, but here are some notes on putting B6 S4 rear brakes on an 2003 1.8T A4.

First, note the difference in rotor and pad size (yes, it is an iPhone pic and is therefore crappy):



The parts you'll need:

1. S4 rotors
2. S4 calipers
3. S4 pads
4. S4 caliper carriers

Everything bolts up just fine, the lines are the same. There are just a few sticking points:

1. The S4 dust shields won't bolt up- they have 4 mounting holes and the 1.8T rear knuckle only has 3, 2 are in the wrong place and there's not area to drill and tap new holes. You could drill one hole in the S4 dust shield and have it attached by two bolts, I didn't think it was a good idea given its size/mass. The good news is the 1.8T dust shields can be massaged to clear the rotor and provide some shielding, just not the "wrap-around" that the OEM ones have. You will have to trim a bit off of the 1.8T dust shield for caliper carrier clearance.
2. The ebrake cable housing will be a bit tight given the longer distance it needs to travel to the caliper. You can get a bit of slack by moving the cable/housings on their hangers, enough to make it work. I haven't checked ETKA yet to see if a different cable is called out between the A4 and S4.
3. You can't rock 15s anymore. The S4 setup barely fits inside my 16" winter wheels.

[kristokes]

Thanks for the write-up

[dougyfresh]

This is the original thread with a lot more information: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/421215