Really stupid question, but I'll give it a shot Brake question

[Charlescrs6]

So, I've had my car for 6 some odd months and the brake travel has always been a lot more than I expected it to be with the 3.0 brakes. I got my brakes bled today with some motul 5.1 and they feel the same as before, which is horrible compared to a friends B7 2.0T and another friends MKV R32. Is this normal for the pedal to travel like halfway to the floor before it even starts to brake? If so, would SS lines help or do I have to get new pads and rotors as well?

[QTC]

Mine doesn't go halfway to the floor before grabbing (B6 S4 front brakes). A little bit of delay? Yeah, but nothing to what you described. It wasn't that way with my stockers either. Maybe the brake master cylinder is going?

[Charlescrs6]

That's what I was thinking, Idk though I just figured it would be nearly the same as a B7 2.0T's pedal travel right? Maybe someone that has driven botha B6 3.0 and a B7 2.0T can chime in on the difference.

[kwik_shift]

I think SS lines would help, being that stock lines are rubber, they expand a bit when you brake. If i'm wrong, someone correct me.

[J-jizzle]

my S4 breaks seem to have more pedal travel then my stockers to. But they still feel solid.

[B6JoeS4]

so can you hold your pedal down almost halfway and not feel anything at all? i have a 3.0 and my pedal travel is definitely farther than i would like it to be but it grabs within the first inch of travel

[03 silverbullet]

i have B5 S4 brakes (duel piston) on an 03 A4 1.8t and i barely have to tap the peddle and it slams the car to a stop.

One of my friends drove my car the other day and didn't realize i upgraded the brakes since the last time he drove it and he nearly bounced himself off the steering wheel he said.

Stock B5 S4 rotors and 38 dollar pads from Autozone.

[Charlescrs6]

i have B5 S4 brakes (duel piston) on an 03 A4 1.8t and i barely have to tap the peddle and it slams the car to a stop.

One of my friends drove my car the other day and didn't realize i upgraded the brakes since the last time he drove it and he nearly bounced himself off the steering wheel he said.

Stock B5 S4 rotors and 38 dollar pads from Autozone.

hmmmmmmm. Did the pedal travel get a lot shorter with just the rotors, calipers, and pad change from stock?

[kwik_shift]

i have B5 S4 brakes (duel piston) on an 03 A4 1.8t and i barely have to tap the peddle and it slams the car to a stop.

One of my friends drove my car the other day and didn't realize i upgraded the brakes since the last time he drove it and he nearly bounced himself off the steering wheel he said.

Stock B5 S4 rotors and 38 dollar pads from Autozone.

Damn!!!! WTF They didn't even carry the pads for my 2.7T C5 and you got yours for $38

[koolade9]

Pedal travel shouldn't be too long... I don't push mine very far at all. Sounds like you need to bleed the whole system again...

[Charlescrs6]

Dude i Just paid someone 50 bucks to do it, this is f'ing ridiculous. Could a mechanic tell me if my master cylinder is donzo?

[koolade9]

Dude i Just paid someone 50 bucks to do it, this is f'ing ridiculous. Could a mechanic tell me if my master cylinder is donzo?

Usually, if your MS is toast, when you press the pedal...it keeps slowly traveling to the floor. If it's spongy, or just has a long travel, usually that's air in the line, and if you have to push pretty hard, that's a booster/vac line problem.

I'm sticking with 'air in the lines' for 500 alex...

Did he bleed all 4 corners? or just the two fronts? If he did all four, did he start with the furthest from the MS?

(I don't believe our MS needs an "X" pattern like hondas, and you can start from the furthest to the MS, and work your way to the closest)

[Charlescrs6]

He should've done all 4, it was 'brake fluid flush' for 50 skrillz... It's motul 5.1 and could they just suck at it and have left air in the lines? It's just really long travel, it's better in my sisters corolla...

[Charlescrs6]

And I believe he did the closest to the MC first because I BELIEVE (correct me if I'm wrong) that's how it goes in Audi's.

[Charlescrs6]

buuuump. Someone that's driven a b7 2.0T and b6 3.0 tell me the difference in brake pedal travel! PLEASE

[B6480Avant]

give it a week if its the same they didnt bleed them and find out what method they used to bleed the brakes

[Charlescrs6]

Does it actually get better after time with new fluid or are you making that up?

[B6480Avant]

i changed all rotors and pads + flush it felt weak at first but got better. regardless going past half way and still no friction in the pads is crazy

[trueno429]

if it bothers you that much get some new pads, you got the car used right?
even if you dont need new pads lets say for example just get new ones. it will obviously decrease travel for obvious reasons. less piston poking out

[Charlescrs6]

if it bothers you that much get some new pads, you got the car used right?
even if you dont need new pads lets say for example just get new ones. it will obviously decrease travel for obvious reasons. less piston poking out

I need to have somone drive my car then, because I'm pretty sure there's something wrong, hopefully it's not just me. The dealer replaced a warped rotor but I'm not sure if they replaced any of the pads or anything.

[03 silverbullet]

hmmmmmmm. Did the pedal travel get a lot shorter with just the rotors, calipers, and pad change from stock?

To me it was shortened but not by much

[03 silverbullet]

Damn!!!! WTF They didn't even carry the pads for my 2.7T C5 and you got yours for $38

autozone is weird like that if u know the same pads were used for more then one yr of the brakes u r looking for. Then look them up by a different yr and they may carry them.

i bought the brakes used so i just got the cheap set to make sure they worked i will probably change them out after winter because they are an economy pad and will have a lot of dust in the summer

[03 silverbullet]

if the brake lines were bleed then make sure the reservoir is full and change out the pads.

[Charlescrs6]

Resevoir (sp?) is full, how do I tell how old the pads are?

[Charlescrs6]

HALP.

[onceover]

go physically look at the pads, it there a lot of material left on them?
full pads:


completley done pad:


comparison of worn/full motorcycle pads:


also, does the pedal feel spongy? i skimmed through the thread and didnt notice if anyone asked

[koolade9]

Here's a good troubleshooting question:

When you apply the brake, once you start feeling them bite, mentally note where the pedal is. Then let the pedal back all the way out and apply the brake again (pump the brake pedal once). If they start biting much earlier (in terms of pedal travel), then once again, "I'll take bleed the brakes for $1000 alex"

[dougyfresh]

comparison of worn/full motorcycle pads:

Those look like Avid mountain bike pads

[onceover]

quite possibly right.

my dirbike pads are bigger now that i think about it

[dougyfresh]

quite possibly right.

my dirbike pads are bigger now that i think about it

Yeah. that lower one is the disc side and the upper one is the fork/frame side. BB7 mechanical?

[onceover]

all ive ever used is hayes hydraulics

[Charlescrs6]

I need dougs help on this one. Too bad he's an hour and a half away . He's so damn good with these cars, I know he'd figure it out! Doug, if you're ever within 30 minutes of darien/stamford/norwalk let me know, maybe you could check out my brakes for some dinero.

[Charlescrs6]

Here's a good troubleshooting question:

When you apply the brake, once you start feeling them bite, mentally note where the pedal is. Then let the pedal back all the way out and apply the brake again (pump the brake pedal once). If they start biting much earlier (in terms of pedal travel), then once again, "I'll take bleed the brakes for $1000 alex"

Ok so I did this. And If I pump once, then right after again, the second one there is much more pressure, and the brakes get a lot stiffer a lot quicker. What does this mean?

[koolade9]

Ok so I did this. And If I pump once, then right after again, the second one there is much more pressure, and the brakes get a lot stiffer a lot quicker. What does this mean?

I'll take bleed the brakes for $1000 alex

[Charlescrs6]

god damnit. I get it that I have to RE do it.. But what went wrong? Did they do it bleed them wrong and allow air in the lines or does my car just require a double flush..?

[cjonesgo]

Drag about your brake problems. From your description, it really does sound like you have air in the lines. It is possible that the shop you took it to did not seal one of the bleed valves properly when they flushed the system. Also possible that you have a leak somewhere allowing air into the system. I would think you would have noticed before now, or the shop would have noticed when flushing the system... time to climb under the car.
Bleeding the brakes is VERY easy. I'd invest in a power bleeder before paying someone to flush the brakes, but that's just me. Or, just ask a buddy to spend a few minutes pressing the pedal as you open and close the bleed valve.

SS lines will improve pedal feel, as will better (not just new) brake pads.

if it bothers you that much get some new pads, you got the car used right?
even if you dont need new pads lets say for example just get new ones. it will obviously decrease travel for obvious reasons. less piston poking out

This is just plain wrong.
The pistons do not fully retract when you let up on the brakes, it simply relieves pressure in the line. Pistons will gradually extend farther out of the caliper as the pad wears, but the piston is effectively moving the same distance when the pads are new vs. when worn.

[Charlescrs6]

Thanks for the help . How do the power bleeders work exactly?

[cjonesgo]

1. attach tube to bleed valve on brake caliper.
2. pump handle on bleeder to pull a vacuum
3. open valve on caliper
4. vacuum pulls out fluid/trapped air
5. close valve while still under vacuum (so air does not re-enter system)
6. repeat as needed. --keep going until you get ONLY fluid and no air--
7. move to each caliper and bleed caliper. generally: passenger rear, driver rear, passenger front, driver front
7. drink beer.

[koolade9]

god damnit. I get it that I have to RE do it.. But what went wrong? Did they do it bleed them wrong and allow air in the lines or does my car just require a double flush..?

haha...

They probably just did a half-assed job and either didn't get all the air out, let air in when bleeding, didn't use a speed-bleeder or have someone push the pedal, gravity-bled them...there's lots of ways to do it wrong. This is a perfect time for you to learn how to bleed them on your own.

1. attach tube to bleed valve on brake caliper.
2. pump handle on bleeder to pull a vacuum
3. open valve on caliper
4. vacuum pulls out fluid/trapped air
5. close valve while still under vacuum (so air does not re-enter system)
6. repeat as needed. --keep going until you get ONLY fluid and no air--
7. move to each caliper and bleed caliper. generally: passenger rear, driver rear, passenger front, driver front
7. drink beers.

[Charlescrs6]

Thanks guys, although I don't think there'll be any beer involved . I thought on Audi's it was driver front, passenger front, driver rear, passenger rear? Am I wrong?