Newbie to Audi, need some help

[Syl3ntforce]

Hey guys,

I got an Audi A4 B6 Quattro about 2 months ago with 84k on it for cheap. Everything works good on it a few beat up things that im fixing up here and there but one thing i want to find out and yes i searched, what are good brake pads and rotors. dont care to much about performance rotors and pads but something good.

I checked ebay and found rotors and brake pads for front and rear for $100 and on some sites for <$250 I was surprised at how cheap a whole set is

The bran i found was Prime Choice on ebay and they seem like a good brand but wanted to get other opinions and ideas.

Please let me know if someone can help

Also when i turn on my car it starts up but takes some time cranking or it cranks slow and then it starts by sputtering and reaches regular idle and sometimes after it starts it screeches as if im holding the ignition for to long when im not. i thought it could be the starter but before i get that i wanted to see if someone had similar experiences?

Any help would be great.

Thanks!

[mpsmith]

Don't buy eBay.

[Syl3ntforce]

Any other brands i can look into i know ecs tuning is good but if there are other brands id like to check my options

[PreciseD]

Step 1: Pick up a VCDS
Step 2: Maintenance
Step 3: No cheap parts unless you want to do it twice.

These cars are VERY heavy and the brakes are undersized. DO NOT cheap out in this department. If you can cut your rotors I would do that as long as they are OEM. If they are aftermarket toss them in the trash and get OEM or OE equivalent. If you have the money I would upgrade to S4 front brakes.

[jacobsen]

For brake pads you want HAWK. For rotors you want Brembo. Your accessory belt is loose or worn out and screeching when you start your car, or you have a bearing hanging up in your alternator check the belt tension and tensioner right on the front of the motor. In regards to your trouble getting it started and sputtering I'll bet your spark plugs need changing. DO NOT BUY CHEAP BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS, you'll regret it. Plus it's an Audi, it's not designed for cheap parts. You can try various sites, rockauto, etc. I got drilled brembo rotors, hawk hps pads and all new calipers fairly cheap! Where are your fluid levels at?

[Audibot]

Step 1: Pick up a VCDS
Step 2: Maintenance
Step 3: No cheap parts unless you want to do it twice.

X2. OP, where are you located? "United States" is not a very good location descriptor.

These cars are VERY heavy and the brakes are undersized. DO NOT cheap out in this department. If you can cut your rotors I would do that as long as they are OEM. If they are aftermarket toss them in the trash and get OEM or OE equivalent. If you have the money I would upgrade to S4 front brakes.

Also, it's funny unny you mention that because I have two sets of S4 brakes for sale in the marketplace -- one with just the calipers and used pads, and one with calipers, SS lines, dust shields, and a set of used rotors and pads (both are EBC).

[blitz2190]

also if your in a pinch they won't be the cheapest around but napa does do oem parts for these cars including rotors.

[Audibot]

For brake pads you want HAWK. For rotors you want Brembo. Your accessory belt is loose or worn out and screeching when you start your car, or you have a bearing hanging up in your alternator check the belt tension and tensioner right on the front of the motor. In regards to your trouble getting it started and sputtering I'll bet your spark plugs need changing. DO NOT BUY CHEAP BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS, you'll regret it. Plus it's an Audi, it's not designed for cheap parts. You can try various sites, rockauto, etc. I got drilled brembo rotors, hawk hps pads and all new calipers fairly cheap! Where are your fluid levels at?

Hawk pads are good. I've never gotten Brembo rotors. Right now I'm currently running Centric High Carbon rotors and Posi-quiet pads. They are quite smooth, very quiet even under hard braking, and I don't notice any detrimental effects with them. And they were inexpensive.

One thing is to know the difference between cheap and inexpensive. Sometimes a cheap product with be pricey; sometimes a good product will be inexpensive; and sometimes a product with be both cheap and inexpensive.

[Charles.waite]

Some serious brake snobs in here.

I bought Centric Blank rotors (use their website to find the proper part number). Centric manufactures Stoptech so the quality is very good and the price is solid. Surprisingly, Amazon had the best pricing on them.

As far as pads, thats a harder decision. I put suuuuper cheap Brake Select (oreilly house brand) pads on my b7 and they're actually better than OEM in my opinion. I put akebonos on my b6 and also really like them but the price is a 2-3x the cost. Personally I would get akebono or Hawks. The brake select pads work, but I only cheaped out because I thought I was selling the car and thats literally all oreillys had and the brake warnign came on one day before some people were coming by to look at the car so I had to scramble to get new rotors and pads on the car. Now I'm sorta stuck with them. They aren't half bad, but also not as good as the akebonos or hawks.

Whatever you do, I recommend splurging on coated or painted rotors. Otherwise you get ugly surface rust which doesn't affect performance in the near term but is sort of unsightly...

[blitz2190]

I have the no name brand napa pads on my car, had the choice of oem or not. Can't tell the difference.

[SJorge3442]

Some serious brake snobs in here.

I bought Centric Blank rotors (use their website to find the proper part number). Centric manufactures Stoptech so the quality is very good and the price is solid. Surprisingly, Amazon had the best pricing on them.

As far as pads, thats a harder decision. I put suuuuper cheap Brake Select (oreilly house brand) pads on my b7 and they're actually better than OEM in my opinion. I put akebonos on my b6 and also really like them but the price is a 2-3x the cost. Personally I would get akebono or Hawks. The brake select pads work, but I only cheaped out because I thought I was selling the car and thats literally all oreillys had and the brake warnign came on one day before some people were coming by to look at the car so I had to scramble to get new rotors and pads on the car. Now I'm sorta stuck with them. They aren't half bad, but also not as good as the akebonos or hawks.

Whatever you do, I recommend splurging on coated or painted rotors. Otherwise you get ugly surface rust which doesn't affect performance in the near term but is sort of unsightly...

I too run the Centric Blanks. No complaints here, but the rust on the rotor hat. Nothing a little high temp paint cannot fix! Rock auto is my go to site for parts like that.

[Charles.waite]

I too run the Centric Blanks. No complaints here, but the rust on the rotor hat. Nothing a little high temp paint cannot fix! Rock auto is my go to site for parts like that.

Yea I should have painted mine for sure. Oh well.

[Spike00513]

Yea I should have painted mine for sure. Oh well.

I too run the Centric Blanks. No complaints here, but the rust on the rotor hat. Nothing a little high temp paint cannot fix! Rock auto is my go to site for parts like that.

Whatever you do, I recommend splurging on coated or painted rotors. Otherwise you get ugly surface rust which doesn't affect performance in the near term but is sort of unsightly...

Clicky

Don't buy eBay.

There is nothing wrong with buying through eBay. eBay is not a seller, it is a means that many parts sellers use TO advertise or sell their parts through, even Audi dealerships themselves.

Step 1: Pick up a VCDS
Step 2: Maintenance
Step 3: No cheap parts unless you want to do it twice.

These cars are VERY heavy and the brakes are undersized. DO NOT cheap out in this department. If you can cut your rotors I would do that as long as they are OEM. If they are aftermarket toss them in the trash and get OEM or OE equivalent. If you have the money I would upgrade to S4 front brakes.

If anybody is interested, I believe the 1.8T comes with small underpowered front brakes, but the 3.0 is better. Same for the B7 A4, with its bigger brakes. I have a complete B7 A4 front brake kit for sale.

For brake pads you want HAWK. For rotors you want Brembo. Your accessory belt is loose or worn out and screeching when you start your car, or you have a bearing hanging up in your alternator check the belt tension and tensioner right on the front of the motor. In regards to your trouble getting it started and sputtering I'll bet your spark plugs need changing. DO NOT BUY CHEAP BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS, you'll regret it. Plus it's an Audi, it's not designed for cheap parts. You can try various sites, rockauto, etc. I got drilled brembo rotors, hawk hps pads and all new calipers fairly cheap! Where are your fluid levels at?

Why? IMO, the likes of Ate and Zimmerman rotors (zinc-coated or not) are just fine. Quality parts matter, not prices. If I find part number 8E0-___-___ on eBay for $30 shipped, I'm not going to pay ECS $50, because it's the same exact part, with the same buyer protection.
I'm running a $100 6-speed transmission. Try to tell me these cars must be expensive. There are pennies that can be pinched.
But keep on perpetuating the stereotype that these are ridiculously difficult and expensive cars to maintain, that way their value drops even more, and I can pick up an avant for $800 one day.

Next time, I will however look into ceramic pads, because semi-metallic makes a lot of dust.

[SJorge3442]

Clicky



There is nothing wrong with buying through eBay. eBay is not a seller, it is a means that many parts sellers use TO advertise or sell their parts through, even Audi dealerships themselves.



If anybody is interested, I believe the 1.8T comes with small underpowered front brakes, but the 3.0 is better. Same for the B7 A4, with its bigger brakes. I have a complete B7 A4 front brake kit for sale.



Why? IMO, the likes of Ate and Zimmerman rotors (zinc-coated or not) are just fine. Quality parts matter, not prices. If I find part number 8E0-___-___ on eBay for $30 shipped, I'm not going to pay ECS $50, because it's the same exact part, with the same buyer protection.
I'm running a $100 6-speed transmission. Try to tell me these cars must be expensive. There are pennies that can be pinched.
But keep on perpetuating the stereotype that these are ridiculously difficult and expensive cars to maintain, that way their value drops even more, and I can pick up an avant for $800 one day.

Next time, I will however look into ceramic pads, because semi-metallic makes a lot of dust.

Not sure whats up with the SBS stuff. My brakes make no noise at all and they also make next to no dust. I should mention that I believe I am also running Centric Ceramic pads up front. Old Guy mentioned something about metal guide pins that removing the floating aspect of our calipers which are supposed to increase pedal feel. I dont think I ever bookmarked the link, but the new pins were $100.

Edit: Found them! http://www.tyrolsport.com/brakes/tyr...t-for-vw/audi/

[Audibot]

Not sure whats up with the SBS stuff. My brakes make no noise at all and they also make next to no dust. I should mention that I believe I am also running Centric Ceramic pads up front. Old Guy mentioned something about metal guide pins that removing the floating aspect of our calipers which are supposed to increase pedal feel. I dont think I ever bookmarked the link, but the new pins were $100.

Edit: Found them! http://www.tyrolsport.com/brakes/tyr...t-for-vw/audi/

Oh yeah, forgot to mention those were in one of the B6/B7 S4 sets I am selling. Trust me -- those bushings STIFFEN up the brake feel. OMG, it was a completely different feeling on them.

If you're going to buy these, 2 things: 1. Buy more snap rings--I managed to ruin one and lost one while installing. Sucks to find out you're one short. And 2. Remember to grease them every so often.

[jacobsen]

The hawk HPS are dusty too, not too bad though. It's noticeable... I've seen some beamers aroud town that looked like they had black felt rims hahaha there was an 8th of an inch of carbon dust on every inch... I'd go hawks again, I'm curious what those low dust EBC's are all about. In regards to Brembo rotors, they are the most true (tightest tolerances), will you notice that right away? Perhaps not, but the more true they are the longer your pads will last and with so many heat cycles it matters over time. Drilled rotors aren't much more and for the money I'd get those. If you can get a good deal on a set of S4 brakes maybe go that route if you trust it. When I say cheap I mean low quality, thats just the way I think. I've been plenty thrifty with my B6. Find the part you want and search all over for it. I got a liter of CHF202 today for 15 bucks locally!!! Ebay, amazon, jhm, ecs, etc... No one place will always have the best deal... Well usually Ebay will have the best deals, for me I can get the fancy oils and at Carquest cheap cheap! If you were to replace your OEM stuff it's not much more expensive to get a remand set of 4 calipers off rockauto... I usually replace calipers when they get so many miles on them...