B8 and B8.5 Facelift Brake Upgrade Options

[boomtime]

Hey guys, im doing some research again to find what DIY brake upgrades for the B8 and Facelift B8.5 models A4, A5, S4, S5, Q5 platforms exist. I know ECS has some listed like the RS5 for $5000 and the Porsche 19Z with adapter brackets but the prices over at ECS have gone crazy lately!

If you have upgraded your brakes please post up here with your experiences.
All opinions welcome!

I will also be sharing some of my work own cost vs benefit research once I finish my investigation with caliper and rotor sizes, fitment, sizes and perceived benefits, etc.
Mainly since moving from Florida to Colorado last year I have noticed more frequent brake fade and heat buildup due to the mountain downhill roads out west so its time to upgrade!

[Militant-Grunt]

I would say this is the best and most cost effective for what you get:

https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...r-Installation

Have this conversion on my car, couldn't be happier with it.

[boomtime]

I would say this is the best and most cost effective for what you get:

https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...r-Installation

Have this conversion on my car, couldn't be happier with it.

So this is on your 2010 B8 A4? Its a 356mm rotor and around $832 for both fronts. What size rims are you running?

[JLAllroad]

There are the Macan 4 piston Brembos, they’re lighter than stock and use the S4 spec rotor 345mn, true bolt on no spacers cutting or grinding, and a decent amount of pad options. I have 80k miles on my setup, granted I’m running OE Brembo ceramic pads.




Porsche Macan Calipers on B8 B8.5 A4
https://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=904453

[JLAllroad]

Another option I would consider if I ever go away from my current setup is the Q7 4M 6 piston.

4M Q7 / B9 RS5 6 Piston + 380mm SQ5 Rotor.
https://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=851620

[Militant-Grunt]

So this is on your 2010 B8 A4? Its a 356mm rotor and around $832 for both fronts. What size rims are you running?

C7 356mm. I paired mine along with EBC yellows.

Can get them a lot cheaper than that.

[SNice]

I went down this road too and pieced together the 380mm 4M Q7 setup in the front paired with RS7 (356mm) calipers in the rear.

I must admit - I did it mostly for looks. I already had the Macan setup in front with sq5 calipers on the rear. The Macan setup was a decent upgrade over stock for me and was more than adequate. The Macan setup was definitely a great economical setup. I haven’t tracked my car (yet) so we’re talking street/highway braking.

The 4M setup looks and “feels” great. I am not experiencing any mushiness or soft pedal. Still on the stock master brake cylinder with all audi oem brake lines. Car stops quicker with less pressure. Best way to put it without going down the brake effectiveness rabbit hole.

The 4M setup definitely requires some “work” to get it to fit (Macan calipers = plug n play). The rotors are also not as common and are much pricier. I didn’t really think of this before I traveled down this path. The issue is that the cheaper 380mm rotors are very heavy. The lighter rotor options (2piece / aluminum hat) are not budget friendly. That being said - very happy with how it turned out. Love the way it looks and feels.

Most 19” wheels should fit. I was able to get my 10-spoke 18’s on but clearance between wheel barrel and caliper was too close for comfort.





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[boomtime]

Thanks to everyone who posted up already! Great pics and info! I looked at the Macan calipers on ECS in black with the 345mm rotors. I was leaning towards that but wanted them in Red which seems to be really hard to find.
Today searching I did also find the 2014 A8 W12 front calipers for $133 reman each, including the core charge, dual piston, they use a 380mm rotor and match the bolt pattern for the 2014 SQ5 but they are just silver and I would probably need 20” rims to fit them.

The problem is I dont want to do this upgrade twice I need extreme downhill performance and also 160+ without fading. Currently running the Brembo 4 pistons but they do fade at those speeds and downhills, ive tried upgrading pads already.

[SNice]

Thanks to everyone who posted up already! Great pics and info! I looked at the Macan calipers on ECS in black with the 345mm rotors. I was leaning towards that but wanted them in Red which seems to be really hard to find.
Today searching I did also find the 2014 A8 W12 front calipers for $133 reman each, including the core charge, dual piston, they use a 380mm rotor and match the bolt pattern for the 2014 SQ5 but they are just silver and I would probably need 20” rims to fit them.

The problem is I dont want to do this upgrade twice I need extreme downhill performance and also 160+ without fading. Currently running the Brembo 4 pistons but they do fade at those speeds and downhills, ive tried upgrading pads already.

The Macans are 4 piston brembos too. They may not be much of an “upgrade” over whatever 4-piston brembos you are currently running. The 4M calipers are akebono and are 6 piston.

I don’t think you’ll find the Macans in red. I have sourced all of my upgrade calipers off eBay. I rebuild them depending on condition, and then paint them. The Ecs prices have a LOT of markup.

Good luck!!!


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[boomtime]

The Macans are 4 piston brembos too. They may not be much of an “upgrade” over whatever 4-piston brembos you are currently running. The 4M calipers are akebono and are 6 piston.

I don’t think you’ll find the Macans in red. I have sourced all of my upgrade calipers off eBay. I rebuild them depending on condition, and then paint them. The Ecs prices have a LOT of markup.

Good luck!!!


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I have the Q5 brembos but with the 320mm rotors, there are two different Q5 brembos: 2.0T is 320mm and 3.0T is 345mm basically the caliper carriers (brackets) are slightly different depending the rotors, maybe? So the macan would be 1 inch bigger rotor diameter but they say porsche on them too.
Im thinking the B9 S4 or Q7 4M may be the best choice depending the total costs.

[JLAllroad]

The 380mm dual piston calipers are typically floating instead of mono block, they have a large form factor that makes wheels an issue and are heavy AF. Make sure the rotors you are using have left and right vanes, the cheaper ones will use a single casting meaning one is going backwards.

You would need to be going down hill to hit 160+ at our altitude with a K04.

[Militant-Grunt]

I went down this road too and pieced together the 380mm 4M Q7 setup in the front paired with RS7 (356mm) calipers in the rear.

I must admit - I did it mostly for looks. I already had the Macan setup in front with sq5 calipers on the rear. The Macan setup was a decent upgrade over stock for me and was more than adequate. The Macan setup was definitely a great economical setup. I haven’t tracked my car (yet) so we’re talking street/highway braking.

The 4M setup looks and “feels” great. I am not experiencing any mushiness or soft pedal. Still on the stock master brake cylinder with all audi oem brake lines. Car stops quicker with less pressure. Best way to put it without going down the brake effectiveness rabbit hole.

The 4M setup definitely requires some “work” to get it to fit (Macan calipers = plug n play). The rotors are also not as common and are much pricier. I didn’t really think of this before I traveled down this path. The issue is that the cheaper 380mm rotors are very heavy. The lighter rotor options (2piece / aluminum hat) are not budget friendly. That being said - very happy with how it turned out. Love the way it looks and feels.

Most 19” wheels should fit. I was able to get my 10-spoke 18’s on but clearance between wheel barrel and caliper was too close for comfort.





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What Rotors are you using with RS7 rears? Was going to get S5 Rear, but now that you mention it, might as well be square front and rear.

[SNice]

What Rotors are you using with RS7 rears? Was going to get S5 Rear, but now that you mention it, might as well be square front and rear.

It’s a 356x22 rotor. Any rotor that fits the C7 S6-S7-RS7 or D4 A8-S8 should work. I ended up going with a 2-piece set from 034 for weight savings (also liked how they look); and I was able to match them with the front rotors for a complete set. Zimmerman also had a few nice options - I’ve been happy with their rotors in the past.


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[Militant-Grunt]

It’s a 356x22 rotor. Any rotor that fits the C7 S6-S7-RS7 or D4 A8-S8 should work. I ended up going with a 2-piece set from 034 for weight savings (also liked how they look); and I was able to match them with the front rotors for a complete set. Zimmerman also had a few nice options - I’ve been happy with their rotors in the past.


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Nice, thanks, will be nice having same rotor size front and rear.

[shreddykrueger]

You can pickup stoptech slotted rotors from tirerack for reasonable

375mm $304/ea https://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brak...dClar=Prestige


356mm $243/ea https://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brak...7&autoModClar=

[Militant-Grunt]

What brake lines did you use in the rear?

[SNice]

Error

[SNice]

What brake lines did you use in the rear?

What brake lines did you use in the rear?

I used the stock oe Audi RS7 lines that came with the calipers I found. They were still in great shape so I was able to clean them up and use them. I was also able to use the stock a4 dust shield. Just had to bend (hammer) it back a bit to clear the larger rotor.




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[Militant-Grunt]

I used the stock oe Audi RS7 lines that came with the calipers I found. They were still in great shape so I was able to clean them up and use them. I was also able to use the stock a4 dust shield. Just had to bend (hammer) it back a bit to clear the larger rotor.




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Nice, thanks for the update. I'm looking around for a clean black painted set. Haven't found a good set condition wise yet. I'm sure ill come across a set soon though.

[vevuu]

Maybe a bit off topic but this seems like the most suitable thread. My A4 has the 314x25mm front brakes instead of the 320x30mm (ATE vs TRW calipers), and I was wondering if these upgrades are applicable to those brakes or if there are some other routes for these brakes. My biggest concern is if the steering knuckles and the caliper mounting are different between the 314x25mm and 320x30mm brakes. Any help is appreciated. Cheers!