S3 Brakes

[rdj_s3_quattro]

HI everyone,

I have recently had braking problems (rather lack of braking!!) in the end discs and pads on the front were renewed, however the brakes still do not feel strong!!!

I have only had my S3 4 months and have never driven another one, so i have the problem of having nothing to compare it to.

Any ideas?? My S3 is 2000, 210 model, i have however drove my father's A3 tdi new shape, think its 2006 and his brakes are far superior to mine, can anyone exlain if this should be the case?? I would of thought the 'performance' model would surely have better brakes than a 'dieslel' model surely/>>????

Is there a common problem with this on 2000, 210 S3's ???

The garage tells me there is nothing wrong with them, but i do not feel confident driving, and it certainly ends any 'spirited' driving as the brakes are so weak!!

Any comments or recommended upgrades would be appreciated!

thanks

russ

[Gunzi]

What does the brake pedal like when you push it down? Does the pedal feel "spongy" or hard etc?

[rdj_s3_quattro]

hi

thanks for the interest!

The brakes feel spongy, the pedal travels about half way down (half way of its full travel) before the brakes feel like they're doin anything...is this normal??

I've had new pads and discs, so i presumed they bled them properly when fitted.

The car jsut doesn't seem too safe, and makes it a dog to drive, whats the point in having all that acceleration if u cant scrub off speed quick enough to enjoy it!

Any suggestions??

cheers mate
r

[lostmarbles]

Not all garages will bleed your brakes just because you're haveing new disks and pads. It's always worth asking them if they did, or even having another garage have a go at them, but if possible, try to find someone with a pressure bleeder as these things push the fluid, and often trapped air out realy well. Hope this helps.

[Gunzi]

Yep, definitely worth going to get the brakes bled, that should solve the problem

[rdj_s3_quattro]

Alright guys

thansk for the advice, i'll try getting them bled! Hopefully that will solve the porblem.

One last point; when i bought the car (Second hand) it came with grooved and drilled discs front and rear, but since having them renewed the garage has put just plain discs on the front.

Does anyone know whether standard equipment discs are plain or grooved and drilled??? I need to know because if the garage has down graded my brakes and charged me near £200 they will certainly be getting a letter of complaint from me!

ALso the brakes fade VERY EASILY!!! it is quite scary in fact! even at relatively slow speeds of 90-120 the brakes are cooked just after minor braking (e.g for junctions or roundabouts) i can't believe they should be this poor on a car that is easily capable of 150mph!! It is seriously worrying me!

Cheers everyone

Russ

[Lex Luthor]

ALso the brakes fade VERY EASILY!!! it is quite scary in fact! even at relatively slow speeds of 90-120 the brakes are cooked just after minor braking (e.g for junctions or roundabouts) i can't believe they should be this poor on a car that is easily capable of 150mph!! It is seriously worrying me!

When was the brake fluid last changed ?

[Space Cadet]

Definitely sounds like the brake fluid, would be worth upgrading to some Dot 5 and if you’re having your fluid replaced go for some braided hoses, both objectives are to firm up the pedal feel and reduce sponginess.

But one thing to consider is if you’ve bedded your brakes in properly!?, they need say 20-30 miles or normal stop-start driving to take the surface off the pads and discs and then at least 3 really good hard 100-20 mph stops in quick succession (don’t stop to 0) and then a few miles of normal driving to cool them down. This will bed the brakes in properly, although sounds like this might be a bit risky in your condition.

As for the previous drilled and grooved discs, these were defiantly fitted aftermarket by the previous owner, you didn’t mention whether you took your car to an Audi dealer in which case they would have replaced them with OEM parts.

If the car is out of warranty it’s always worth upgrading the discs and pads when they wear out, in some cases the upgraded versions are actually cheaper than the dealer’s charge.

I wouldn’t worry too much that they’re not drilled and or grooved, find out if they’re OEM parts, if not then you at least want OEM discs and pads then the upgraded fluid and hoses will do the trick.

You mention being downgraded, truthfully the OEM discs (if fitted) might actually be better quality than the previous drilled discs, it just depends on what was and has been fitted.

Find out and then we can discuss it some more.

[rdj_s3_quattro]

Good tip!

Cheers mate, I honestly don't know when the fluid was changed last so I will get it changed, I will also try and get hold of some braided brake hoses.

I know it is extremely hard to guage, but any ideas how much (parts and lablour) would cost to do both hoses and fluid change? (just rough ball park figure would be good so i know if im getting ripped off)

Yeh, i went easy on the new brakes for 400 miles!! so hope that bedded them in nicely, your's was a good tip tho, saves driving like your stepping on eggshells for 200 miles! will try it next time.

It is a shame the brakes aren't up to scratch as i'm new to Audi ownership and love this car, poor braking can ruin a good handling car!!

[Space Cadet]

You’re not looking at a fortune for hoses and fluid, as a rough guide may be £150 plus labour but then you would pay for most of the labour just to do a fluid change so it’s worth getting the hoses done at the same time.

Sorry to be gloomy about your brakes but you have probably done more harm than good by driving them carefully for 400 miles, you really have to just get the surfaces off (with a few miles of light driving) and then get some heat cycles into them ASAP, as advised above.

(Go onto say the Pagid site and see how they recommend bedding brakes it; it will be basically how I’ve advised.)

Not sure if it’ll work now, but the best thing you can do is try the heat cycle ASAP.

You didn’t mention whether you took your car to an Audi dealership and/or if they fitted OEM parts??