kwsailnj

All of 22,000 miles on the vehicle and I need to schedule my 3rd front-end brake job to address the brake shimmy problem I am having on the vehicle.

The problem occurs when slowing while at Highway speeds or getting on the brakes hard.

Is anyone else experiencing a similar problems with the front rotors on their 2003 A8L?

Any suggestions as to what the dealer might need to do to clear this problem up for good?

Do you think there might be a bad caliper that could be causing the problem to occur so often?

The last two brake jobs the dealer replaced the rotors and pads.

Is this type of problem common on all A8L's?

Any feedback or suggestions that I could bring to the dealer would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Kevin

ryoung

I believe your calipers are fine. 99% of the time, I'm convinced that vibration and shimmy is caused by overheating the pads and leaving uneven pad deposits on the rotors. This is discussed in detail in a <a href="http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/warped_rotors_myth.htm">StopTech Whitepaper</a>.

The problem is not common but has been reported by a few other A8 owners in the past. It sounds like you're just very aggressive with your brakes (as am I), and that you're pushing the OEM pads beyond their capabilities. My suggestion would be to try upgraded pads. From the list in this <a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/a8/msgs/75190.phtml">Earlier Post</a>, I'd recommend trying any of these, and both front and rear.

PBR Ceramic
Pagid RS4-2-1 Black
Pagid RS4-2 Blue
Ferodo DS25000

But there's no free lunch. As you step up in performance, brake squeal does become more likely (though I've never had a problem).

BTW: Between the spokes at 6:00 and 8:00, you can see the pad deposits on my rotor from the Ferodo DS2000. These eventually wore away, but until they did, the vibration and shimmy was fierce.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/17157/acid2.jpg">