Granite-Granny

I have an 06 A3 3.2 Quattro and on my winter tire rotation I notice the rear pads are getting thin. I went to the local dealer for a quote and they told me not only do I need new pads I need new rotors too for around $400 installed.

The car has 87,000 miles on it and this is the first set of rear pads it has gone through so not bad life but I have never heard of changing rotors and pads at the same time. However after a quick search here I see that some people change both at the same time. What is the general consensus?

The dealer quoted the safety inspection requirements for an A3 to have a minimum of 9mm of rotor thickness and my rotors were measured at 9.1mm.

Where can I double check the safety standards to verify this is not a line to sell me new rotors?

Also since 06 when we bought the car and like many people in the country my income is down more than 60% so I am very cost sentive these days. Does anybody know where I can get a high quality low cost shop manual like the Bently but only cheaper. I need to start doing my own maintenance on this motor.

Cheers

Steve

Granite-Granny

Just found the Utah inspection manual - Rotor thickness per manufacturers recommendations as stamped on the rotor hub!

http://publicsafety.utah.gov/safetyi...T%20Manual.pdf

Still interested in opinions regarding pads and rotors at the same time and a shop manual.

Dr Chill

The rotors on street cars fail by cracking. Since the large majority of stopping is done by the front rotors, your rear rotors can probably still be used as long as you frequently inspect the rotors for cracks. This may be hard to do if you have the multispoke wheels and is easy to do on 5 spoke rims. Depending on how easy it is to evaluate your rotors may aid your decision to change the rotors or not. You certainly can't be faulted for swapping the rotors out at 87,000 miles, but if finances are an issue you can still squeeze some more life out of them if there isn't any cracking.

Regarding pads, I personally prefer some of the better performing ceramic pads such as Hawk since they have 90% of the stopping power as oem without dust, but dust is less of an issue for the rear. I recently tried a set of inexpensive pads in front called Power Stop Evolution Ceramic ($45 on ebay)
with excellent results. Pads and rotor changes are very easy DIY jobs that would save you lots of $$$. It usually take me less than an hour for each axle to change pads and rotors, and about a half hour for just pads.