laseredpete

any one find aftermarket frnt brake pads yet?

Elberoth

Bump.

I was thinking of replacing crappy OE pads with something better as well.

caf

What do you not like about the OEM pads?

Elberoth

I hardy find anything to like about them !

Aftermarket pads, like Ferodo DS series, Pagid, offer much higher temp resistance, better brake feel and "bite".

caf

I've found the OEM brake pads on most German cars are a pretty good compromise.

I've used Pagid orange pads on my P-car at the track, but I like the stock pads best on the road. Although the Pagids hold up better at higher temps, they also require more heat to perform well, and are noisy and result in inferior braking performance for brakes that aren't already up to temp.

You might be able to find, of course, something like a Pagid black for the Audi, which would be closer to a street pad. And you might like the feel better, but it's unlikely you'd get any real improvement in braking performance, since like most modern cars, you aren't going to see brake fade in even aggresive street driving.

fastnyguy

I hope you are talking better than the stock pads for track use. The only fault I find with the stock pads is level of dust. The large stock rotor size allows usage of a low-mid temp range pad. The capability for heat sink of the large rotor means rotor temps in most street situations won't be high. This allows usage of a low temp pad compound which offers high initial brake torque and good cold stopping properties. In high speed situations, the brake ducts combined with the large rotor mass may need a mid temp pad, but probably no more. Have you taken a look at the replacement stock pad at a dealer and checked the DOT edge code rating? there should be a 2 letter combo such as EE EF FE FG or something similar. That would give us further useful information to make a determination for the direction to move with the temp range of the pad. The other useful info would be a front rotor temp measurement during your normal usage. I tend to find that most people who install "high performance" pads find the poor cold stop properties compromise safety. On the street, most heavy braking occurs in emergency/avoidance maneuvers where the rotor is cold. This means most "high performance" pads would be out of their optimal temp range and would have poorer stopping ability than the stock pads. There are "high performance" pad formulations that don't have this compromise. In order to accomplish this, there is a compromise in pad life, increased dust, and significantly higher replacement cost. I hope the above info helps in your pad purchase decision. If you would like any further insight feel free to PM or reply in the thread.

QuattroWerks

Quick update - I received an e-mail from Dave @ Zekhausen earlier today with this link:

http://www.zeckhausen.com/Audi/S5.htm

I ordered the Centric pads and should have them tomorrow. Will provide a review in the coming weeks but Dave's feeling is that the stopping power is very comparable to the factory pads (albeit it at a slightly higher pedal effort) and with obviously lower dust.

ChipB

Please do keep us informed on this. Stopping power being "very comparable" to stock is not exactly an over-whelming endorsement. However, I must say that after 4 days of track events on the OEM set up I am quite impressed with the performance of the stock pads - virtually no fade even towards the end of six 1/2-hour runs at the track this past weekend. I am interested in after-market pads not so much for better performance or less dust but rather because of cost - a full set of front and rear pads from Audi is around $230!

QuattroWerks

So after a couple of weeks with the Centric front pads (I didn't get the rears installed yet due to the e-brake), here are my thoughts:

1. Definite change in pedal feel and not for the better IMHO. The pedal feels "softer" and the first 1/2" or so of travel has little impact on slowing the car. FYI - the pads were properly installed and we followed Zeckhausen's bedding process to a "T".
2. That being said, the overall braking power feels identical to the factory pads, as Zeckhausen indicated.
3. There appears to be less dust than with the factory pads.

Overall, I'm not sure I would install these pads again knowing what I know now.

Sorry guys - I was hoping for an enthusiastic thumbs-up but no such luck!

SamZeb

Any suggestions on other inexpensive pads for the S5 that perform well on the track and are not too noisy for everyday driving?