apk-S4

My neighbors are convinced that my car is going to blow up or fall apart with as much time as I spend fiddling with stuff.

The pads worked out great. I only started to explore the abilities of the new brake system towards the end of day 2. Looking forward to April!

Potomac-Greg

They went 2 days at VIR and 2 days at Shenandoah (and about 6,000 street miles between), and they were pretty much DONE. I might have gotten another couple thousand miles if I was ambitious.

PS: New rotors/pads are going great. Thanks again for the first replacement. It's so much easier to do things the second time.

Wind-n-Water

Potomac-Greg, Fairfax-Jim, What kinda vehicles/brake setup are you running?

I went thru 4 sets of pads (2 VIR, 2 Shannendoah) while you went thru only 1 set of EBC reds!? Am I dragging my brakes THAT badly...?

Here're my experiences thus far. Lost my DE virginity @ VIR GrandEast back in June where the OEM brakes were trashed & boiled. :->

DE#2, Sept 06.
Fresh set of <font color="red">EBC Reds</font>, 1 wkend @ Shannendoah and they weren't feeling healthy afterwards. Plenty of pad thickness left, BUT the pad face &amp; edges were chunking away.

Left Front:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/111769/ebcred_lf.jpg">

Right Front:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/111769/ebcred_rf.jpg">

Left Rear:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/111769/ebcred_lr.jpg">

Right Rear:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/111769/ebcred_rr.jpg">

Rotors (ATE Power Disc): These were used in all subsequent DEs, with cleaning (palm sander w/ emerory cloth) in between events. After a DE, the thin slots get pad material build-up at some places, to the point the thickness is up to the rotor face. I had to use a small flat screw driver to gauge and clean out the slots.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/111769/rotors.jpg">

DE#3, Oct 06.
Fresh set of <font color="orange">EBC Yellows</font> this time, another wkend @ Shannendoah (day1 green group @ Jefferson). They faired little better, more thickness left. But still faded at the end with some chunking out on edges and pad face. &lt;don't have pics handy&gt;

DE#4, Nov 06.
Fresh set of <b>CarboTech</b> XP-10(F) &amp; XP-8(R). Recent wkend @ VIR. Rear looked very clean afterwards. Front pads were worn (~1/2 thickness) and tired (comment by Ian Baas driving). Inner F pads have uneven wear, to the point the pad material were cracked (from slightly benting of backing plate). I made sure there were no hang-ups during installation (wire brushed caliper bracket) and even applied some anti-seize lub. &lt;don't have pics yet&gt;

All-season street tires used at all events (Kumho Ecsta ASX).

Trying to think of possible contributing factors:
- driver poor brake management
- B6 1.8TQ stock rotor/pad-size insufficient
- ATE slotted rotors causing detriment(?)
- bad luck, bad batch of pads(?)

I think next time I'm going to try w/o the ATE rotors and add brake cooling. Undecided on pads yet.

magnetic1

... slotted rotors will definitely wear pads at a faster rate.

I based my recommendation on the XP10 / XP8 setup on the temperatures we were expecting at VIR. Like I mentioned before, if you plan on doing some summer events or warmer events, you'll need something more aggressive. The 1.8T rotors are tiny....

Unfortunately Hawk does not make a track compound in your fitment.

Are you able to engage ABS with your current setup?

Wind-n-Water

I could hit ABS on breaking. Tho I try not to hit it, or back off it immediately upon sensing it's been activated.

I didn't realize temperature was a factor in the compound recommendation. Also originally didn't think that slotted rotor had THAT big an effect on pad wear, but I don't doubt it. But comparing the pad wear from my last 3 DEs... hum, not sure yet what could be concluded. The EBC yellows definitely had plenty of material left, but 1 day of that was spend @ Jefferson. Plus as a beginner/novice, my braking habits probably changed a lot between events. Too many variables...

Definitely will try the OEM rotor next time, and cooling ducts. Maybe some A4 3.0 owner wants to upgrade to BBK and get rid of their stock rotor &amp; brake caliper bracket?!? :-)

magnetic1

... ducting, upgrade your tires, then goto a more aggressive compound.

Moving around a 3600# car with tiny 1.8T brakes is no easy feat. Just keep in mind that the whole point of the braking system is to absorb, then dissipate heat. So ducting is very important.

Going to a more aggressive compound in your case will not decrease braking distance. It would certainly help with fade issues (if in fact you were having them according to Ian)... but the key to reducing stopping distances would be tires.

I also dont know your driving or braking style as that can also play a large factor in brake wear. But I can tell you one thing for sure... and that's slotted rotors EAT pads

Wind-n-Water

in my brake system. So as to be able to build consistency on rest of my overall driving skill.

Actually, my car (B6 1.8TQ) + full fuel + driver + instructor &gt;= 4000lbs! :-P

Wanna be my instructor next time? :-) (I'm not kidding) I'm also thinking of data collecting mechanisms: video &amp;/or data acquisition (so called "G-tech"? or similar). But of course, hoping to be running the Miata next year. Crate engine being delivered today! :-&gt;

magnetic1

... and bringing the wife's 1.8T this time

I use/rent a Traqmate data aq. system. Works well.

The Miata will be a totally different animal than your Audi though The Miata guys SWEAR by Hawk Blues... though many (including the new owners of Carbotech) have success using Carbotech.

As the event draws closer, just shoot me an email. I'd be happy to do some ridealongs with you. Hard to accomodate instructor requests though.... Im not exactly sure how Reggie/Matt handles it.

Potomac-Greg

... as track pads. The newer Redstuff is a ceramic pad for street and limited track duty. I've used the ceramics. I have cross-drilled rotors, and they pretty much fill up with dust. But the ceramic pads looked good when I took them off. A little chipping on the edges but otherwise solid.

My car has big rotors (basically a Brembo package) and is about 300 lbs lighter than an A4, so it's likely easier on brakes. And I'm an old fart.

Wind-n-Water

Compare to a friend's E46 325xi (very similar wgt &amp; Hp), he never had ANY problem running stock BMW setup, even stock fluid. At the end of VIR he noticed some fade. He was in green group. I think Audi's nose-heaviness (compared to BMW's 50/50 split) likely don't help either.