Speeder

I've been experiencing a worsening shudder under heavy braking so I assume the rotors are warped. The calipers are original at 130k miles so I wanted to replace them too.

So I called the dealer because I'm afraid of using aftermarket parts. The total? $2,500!! The counter guy was truly ashamed to report the absurdity. Calipers for $840 ea?? Pads at $254/set?? What the heck is going on? I bet Ferrari parts are less.

What scares me is I don't see much for OEM parts on Ebay. What gives? What are you guys using for a simple front brake job without using parts that could be made in China?

Speeder

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Well there was a favorable outcome. For the benefit of those also facing sticker shock:

The counter guy screwed up the prices. The calipers were only $550 each and the pads were less to his total was $1,500 not $2,500. Still way too much for me.

The breakthrough was rebuilt calipers by Centric, a US supplier with a great reputation. They were only $110ea. So with stock pads and rotors the total tab was only about $615. A savings of over $950, not bad.

I did receive one PM offering an aftermarket upgrade but declined as follows:

As hard as I am in braking and occasionally tracking this car, I'm not big on aftermarket parts or upgrades anymore (if the original brakes are decent like the S4).

Most of my upgrade attempts with various cars have wound up with premature rotor failure, wheel interference, dangerous brake line rubbing, dust issues and even a caliper mounting failure that caused total brake loss entering a corner at 90mph. I've known guys who've winched their cars out of the woods for similar reasons and we all had engineering backgrounds.

What I took from those experiences is that OEM engineers put considerable time into making selections which are pretty tough to beat.