Looks like I have to replace all 4 rotors soon.
I already have a brand new set of Stoptech street pad so just need to decide on the rotors.
I think I’m gonna go with either the Stoptech 2-piece rotors (ARK) or just OEM. They are price about equally (unless there is a cheaper source for the OEM rotors).
I don’t track my car and most of my driving is city.
Which set of rotors should I go with?
Thanks!
Sounds like you might be an rs4 guy. Check out jhm there LW replacement rotors are a great deal for the RS4 and add a good amount of weight loss on the s4
I have all 4 JHM LW rotors 3800mm front w hawk pads , very little dust!
One thing which sort of disqualifies OEM rotors for serious hammering is that the cooling vanes are only pointing the right way on one side of the car. They are nice and beefy but you get unequal brake temps on track with OEM rotors.
For sane road use, the OEM rotors are pretty good because they have a lot of meat to them. Aftermarket solutions can be cheaper, but they are a lot thinner so you end up replacing them sooner.
Can someone confirm this? I didn’t think the OEM rotors even had directional vanes on them?
[quote=“JCviggen,post:4,topic:7453”]
Also, thinner doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t last as long…it’s a combination of metallurgy on the rotors, and the pad selection. The right combination can last quite a long time. A semi-aggressive pad will chew through cheap rotors pretty quickly though. I’ve got over 50k on my alcons with ~50% service life left…I can’t complain one bit about that.
That’s impressive. When you spend the extra cash on an upgrade like this, one would hope it would perform top notch and have a decent service life.
[quote=“koolade9,post:5,topic:7453”]
Can someone confirm this? I didn’t think the OEM rotors even had directional vanes on them?
I’m not to sure on the RS4 rotors only being directional on one side. That makes no sense I’ve seen a few sets and from what I remember they were standard.
I also have well over 40 k on my after market rotors and they take a beating
The vanes on the OEM disks are angled. Along the same line as the drill holes. There is only 1 p/n for each front disk. So one faces the wrong way. Feel free to run outside and see for yourself.
Actually I was wrong. Put too much faith in Audi consistency. My RS6 had vanes discs - and every other gen rs4 as well - but the b7 doesn’t have proper vanes. Pretty unusual and not very efficient. All the more reason to go for aftermarket discs.
You still have the drill patterns running in opposite directions left to right but that’s not really a concern.
great info.
i’m leaning toward the stoptech rotors. My next question is which pads should I get. I asked the same question on audizine and a few people have mentioned that they have experienced sticking with stoptech pads and having better luck with carbotech pads. would you guys say carbotech pads are superior?
Absolutely. I have some stoptech pads that are still sitting in the box. Carbotech 1521’s are excellent in terms of dust/noise/wear. Plus, if you ever track the car, you can easily switch to a xp__ carbotech pad and not be worried about resurfacing the rotors.
FWIW, I would not get drilled stoptech rotors. There was a B8 guy who had a really bad experience with those rotors and the stoptech pads…not sure exactly what his issues were…could have been something in the caliper, but my gut says it had to do with the pads and the rotor rusting.
No your just almost always wrong and then you guess and tell people your thoughts not actual facts.
The RS4 rotors have vanes
stop tech is very good
If you can get hawk pads they have a great review from almost everyone that uses them. Just make sure to not get too aggressive of a pad.
any input on drilled vs slotted stoptech rotors? will be running stoptech pads. thanks.
I need to change my brakes soon as well. I was set on stoptech rotors but didn’t think I need the JHM light weight ones. Is it worth getting for the S4? I believe there is a significant difference in pricing for the stoptechs and the JHM light weights correct me if I’m wrong. I’m in Canada as well so I didn’t really want to pay for shipping
IMO, I would say it is only worth getting them if you track your car, if not just buy regular rotors. Cross drilled/vented rotors require longer more technical bed in times than a plane jane rotor, they also wear out pads faster, cause more dusting (depending on pad) and have more costs associated with their maintenance and replacement. If you want them for the hard park status thats fine, just be aware that you shouldn’t install them and then do any hard braking until you have bed them for about 750-1000 kms of light breaking were most OEM replacements only require bedding of ~500 kms.
Don’t rule out Zimmerman for replacement rotors, they are well priced, excellent quality and offer both a OEM style plane jane rotor as well as more aggressive slotted and cross drilled options. I have also had great performance from Geomet rotors, which I know isn’t a well known brand but I have been happy none the less.
This time I went with ECS tuning light weight rotors, they are directionally vented, slotted and cross drilled, I also went with the EBC Redstuff pads for low dust and better than stock stopping power. I live in Nova Scotia and use the Canaese shipping feature on ECS, you pay one price to your door, no hidden costs, no duty. I will be taking this car to the strip and track, as well as auto X, so I went with a more aggressive brake setup than stock. I wasn’t ready to drop serious coin on a BBK as I had spent so much money on preventative maintenance and JHM parts lol .
I picked this setup for a few reasons, but a big part of it was because I was already ordering an obscene amount of general maintenance items for my S4 from ECS so tossing them in my cart seemed convenient at the time. As well, I had been in my buddy Ralphs S4 (PES supergrenaded) with the ECS kit and was impressed with how well it stopped. He tracked his S4 every other week, and was a fan of the setup. Also I had heard really good things from the local M3 and Golf R32 guys running the ECS kits. I have seen some bad reviews online regarding “warping” of ECS rotors, but from what I have read, it sounded like the people posting might not have a solid understanding of the need to bed in rotors gently (especially rotors that are cross drilled and slotted due to their tendency to cool faster).
The ECS kit is not as light weight as JHM’s kit (I also don’t think it is priced as well), and it is not as good a brand name in the brake world as Stoptech (which ECS now carries), but it is a good price (especially if duty and taxes are considered), works great and is rebuildable for a reasonable cost. I have been happy with my current setup so far, although I have not had it to the track yet as I am only halfway through the bed in process for the rotors (300kms left), it is not loud and it was able to bring the pig to a immediate stop the two times I was cut off by bad drivers.
Honestly, you will probably be happy with what ever you choose whether it be OEM or JHM, the important part is bedding in the new brakes properly as that will make of break your future performance. Personally if you decide to go with the lightweight style, I would choose JHM just to support the only company that is actually making quality parts for our cars.
I planning to go the aftermarket route for break setup but I’m not sure what to go with for rotors. I’m set on HPS pads but for rotors Idk if I can justify the JHM LW rotors, what’s another good option besides stoptech ones? Also, where is the best place to buy them? (Btw I’m in Canada with our shitty dollar).
The LW rotors make a big difference. You will feel it. If you want the LW rotors JHM or stoptech.
Thanks for the reply guys! I think i’m going with stoptech slotted rotors and Hawk HPS pads for sure… Now finding the best price shipped online to me lol