ebod0000

Thanks again.

What aftermarket pads and rotors do people recommend--is there a consensus as to what's best? My goals would be no-squeaks, smoothness (not grabby), low dust and long life. I'm not interested in what's best for track days.

KickAss

I have a 2012 A6 (same parts as 2013) and Zimmerman Coat Z rotors + Akebono Euro front Pads & Ferodo OEM rear pads (both rotors and pads better than OEM at a minimum) + OEM sensors parts only make up about $531 for the entire 4 wheel set of rotors+pads+sensors. I always use rmeuropean dot com for parts on the Audi and my Touareg. While I do the job myself most of the time, lately, I've been more inclined to use local shops to do the work. It should take no more than 2 to 3 hours for a shop to do the job on all 4 corners. Anyone charging you more than 800 for this job is simply ripping you off.

Normally, I would use the same pads front and rear, but the Akebono rear are out of stock at rmeuropean. You may be able to get them elsewhere for a fully matched set while staying under 600 for sure.

Barrels41

I wouldn't do brakes until I hear the wear indicators on the front rotors. Then I still have a month or two before I hit metal. Pitching early brake jobs are a cash cow preying on the naive. If you need new rotors anyway what's the difference if the old ones are scored?

KickAss

I agree with Barrels41.... That is typically when i change rotors as well. I have never followed the "change everything" mantra. I just follow logic as i always have with all my other cars..... Excluding my track car.

IknowHuhA6

Rotors don't need to be replaced at every brake job. This is a marketing technique for those that are not car savvy to earn increased profit. Rotors are replaced based on the minimal thickness specified or any warped surface on them.

If brakes are wearing faster than usual, get second opinion of similar make/model for lifespan in your area. Maybe the brake pad is just inferior product, maybe the brake system is not functioning correctly. Regardless... do your homework to fix problem correctly. Just because it's dealer doesn't mean their experts. There are inexperienced people everywhere.

If you are in LA area I can help point you to a shop that charges half the dealer labor rate. Last quote for front brakes I got was 150 plus parts if you're willing to drive out to Pomona to a local shop I use.
Or I could teach you to do this yourself and avoid that fee altogether. However the 150 is a great price for the convenience of not having to bother with it yourself. I buy my brakes from PepBoys and use the StopTech Ceramics.

PM me if you would like more info and I'd be glad to help. Regardless, good luck whatever you decide.

Barrels41

I know a place in the Bronx just below Westchester where German car owners park in front and they pop in new brake pads in their driveway while you wait. No rotors. The place is famous for wheel straightening. Maybe not up to Autobahn specs but fine on The Bronx Riiver Parkway. They did great wheel straightening for me but the half-way house wheel mounter forgot one bolt and lost all the plastic nut caps. Caveat Emptor.

r1racer

I used to use placeforbrakes but they don't carry rotors for the a6 prestige...now I use tirerack and wait for a promotion. About 800 shipped for cryo treated slotted rotors and akebono pads. Stock pads are the worst in terms of dust and squealing.

I hate all dealers...installing yourself is a piece of cake. Less time and you know it's done properly down to the correct torqueing of each bolt.

ben_aip

I'm having difficulty finding aftermarket pads to fit our S6/S7 front brakes. Does Akebono makes them to fit the S6 for S7 front now?

537playing

Send me their location.

das2.7t

Agree. I just swapped out my stock brakes on all four corners with EBC Sport Rotors and EBC (ceramic/kevlar) Red Stuff pads. Total cost, including the wear sensors for front and back, was $744.69. Biting/stopping power is much improved, the squishy fade is gone, and the infernal brake dust is now a thing of the past. Most independent shops are happy to install if you are not inclined or do not want to invest in a VagCom. If you do have a VagCom, it's a reasonably easy 5-6 hour job if you like that sort of thing. It's very different than my day job so I tend to enjoy it.

A couple of notes about the brakes and dealer support. I have a good, longstanding relationship with my home dealer (Rockville Audi) but they and the other local dealership in Frederick, MD were all over the place re: the brakes. I heard from both multiple things about the brakes starting over two years ago including that I needed to replace the pads, replace the rotors, replace both and didn't need to replace any. Different answer from different people almost every single time. Knowing I was going to replace both on all four corners, I ran them very long to see what would happen. Here's the specifics:

- at 36K, was told I needed to replace fronts rotors and pads (at 35K service). Said they used a caliper to measure
- at 42K, was told I needed to replace all four corners (in for another issue). No caliper, just called it "maintenance"
- at 49K, was told I needed to replace all pads but rotors were fine (at 50K service). Again, said they used a caliper to measure
- at 55K, brake warning light came on. Ordered EBC stuff
- at 65K, got tired of brake light being on and replaced all four corners, pads and rotors

I drive stop-and-go 50% of the time here in the DC area and longer trips the rest of the time. I threw a caliper on the front rotors when i took them off and they measured 0.921 so I still had some thickness to go before they were down to minimum spec. That said, rotors can go below spec just fine although you run the increasing risk of warping, especially if you run the car hard. While the pad sensors front and back were indeed popped, all four sets of pads had ~15% of pad left. Probably another 5-7K miles before I was metal on metal. This is all food for thought for those of you that get mixed messages from your dealer or who might tend to be alarmed when the brake pad light comes on.