mishar

They would take your licence for a few months if you drive too fast. For this I would take it permanently.

milellie111

Brozee has offered a lot of advice on this forum and seems like a good guy. I never got the "smug know it all" vibe you're implying. I think most of the guys here are looking out for your well being because those rotors are dangerously thin. Most folks replace pads and rotors at the same time without even thinking twice when there's cause for it.

Trying to "save" on proper maintenance at the expense of your personal health or even worse your life suggests that an A8 is not the vehicle for you. When it comes to cost, regular maintenance will soon be the least of your worries.

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

As much as the front. People here are by the book, so don't worry about it. Unless you drive like the 'transporter' or 'ronin'.... :-)
Can't please everyone.
Cheers,
Louis

mishar

Louis,

This advice is dangerous.

It is true that rear brakes are braking less than fronts. That's why they are smaller. They brake all the times, even more with loaded back seats and trunk. If they are doing nothing they would last forever, or more likely won't be there at all like on racing motorcycles.

Advising people to neglect rear brakes is irresponsible.

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

Unless the rotors are defective and cracked which I doubt because it did wear out that we can see. If the braking is so severe that the alloy wheel will break before the metal discs disintegrate and break. It doesn't matter how cheap the steel is.

The force to bend a rotating disc must be extremely strong on the opposite sides of the disc which doesn't exist here. I still remember my physics 101. The movements of the piston is very minimal, the even force will be applied when braking.
Now you say heat will bend the rotors - even if you forgot to release the hand brake which we can't, how long does it take for the disc to get hot enough to bend or break.

All the specs are for the lawyers, for boosting sales.

Change oil every 3k miles, 5k miles?

Again, everyone has his/her own rights to spend money for using their cars as they found fit.
I bought a $18k car, I don't care if it's sold for $100k, as long as it's safe to transport my family from point A to point B with the minimum costs.
I think buying a $10-20k car and spend $2k for maintenance is totally "unsound mind" regardless if it's originally cost $100k.
Yes, if I'm going to ever drive to 170+ mph like MR.Bally, I do need all the right equipment.

I DO NOT advice anyone to use cheap stuff, drive the car to the ground like many people think I do. If you wan to compare how good your car against mine, I don't think your car with "all the expensive stuff" and "your right way of maintenance" drives better or safer than my "run to the ground" car anytime.

It's been 3 years, 115k miles now from 73k miles, it starts right up, brakes on a dime with pads changed only. Everything works even with the original timing belt. Even if it breaks tomorrow which I doubt, I will see how much it will cost me to fix it... it's me, I like challenges.. :-) I will drive until the belt breaks or the roller seized or the tensioner dies, whatever, I want to be the guinea pig.
BTW, if the car lasts 3 more years or 20k miles more, at anytime, I can donate the car because my $18k was well spent. My goal is $2.5-3k/year for driving this beautiful car is cheap, but not more.

Cheers,

Louis

Jack88

As you can see from the pictures posted by OP, his discs are already worn quite a bit. They are most certainly utilized as part of stopping the car, otherwise wear on the pads and rotors would be minimal. Advising him to ignore that is dangerous because it is not known at what point he will wear all the way through or thin enough that they crack. In either case, that will result in poor braking performance and potentially excessive heat build up, increasing the risk of a fire.

The mileage you are at is where I changed a timing belt on a D3, and it sorely needed it. The water pump had a bunch of pink goop on it and the belt was showing microcracks between 1/8 and 1/4 inch long. The car ran and drove perfectly, however, with no noise of any kind. There was no indication at all on how poor that belt and associated components were actually doing, and there never will be. It was worth the $500 in parts and the weekend to get it done.

Added note: If your car grenades itself, it'll be worth precisely squat. Even if you pay an Indy shop $1400 for the job, it's still money well spent. Donating that car without that job done isn't doing a public service to anyone, beyond the tax credit you get to claim.

mishar

That's the whole point. It is not safe and it is getting worst.

milellie111

Wonder how those who ride with you (wife, kids, friends) would feel about you deliberately playing russian roulette with their safety and lives?!

dvs_dave

This is really bad advice and needs to be ignored.