Mortem76

Hi All,

it seems finding pads for my A8 D2 4.2 quattro (1996) is a bit more tricky than expected in Bangkok.
So in order to find something matching my need and potentially easy to source, I will need your help to know the correct part number / manufacturer reference for my car.
So, first of all, I am new with this car (have it only for less than 6 months) and the original owner put front pads that seems to be a bit more "track" or "racing" oriented and they can be very noisy at low speed when not in the correct temperature range. As the average speed here in the traffic in rarely above 45 km/h (about 30 mph) it is almost impossible to have them in the correct range and so, it is squealing and so really annoying most of the time. I was not able to find the brand / model of the front pads installed.

It seems my front calipers are the usual HP2 as they have 4 pads each.
I took a picture for reference, so please confirm me if I am right



It also seems the brake sensor is the round one as you can see on the picture below:



I am looking pads with the following specs (by order of priority)
- Quiet, quiet, quiet
- Good cold grip
- Enough endurance when doing some spirited driving (but no track or any excessive usage for me)
- Not hurting too much the disk
- Not too much dust (optional)

In light of those - and correct me if I am wrong - it seems the following brands / models are matching requirement:
- EBC Redstuff. I think the DP31012C should be the one to use
- Akebono Euro Ultra-Premium. I think the EUR839 should be the one to use
- Hawk HPS?
- Ferodo?
- Any other you may recommend

Can you give me your opinion the correct part number / manufacturer references for the pads you recommend, so I can search for them?

Thanks in advance for the help

audinutt

The hp2 setup always was noisy on my a8 until i bought akebono pads for it.
With that being said, I upgraded both of my d2's brakes to the d3 a8 360mm setup and love it.

-Richard

Mortem76

Hi Richard,

Thank you for your reply.
Yes going to D2 brakes would be great but not in my short term plans... maybe in the future
For the Akebono pads, do you remember the reference?
is it the EUR839 as I suspect?

Thank you

Mortem76

Hi All,

After searching, it seems the Akebono reference for HP2 calipers and with ROnd sensor connector is the following one: EUR912A
The problem is that when I check, it is said it works on for A8 from year 2000+
I am a bit confused by this.
Can anyone confirm me if they would fit for me?

Thank you

jfrahm

Do you know you have the Lucas HP2 calipers? I thought they start mid-year MY2000, From Chassis # 4D-Y-005 501.

Take a look at rockauto.com for some good pad listings with pictures.

Mortem76

Hi jfrahm,

Yes it seems it is the Lucas HP2 calipers. I started this thread as I wanted have confirmation (I just acquired this A8 less than 6 months ago and I am not familiar with this kind of calipers).
So if you confirm this is really HP2 that I have on my car, do you think pads like Akebono EUR912a can work with it?
I just want be sure as I may have to order pads online and don't want find that they are not the correct ones when I try fitting them :/

Thank you for the help

jfrahm

I think it'd be pretty unusual for you to have the HP2 calipers, how was this determined? Was the car wrecked in the front at some point?

Mortem76

This car was not wreck. I had confirmation from my mechanic as he is the one who maintained it before. The previous owner had it for 4 years and then he decided to rebuild it the way he wanted and at the same time rebuild an A6 V6 Twin Turbo.
Then he decided to sell one but did not know which one. SO he put both for sell and sold the first one with a customer. In this case, the A8.
He changed engine to a 1998 version in order to have the Tiptronic gearbox, so he imported it from Hong Kong. He also wanted the front of a D3, so he bought the wrecked front of a D3 and put it on the A8.
He also replaced all the inside with a different color, etc...
He still have all the original parts in his house and I can buy any I would need if necessary.
So this explains why it has HP2 instead of something like ATE.

So what I need is to confirm this is the HP2 with the round sensor connector, so I know what type of pads I must order.
And what would be the best his to have owner with same caliper setup as me to tell me the brand, model and reference of the pads to use, so I can search locally if available and if not available, order online the correct pads.

Thanks

Mortem76

Hi All,

2 updates:
- I did some research and it seems the EU models of A8 D2 started using HP2 calipers since 1994, not like in NA models. Therefore it should not that uncommon to find them on a 1996 model like mine.
- I found a good deal on Ferodo Premier Eco-Friction FDB985 (around 80-85 Euro for a set) if I buy them in Europe. So as I have to go there next month, I think I will buy them there and bring them back here.

Thanks

Mortem76

Hi All,

I just had the Ferodo FDB985 installed and they are great. So far, no noise when breaking or when driving on degraded macadam. In term of breaking performance, I cannot say yet has they have been installed just a few hours ago but I was surprised by the feel that was quite good for pad not broken-in yet