2012 Audi RS5 - What brakes?
 

Hi Guys,

Need to replace my discs and pads all round on my RS5, have been quoted around £2200 by the main dealer.

Wondering if theres anything better out there for a similar price before I go ahead with work, or if I should be looking at other options than OEM?

Cheers in advance!

Lots of choices. Many are in the states. ECS Tuning makes a great set of full-floating discs, front and rear, with the option of larger fronts. JH Motorsports makes semi-floating that are a bit less expensive but use quality material in their disks. Girodisc is another good brand as is Racingbrake. I think AP and Brembo also make a replacement disc and most of those listed are lighter than the factory setup and better overall. FYI, the RS5 uses the same disc as the Audi R8 (iron disc version). Take a look at Carbotech or Pagid pads. ECS Reds are great too.

I have just installed the ECS big brake kit on my 2013 RS5. The rotors are great, well made, and very pretty. The hawk 5.0 pads that come with the kit are gash. They do stop, but you have to go a fair way down before you feel a significant bite. And even then its weak and lacking some immediacy.

Did you bed the new pads in properly? How bout brake fluid? When's the last time it was flushed? If you have tackled both of those, try the Carbotech 1521's.

I did bed them. I also installed steel brake lines, flushed and changed all fluids. Can’t remember the fluid manufacturer off the top of my head, i’d need to check.

So it's not an issue of pedal travel, related to brake bleeding? Just trying to eliminate that aspect as it's fairly tedious to fully bleed the RS5's brakes, especially after replacing the lines. Do the 5.0 pads get better when warmed up? I personally have never been a fan of Hawk pads honestly but lots of people swear by them. For me it's Carbotech, Pagid or EBC.

The brakes were flushed and bled, with dot4 added. They do take a while to warm up it seems. Once they’re up and running though they do get the car to a stop, but I was looking for a bit more immediacy in the initial contact. That could well be down to incorrectly adding them, the pads themselves, or a combination of both.
Heard good things about EBC. Definitely on the list for next time if I stick with the current setup.