"You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat" (erm BRAKES)

[philKS2]

A stretch of dual carriageway that ends abruptly... lines of cars both ways.. and sudden a need to get from 80mph to 20mph very quickly... ARRGGHHHHH... so THIS is what people mean by brake fade!!!


The S2 just wasn't going to stop...

So I think it's time to look at brake upgrades. I've read loads of threads and S2Central.. so just a couple of extra questions.

I'm trying to compare bang for bucks on brake upgrades.

Assume I'm talking daily on-road driving (so need to work from cold) and I want to keep my 16 inch Avus wheels... I want to know how much better braking can be, and at what cost (sorry, but some of us have limited budgets).

Also... I'd have to get my local garage guys to do this as I don't have the expertise for machining parts etc

1- Does anyone have figures for brake performance and cost comparing:

a) Changing to drilled and grooved discs with better pads, better fluid etc
b) Fitting 996 or other bigger brakes & callipers (sticking to my Avus 6-spoke wheels)
c) Going the whole way with bigger wheels and giant brakes.

Thanks

Phil

[GazzaG60]

standard brakes are poor. cars too heavy and thats not even a high spped brake in one of these cars.

i skipped the small 4 pots. sure they work but i didn't want to take things by chance. i went with 996 gt2 6 pot calipers and 993 tt discs. they work.

the calipers are about double the small ones. discs from ECP.

they fit under a 17" bbs split rim by a rizla. the caliper is big. thats the tight bit. i run them on 18" bbs rc's now.

cost. i did pretty well on the calipers getting all 4 for 600 quid. they are quite rare too.

may as well call it getting on 2k with wheels. especially when cheapest pads are £140

[dest]

My TT225 calipers and UrS6 discs dont fade, granted they are not as good as the Porsche upgrade, but they are a damn sight cheaper and better than standard setup!
It all depends on how much you want to spend

[gunman]

what size of wheels will you get them under dest?

[GazzaG60]

another option from dest.

id take horsepower into consideration too. if you have say 400 you can be braking from higher speeds every time than a late 200 car so then brakes take more hammer

i made my decision on that i wanted to know they work. if they are good enough for a gt2 911 sure good enough for an S2.

probly a bit of greed in there too. lol

[Rusty]

For a chipped ABY you'll be fine with 996s, if you go for a 314mm setup they'll slot under the 16" Avus alloys. Textars are fine for raod use but if you drive hard then Ferrodo DS or DS2500 are a much recommended solution

[iDub]

Sorry to jump in on this thread, but I'd be interested to know the options for 18" wheels.

Dest has my old car and I do remember the brakes being pretty good!

[Sonic]

For a chipped ABY you'll be fine with 996s, if you go for a 314mm setup they'll slot under the 16" Avus alloys. Textars are fine for raod use but if you drive hard then Ferrodo DS or DS2500 are a much recommended solution

Sorry to jump in on this thread, but I'd be interested to know the options for 18" wheels!

996 323mm, RS6 brembo 8-pots 365mm, various 6-pot options (gt2, cayenne)

[s2avant]

The 314mm setup porsche setup is fine for street driving and keeping the 16" wheels. As I'm sure is the setup Dest uses.

Like Gazza I want to be 100% confident my brakes will work no matter what hence the slightly OTT setup I run. 18"s and relatively deep pockets required though.

I've had six different upgrades on my car. Here is a run down of my opinions of performance. As for cost it would all depend on whether you sourced brand new or used calipers etc.

Front:
1) 314mm A8 discs with RS2 'small reds' - great improvement over stock front brakes but still a tendency to fade when pushed hard.

2) 323mm A8 discs with RS2 'big reds' - another improvement (although not as big a step as stock to 314mm). Better fade resistance but still faded when pushed very hard.

3) 365mm Phaeton discs with RS6 8 pot calipers - Immense stopping power and no fade at all even when pushed hard on the 'ring for multiple laps. Car has tendency to nosedive under hard braking.

Rear:
1) 256mm TT discs with B5 S4 calipers (combined with 323mm front setup) - Good balance and significant improvement over the stock rears.

2) 300mm B7 S4 rear brakes (combined with 365mm front setup) - Another significant improvement and much flatter braking (rear end lifts less)

3) 330mm C6 S6 rear discs with B7 S4 calipers (combined with 365mm front setup) - Even better brake performance, no nosediving.

In conclusion I would recommend working out a budget and then seeing what you can get for your money. IMHO it is worth considering a matched front and rear upgrade over a massive front upgrade as this will give more consistent brake performance.

Ben

[philKS2]

Back to my original question.... any comparison of cost versus measured braking improvement??


I don't have £2k - I was thinking more like doing the front now for under £500 (including labour and vat!!) (and the rear later when have more cash)

[s2avant]

£500 is going to put you in the 314mm porsche setup territory provided you can find a set of decent used calipers. It's tried and tested and is relatively simple to fit. As you have said you want it to be an easy job there is not much point looking for other alternatives.

Ben

[Le S2 Audi]

For what it's worth I did the Porsche 996 upgrade... But I went with the 18" Avus wheel option.... Not a cheap option but the car looks soooooo much better....

I too had to have a garage do it as I am no mechanic and I would not like to mess about with something as important as the brakes....

The only draw back with using a garage was that their insurance would only cover the upgarde as long as they were "OEM" options!!!

You can see/read more about it on my thread and it covers the costs involved too...

But as a guide....
Porsche 996 Calipers £350.00 plus new dampers £90.00
Brackets £120.00
15mm spacers £80.00 only needed if upgrading to 18" wheels AFAIK...
323mm A8 Discs £130.00 (only used 323's cos of the 18" rims - if you keep the 16" wheels I think you can use 314mm disc's)..
Textar Pads £50.00 (ish)
RS2 Hardlines £60.00 (ish)
New flexi hoses £40.00 (ish)

http://www.s2forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38914&highlight=bought+owned

But IMHO This is a "Must Do Option" on any & All S2's....

[Le S2 Audi]

[Le S2 Audi]

As for the braking improvments.... After gently running in the new pads & disc's for 500 miles... They seem to be a 100% better over the standard set up....

Slight exaggeration.... but I feel 100% more confident with this set up when driving her hard.....

Superb stopping power (last night 150 - 70 thanks to a :corey: who pulled out on me!!)...

R.E. Costs - You can offset the costs by selling the old calipers & disc's if they are in good knick... Think I got about £100.00 for 'em...

[Matt_D]

Sorry to jump in on this thread, but I'd be interested to know the options for 18" wheels.

Dest has my old car and I do remember the brakes being pretty good!

Well thats a name from the past!

I'm the chap who bought the S2 from you which Dest has now, good to see your back in a S2