Stock rotors or aftermarket?

[UJL]

Hi, I recently purchased a 2019 Audi RS5 Sportback and found out the vehicle needs brakes for the front only. My local Audi dealer has been very nice and got me in for inspection pretty fast. Unfortunately I have to pay $3,445 for front rotors, pads and that also includes labor. Seemed pretty high so I was thinking if it might be better to go aftermarket. I appreciate any feedback


In the inspection report it said “Recommended Service Needs immediate attention”

[TJay74]

Hi, I recently purchased a 2019 Audi RS5 Sportback and found out the vehicle needs brakes for the front only. My local Audi dealer has been very nice and got me in for inspection pretty fast. Unfortunately I have to pay $3,445 for front rotors, pads and that also includes labor. Seemed pretty high so I was thinking if it might be better to go aftermarket. I appreciate any feedback

If your RS5 has the CCB rotors you wont have much of an option, Audi I think is the only supplier for them. If you have the iron rotors you might have some options. The fronts are not super hard to do, you could buy the rotors online along with the pads and do them yourself, probably save you a good chunk of money.

With that I would want the dealer to show you where the CCB rotor was inspected and found to need to be replaced or even an iron rotor for that fact. If the rotor is fine with no grooves and no uneven pad deposits you can just put new pads on, re-bed the pads and continue on.

The dealer doesnt like doing this as it pulls money from their pockets. I rarely even replace rotors unless they are grooved or have uneven pad deposits.

[UJL]

Thank you for the advice, unfortunately I don’t have access to work on cars where I just moved. I will attach a couple pictures of what the inspection showed

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[Dan99]

Thank you for the advice, unfortunately I don’t have access to work on cars where I just moved. I will attach a couple pictures of what the inspection showed

It looks likes you have steel rotors, not carbon ceramic. Do you know what the pad measurement is?

I replaced brakes in my 2019 RS5 SB and thought they were unreasonably expensive. I would look at aftermarket rotors to save some money and get quotes from an independent shop. I purchased oem rotors at the time because there were no aftermarket options, but there are multiple ones available now. I would at least look at the 034motorsport.com rotors as they have a right and left side to improve cooling, which is unlike the oem and most aftermarket options.

[Smac770]

Just one of the front 400x38mm carbon ceramic rotors is 7 grand msrp. So clearly not pricing for a carbon ceramics job, if they are including rotors.

For the standard 375x36mm drilled steel rotors, each rotor is $1200 msrp. Maybe as low as $900 each if you look around (but then shipping). The pad set is cheap relatively, $220-$280 depending where you look. 4M0698151BK + 4M0698231A.

So even if you supplied the parts, it's not going to get much cheaper. $2.2k in parts at least, using OE parts, even skipping the dealership parts department.

[SDBolts]

I'm going to be in the same boat soon. Just had my RS5 in for other service, the dealer inspection shows 4mm life on the front pads, 5mm on the rear. Fortunately, I have the skills, tools and space to do a brake job myself, so my plan is to go with the Girodisc slotted rotors - recommended by my local independent Audi service shop over the 034 rotors. My pad choice is probably one most have never heard of - Carbotech. I've been using their pads across multiple vehicles for 15 years or so and think they make a great street / performance pad that balances feel, stopping power, dusting and longevity. They're not the cheapest, but that's the way it goes. All told, I priced out rotors and pads for all 4 corners at about $3k - just need to add fluid cost (probably Motul RBF600 - been using that for years, although I miss being able to alternate between it and ATE Super Blue for the ease of knowing when you've completely flushed the system...)

[Dan99]

...For the standard 375x36mm drilled steel rotors, each rotor is $1200 msrp. Maybe as low as $900 each if you look around (but then shipping). The pad set is cheap relatively, $220-$280 depending where you look. 4M0698151BK + 4M0698231A.

So even if you supplied the parts, it's not going to get much cheaper. $2.2k in parts at least, using OE parts, even skipping the dealership parts department.

After market rotors are sold in pairs and are about half this price.

As a point of reference, 034 charges $1158 for both front rotors and $810 for both rear rotors. They are also 2 piece rotors so subsequent replacements cost even less, $840 and $525 respectively. Girodisc has similar pricing, $1400 and $950 for the full rotor pairs and $850 and $550 for the replacements. It looks like ECS is selling both oem and 034 rotors - you save over $1,000 on 034 front rotors compared to oem and about $700 in the rear.

I would shop around. You don't want to cut corners on brakes, but there is no point to paying double for oem when suitable alternatives exist. Also, the same oem rotor is used on both sides of the car, so the cooling veins don't work the same on both sides. 034 and Girodisc both provide dedicated right and left rotors so the brakes can dissipate heat equally on both sides.

[SDBolts]

And small bonus that both 034 and Girodisc rotors are slightly lighter than OEM rotors due to the aluminum top hats they use. As well, when those are in need of replacement, both have the option to purchase the cast iron rotor ring on it's own for a fair savings over purchasing the entire rotor setup. Swap rotors on the top hats and you're good to go again.

[Liquid Smoke]

Luckily you don't have Carbon Ceramic rotors or else those are pricey as hell. But you're good, forget the dealer, check fcpeuro or ecstuning and get the parts for your car and any good audi/vw/euro shop will be able to install them.

[UJL]

Thank you very much guys

[TJay74]

And small bonus that both 034 and Girodisc rotors are slightly lighter than OEM rotors due to the aluminum top hats they use. As well, when those are in need of replacement, both have the option to purchase the cast iron rotor ring on it's own for a fair savings over purchasing the entire rotor setup. Swap rotors on the top hats and you're good to go again.

Oh the 034 are more than several pounds lighter, I put their 2 piece rotors front and rear on my B9 S4 which uses the same brakes as the S5. The whole set was just a little over 25lbs lighter than the stock ones.



OP I would find a Euro garage and have them just replace the pads, those rotors look fine unless you know for sure they have uneven pad deposits.

[Smac770]

Steel rotors are a simple measurement. 375x36mm new, wear limit 34mm (check the limit stamped on the rotor to confirm). Either it's past 34mm or near 34mm, so change them. Or they're not, so don't change them. But you have to consider how much they wore down with the previous pad set. If those are the original pads, and the measurement is less than 35mm, then one pad set wore them more than 50% of their wear. So they'll be below safe before the second pad set wears out probably.

Just be sure you're on the actual flat friction surface when measuring and not resting on the outer lip. The rears are near impossible to get a measurement on because of the shield (at least on the B8), but the fronts are simple enough to measure (with wheel off).

[initiala4]

I would get aftermarket rotors.