Discs and pads-Bosch v Brembo v Ate

[courierman]

I need to replace discs and pads all round on my 2003 A4 b6 1.9tdi 130bhp Sport.
I have the choice between the 3 brands at ECP.The difference in price is only £20 across the 3,so not an issue.
By the way,for anyone about to buy discs or pads for this model,there is 3 different options(sizes) for it.In the inside of your Audi service book there is is a sticker that tells you the correct parts and options that were fitted to your car(any model.These are called PR codes.If you do not have this sticker,you can still get the codes.Just Google APEC BRAKING INFO,enter your car and you will find the correct codes.This applies to all models of course.
My codes were 1LB(front) and 1KD(rear) which was 288mm dia discs front and 245mm dia rear.

I am drawn to Bosch and Ate,as i know they have been OEM on many cars,But i know that Brembo are also very popular.

So what would you choose considering there is hardly any price difference.

[Gazwould]

Brembo !

[arman123]

Mine need doing all round as well soon I'm going for genuine all the way last time I had brembo discs and pads from Ecp they were crap left the disc in and put in some genuine pads to stop the fade and noise this time I'm just going genuine

[zollaf]

so genuine will be pagid or ate or ferodo ?

[courierman]

Ok,but which are genuine.Audi doesn't produce brake discs or pads,and the brands that supply them differ across the Audi models.Also,i believe that ATE were OE on my car,but who's to say that they are the same quality as there were in 2003.Could be worse or better,and that also applies to all the other brands.I've got to say that anything german i have bought,car wise or anything else,has never let me down.I don't know where Brembo are made,but i think they get the nod from a lot of people because of their performance kit.Don't forget that all brands have different grades within the brand.

[courierman]

Which test is this.

[zollaf]

do you drive your car hard and brake heavily or just drive normally ? about probably 80 % of drivers could have anything fitted and not tell any difference, so it just would not matter whats on there. the discs account for very little though, they are just a flat metal surface. all the better makes will use the same quality metal though. most of the difference is in the pads. my favourite at the moment is trw black discs which are high carbon, along with trw dtec low dust pads. these work very well from cold and produce far less dust than most others, but also bite extremely well. i run these pads in my s4 where they take quite a battering with no fade at all. most of the time i fit ferodo to customers cars though and have never had a problem or any comeback, but they tend to be more expensive, but like anything you get what you pay for.

[zollaf]

oh, and if you drive really hard go for ferodo ds2500 for an amazing pad. i wanted these for my s4 but at 312 quid for a set i just couldnt justify them. but they are the best pad you can buy.

[Gazwould]

I wouldn't call them amazing , just amazingly dusty .

I wasted my money on standard size upgraded brakes with a non vag , refurbished calipers with new pistons and seals front and rear , fronts were 4 pots too , Ferodo DS2500 pads , Brembo grooved discs and Goodridge hoses . All that and it didn't feel much different .

After 6 months it was changed out for front and rear big brake kits , for real results there are no magic pads , the laws of leverage physics RULE !

[calum]

ATE made the calipers so you'd expect the pads to be the best fit out of all the makes, that would be my choice. There's nothing worse than poorly fitting pads.