I am interseted in upgrading the brakes on my 1985 Audi 4000Q. This is for street driving, but I am moving to snow country soon, so here are my questions:

1. Cross drilled or slotted rotors? Typically, I would assume vented but in cold weather, what is better?

2. What pads would you recommend? Hawk? EBC green? PBR metalmaster? Other?

3. Should I beef up the rear rotors as well, or would better pads suffice?

4. If I'm doing all these rotor/ pad improvments should I put braided lines on as well? For street driving, does this really make a difference?

5. Finally, what brake fluid would you recommend? Again, will there be a difference in cold weather? Do you recommend changing fluid from summer/ winter driving applications?

Let's see..you're not using it on the track huh? Then you can save your money for the most part.
Stock vented brakes are fine, I'd buy the best pads I could. Axxis Metal Masters are great for the street. Hawk Blues are fantastic, but used daily they will leave a hard to remove residue on your wheels when they get wet. I use my Hawks on the track, then swap back to stock for street.

If you simply MUST have cooler rotors to impress your friends, I would take slotted over drilled. Drilled ones will crack much quicker depending on the quality.

Braided steel lines will help firm up the pedal feel and will last longer. That's the only real advantages.

I use Castrol GTLMA brake fluid; haven't had any problems. Changing it regularly is a very good idea, as it does have a lifespan. Also helps the hydraulics last longer.

I use my CGT on the track, 20 minute sessions with stock vented rotors, 4 wheel discs, Hawk Blue pads, Castrol brake fluid and have no problems with fade whatsoever. The quatt weighs a bit more, but I'd start with what I've got and see where that gets you before you spend big $ on fancy parts you probably won't need.

Excellent advice!

Well, I have stock solid rotors in front now and are due to be replaced anyway. (I think they're warped- when I step on them, even slightly, there is a vibration in the pedal that gets more noticable with increased braking. I just had the brakes done a couple of thousand miles ago and it was still there.) So if I replace them, why not go ahead and put drilled rotors on, or slotted, but aren't those more for track use? Everyone seems to have a differing opinion of drilled or slotted. This is for street driving, I don't take it to the track. Of course I don't want my rotors to crack, but under street conditions shouldn't they last? And I don't want to chew up my pads more quickly with slotted. But, I still want to go with the best stopping power. Either way, rotors are really not that much. A few hunderd bucks is fine, mind you, I'm not talking about putting porsche big reds on <Big sigh here>. I've heard that putting braided lines helps with the fade and good pads can make a huge difference in the bite. The brakes aren't bad, but I think they could use a little help. Since I am moving to Boston and being from california, I was wondering if the brakes will perform differently in snow and, if so, by how much? Thanks for the advise.

The drilled rotors are mainly for track use. They cool better and release the gas that gets trapped under the pads during heavy braking. Slotted rotors do mainly the same thing, just differently. Many of my buddies that run PCA (Porsche) events have moved away from the drilled "turbo" rotors in favor of the slotted. The drilled rotors will crack faster in between the holes after a while. They do look cool though. For the street I would reccommend the slotted rotors and the best street pads you can get.

Braided lines won't help with fade. They make the pedal firmer. The high pressures that are developed in the hydraulics can cause the rubber hoses to expand. This puts some of you leg work into something other than stopping the car.

I am going thru this process myself on an '86 4000Q. I will be replacing the old rubber hoses with new ones. I don't think braided lines are worth the money on the street. But, to each his own! The best thing you can do for your brake system is flush out all of the old junk fluid. Get yourdels a vacuum bleeder and some high quality fluid and bleed until it's clean.

Your brakes will work the same here in the NE as they did in CA.


Jon

You certainly don't need G60's. I have them and unless you compete, you don't need them and I wouldn't do it again for comp anyways.

Pagid makes the best street/ax pad by a long shot. I run pagid blues and they grip better than the Porterfield R4S, and no comparison to the $#$#@ metal masters. These are superb from -30F to 100+, amazing initial bite.

Get good dot 4 fluid (LMA is a decent choice for street), pagids, and front lines for feel. While I'm in the no slot/drill camp. I don't feel it is a huge argument. I've seen tons of cracked disks and they never seem to actually fail.