Brembo refurbishment

[scottmgibb]

Resurrecting an old thread here, but does anybody have any current recommendations for Brembo caliper refurbishment? Please feel free to PM me if you don’t want to post positive/negative feedback publicly 😊

It looks like Pro-Calipers (mentioned above) are no longer doing a paint service (which I would like – probably just boring black), but Bigg Red will now do Brembos (which from reading above it looks like they did not do previously). They have said they will try to split the calipers during the refurb process, but if they encounter (presumably troubling) resistance they will stop.

Sounds like it will be about £400ish for the pair…

Does this sound like the right way to go, or are there better options out there?

Thanks, Scott

[Ronin]

I know of this one A8 crazy person in Devon who uses Bigg Red

[Conan_the_Librarian]

I'm not a big fan of the Brembos'. I've changed them on both my S8s. If you want OEM and driving the car to its full potential is not for you then they're adequate. There are alternatives in the Audi stable. I've had B7 RS4 8 pots which are good but eat OEM disks which are expensive and a set of aftermarket AP racing disks are great but eye wateringly expensive. D3 brakes are a cheaper and effective upgrade. MJ wil be along soon to offer other alternatives.

Aftermarket disks and pads will give some improvement but they are big old barges. I saw a set of new EBC yellow stuff pads and disks glowing red and pads burned black after a single enthusiast lap of the ring!

[MikkiJayne]

I've used Pro-calipers, BCS, and Bigg Red for various jobs and don't have any issues with any of them. It is a shame Pro-calipers aren't doing paint any more though as that is going to substantially limit their appeal considering most Brembos need cosmetic attention long before they need mechanical refurb. I suspect BCS will pick up most of that business with their high-end paint service, although their website is a bit of a dumpster fire at the moment. They used to have a colour chart and all sorts of useful info but someone got a bit clever with the htmls and buggered it up so it shows pretty much nothing useful now.

Bigg Red have always done a decent job on everything I've sent them, and if you just want black then they should be able to do that. The one thing I would query is whether they are using genuine Brembo parts, especially the bleed screws. Genuine Brembo bleed screws have a special coating to reduce the likelihood of them seizing in to the caliper. It doesn't stop them seizing, but it does make them last a bit longer before they do. Generic zinc-plated bleed screws don't work well in Brembos.

Also, with the right tooling it isn't necessary to split the calipers, as long as they can get the pad shims out. Pro-calipers don't split them unless absolutely necessary, as by now the chances of one or more of the 8 (per pair) bolts holding them together galling up on removal is pretty much 100% and then you're in to helicoiling and other unpleasant stuff. If you can get away without disturbing those bolts or the link pipes then thats the best option (contrary to what I may have previously said). It is essential to get the pad shims out though to properly clean and re-coat underneath them.

A pressure bleed and brake block make fresh Brembos adequate for most people tbh. In terms of upgrade, the D3 360mm is a good option, but is limited by the need to swap to A8 uprights. Those are getting scarce and expensive, so the cost of the D3 swap on a D2 S8 is pretty much par with refurbishing the Brembos, albeit a longer lasting and lower maintenance option for a long-term keeper. Everything else gets very expensive.

[scottmgibb]

Thanks everybody for the very useful (as always) responses, which confirm my thoughts from reading many posts on the forum.

I have looked at all the upgrade options, but none really looked ideal, or particularly cost/time effective. As MJ says, I think with the fully refurbished system and her brake block that the set-up will be more than enough for what I need. And I do want to keep the car reasonably OEM where possible/practical.

I will probably have a chat with BCS (and Bigg Red again, about the Brembo parts) and then pick one of them for the job. It is reassuring to know that splitting is not essential, and it did occur to me that that process might have gotten harder since this thread was started…! One of my link pipes had to be replaced when the car was last MOTed (it burst during the test..!). It was a pretty quick job so it would be good to have this redone neater, and probably get the other one done too (Bigg Red said they would do this as part of the service).

With regard to pressure bleeding, I am aware of the ABS unit issues (and I will need to bleed through that). I have an Eezibleed, but it has a max pressure of 20psi (and seems like it is going to explode at about 15psi!), and I think I read that it has to be 30psi to bleed through the ABS unit. As such, I was looking to get something like this for the job - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Youyijia-Bl.../dp/B091YNVKK7. Any excuse for a new tool…

[MikkiJayne]

Originally Posted by scottmgibb

As such, I was looking to get something like this for the job - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Youyijia-Bl.../dp/B091YNVKK7. Any excuse for a new tool…

Thats a direct copy of the Sealey VS820 which is what I use. It works well

I'd recommend removing the bleed screws and putting a thin coating of grease or aluminium anti-seize on the threads before bleeding, as that tool pushes so much fluid through you get a venturi effect which pulls air in around the screw threads and pushes out a stream of bubbles along with the clean brake fluid from the caliper. It can make it quite hard to work out when the system is actually bled.

[Adrian E]

I seem to recall the pad shim bolts are a really weird size, which means they often get mullered. I think they're a T23, whereas most tool sets only have the T25. It's been a while since I had to drill out caliper bolts, but basically tread carefully if the tool you have feels a bit too big, it probably is! Lots of time cleaning the thread out will pay dividends (I use a battery powered engraver)

ETA - looked back at an old thread of mine:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthrea...hlight=caliper

They're T27, not T25 or T30 which commonly feature in sets

[scottmgibb]

Thanks MJ – I have ordered the Sealey one. Only a little bit more expensive, and a good know brand.

And thanks for the tips Adrian, but I am going to send them off for a full refurbishment.

[scottmgibb]

I have finally got round to having a chat with Bigg Red and BCS, and interestingly neither use genuine Brembo parts for the refurb. I guess I could always get some genuine bleed nipples separately.

I was just going to get the rears done on exchange (probably brakeparts), but it looks like it will be worth getting them refurbed at the same time too, as the calipers and the carriers get fully refurbished and painted, for not a lot of extra cash.

It looks like Bigg Red will be quite a bit cheaper though - about £100 less for all 4 calipers.

So I guess the only other question is which colour. I was going to stick with existing - black front and silver rear - but I am tempted with red all round, especially seeing the ones on the latest WITW completion. Would red look good with Dolphin Grey…?

[MikkiJayne]

Red does indeed look good with Dolphin Grey, but I might be biased



Definitely look in to some genuine Brembo bleed nipples from Addiction Motorsport. Bigg Red's generic plated jobs are a bit crap tbh. I had a few problems getting them to seal up on the FE rears, and I definitely wouldn't want to use them in Brembos.