# DaveB Brake review ~ RS BBK



## TondyRSuzuka (Dec 3, 2011)

I thought after a few months of running the upgraded kit I would write a little review. Especially now I've had the chance to run these on track.

I first visited Cadwell on stock RS brakes which were already warped and utterly dreadful, but it didnt ruin my first track outing however. Albeit a rather nerve wracking affair hurtling towards each fast corner :lol:

So after the event, I knew an brake upgrade was in order. Even if audi were to replace their gimmick brake setup for another one (which they didn't) they would have only been baked and bent again! So I got in touch with the mysterious Dave Brown. Fortunately for me he's relatively local and he happily invited me along for a chat, wander round his premises and kindly educated me in the way of brakes.

I was not only in need of a kit that actually worked and worked repeatedly on track but was also after an aesthetic upgrade from stock 4pot calipers (which are sufficiently good stoppers). So a lambo/R8/RS4 caliper was in order, and was painted suzuka grey to match my bodywork. Dave then equipped me with an AP disc and Pagid Blue RS4-2 pads. Once all the kit was ready and Jonny at Brake Caliper Refurb had finished my callipers I collected and fitted myself in 2 hours.

Well the appearance was much improved, and after bedding in on the road the brakes had a great pedal feel and once a little heat is generated the stopping power and immediate response puts stock brakes to shame! Cooling of the AP Disc is phenomenal compared with stock non directional discs. For example at Cadwell I was running 500C disc temp after 8 laps. I now run 250C temp after 8 laps. Great cooling, and continued performance. And to top it off, the discs remain in the correct shape!

So it goes without saying that on track and on road, that this setup gives you improved confidence in stopping and braking much later. Plus an improved bite once warm, and a kit that will last irrespective of how you treat it!

Unfortunately my little adventure with Dave's kit didnt go without the odd hiccup, after a few weeks of bedding I found the discs began suffering from hairline cracks reaching out from the vent holes and some reaching the outer and inner edges of the disc. I sent a photo onto dave and we quickly had the car pencilled in for a swap under warranty. Spanking new discs visited Cadwell the next week and were smashing! Thanks go to Dave for a prompt response, and dedicating his morning to helping me swap the discs on his ramp. Which he really was not obliged to do!

Just goes to show that you get what you pay for, as well as friendly support and a bloke that knows his sh*t. So if you're ever in need, hes the man.

I'm unsure of his username on here, Im sure someone will oblige? Anyway, here are some photos of my new kit, enjoy.


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## davectr (Sep 9, 2012)

Great write up Tondy, I've been considering upgrading to DaveB's setup for a while now (but keep spending the money on holidays [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND SMILING EYES]). Do you mind me asking what sort of costs are involved? You can PM the reply rather than putting it up on the open forum.

Cheers


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## LEO-RS (Apr 13, 2009)

Nice review Brad, brakes look 8)

DaveCTR, unless you are a track nut, keep spending your money on holidays. Personally, I found the standard stoppers for fast road use just fine, sure this BBK will be better than stock but I have never really understood the fascination of BBK's for street cars, only worth their weight in gold for track use in my opinion.


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## Phil_RS (Mar 2, 2010)

davectr said:


> Great write up Tondy, I've been considering upgrading to DaveB's setup for a while now (but keep spending the money on holidays [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND SMILING EYES]). Do you mind me asking what sort of costs are involved? You can PM the reply rather than putting it up on the open forum.
> 
> Cheers


+1 as although Audi have just replaced my brakes for the squealing issue this may be tempting in the future.


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## davelincs (Jan 1, 2010)

Hi Tondy, do you hav a phone number or an Internet link for Dave?
Thanks


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## SuperRS (Mar 7, 2012)

Mitchy said:


> Nice review Brad, brakes look 8)
> 
> DaveCTR, unless you are a track nut, keep spending your money on holidays. Personally, I found the standard stoppers for fast road use just fine, sure this BBK will be better than stock but I have never really understood the fascination of BBK's for street cars, only worth their weight in gold for track use in my opinion.


Did you never warp a set?

I've warped 3 sets of OEM discs 

Daveb upgrade is coming shortly for me


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## TootRS (Apr 21, 2009)

These are vastly superior to OEM, whether you go with the standard 4-pot or larger 8-pot, the kit is outstanding. The discs are directional for a start and you only need to compare the cooling vanes with OEM to see that the AP offerings have much better thermal resistance and cooling properties.

Absolutely the best brake upgrade for the TT RS, and that's verified by 2 track days, 2 Vmax days and a few drag strip days.


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## Nyxx (May 1, 2012)

Not only works but looks mint. Nice write up Brad.


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## davelincs (Jan 1, 2010)

Thanks for the info Brad
Cheers
Dave


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## Phil_RS (Mar 2, 2010)

TootRS said:


> These are vastly superior to OEM, whether you go with the standard 4-pot or larger 8-pot, the kit is outstanding. The discs are directional for a start and you only need to compare the cooling vanes with OEM to see that the AP offerings have much better thermal resistance and cooling properties.
> 
> Absolutely the best brake upgrade for the TT RS, and that's verified by 2 track days, 2 Vmax days and a few drag strip days.


When you say standard 4 pot, do you mean keep the standard caliper and just fit new discs and pads?


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## TondyRSuzuka (Dec 3, 2011)

Phil_RS said:


> TootRS said:
> 
> 
> > These are vastly superior to OEM, whether you go with the standard 4-pot or larger 8-pot, the kit is outstanding. The discs are directional for a start and you only need to compare the cooling vanes with OEM to see that the AP offerings have much better thermal resistance and cooling properties.
> ...


Correct


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## DaveB1970 (Mar 7, 2008)

If I may just chime in.

Theres nothing wrong with the TTRS Caliper Per Se, good pad choice, good piston sizes for the TTRS and later TTS as the master cylinder IS different on these cars.

Its the OEM discs and pads that fail the car, the stock car is good for over 150mph+ and a staged TTRS has a dash speed of 150, theres no way OEm stuff will cope without lots of mass or more capable pads. with a budget of probably €60-70 per corner Audi just havent got the funds to do the car justice brake wise. They spent the money on the calipers.

So lets use them properly give the car a chance with some half decent pads that wont kill you in winter and implement some heat management with bell design and fixings and quality castings.

Ive seen 150 degree temp splits on the OEM Left Hand/Left Hand arrangement, its Audi keeping the parts count down which causes the problem

Ever heard anybody moaning about C5 RS6 Brakes? R8 Fronts? B5 RS4 Fronts.....No

All directional!

TTRS/B7 RS4

All the same side!

C6 RS6 is the same side but they got around that little snag by making them 390mm by 36mm wide and making them weigh 16kg - I can t ship a pair of those together in the UK they exceed the 30kg Health and safety limit for most couriers.

If I owned a TT id go Standard Caliper, AP upgrade, Project Mu H16s, 335mm rear conversion, DS2500 on the rear for dynamic improvement.

Total spend less than £2k which wouldnt buy you the Craparo VWR setup for an Edition 30

I'd end up with a balanced 362/335mm setup instead of the very biased 370/310mm OEm arrangement, front pads which can do Sainsburys as well as Spa. You'd run out of petrol before you ran out of brakes and thats with the Loba Turbo and Ive yet to get a call from JC asking for more headroom on his brakes and thats with 600BHP plus.

Theres just not enough headroom in the OEM stuff for its stock ability never mind when tuned, Audi have ducked and dived for 3 years or more and eventually made some tweaks - they cant redesign without admitting the fault and alienating customers who have spent 40k+ and driving them into the loving arms of a C63

Good to see you again Brad thanks for the writeup.


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## Phil_RS (Mar 2, 2010)

Are the discs same size as standard then or do you need some sort of spacer for the caliper? Would be interesting if you could do a two stage updated. Discs first and then upgrade caliper a later


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## TootRS (Apr 21, 2009)

Phil_RS said:


> Are the discs same size as standard then or do you need some sort of spacer for the caliper? Would be interesting if you could do a two stage updated. Discs first and then upgrade caliper a later


Discs are 362mm, two piece. They use a custom bell and caliper carrier. It's a slightly different bell for the 8-pot caliper so it's not really viable to do what you're suggesting. The calipers do sit further inboard than OEM allowing for better wheel clearance.


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## DaveB1970 (Mar 7, 2008)

Discs are 362mm and we supply a new billet caliper carrier in 2014 Ali which moves the disc calliper inboard a bit and down to reflect the new smaller disc size.

The problem with the two stage upgrade is the pad sweep, the TTRS standard pads are 61mm tall and the 8 piston ones are 54mm so if you retrofit you have a 7mm inboard cold unswept area which just causes cold spot problems and reduces the life of the rotor as you have a machined area that isn't getting heat cycled at the same rate as the remainder of the rotor.

So TTRS Calipers get one disc, the 8 Piston gets another.

That said my stuff does do well second hand evidently so prices to upgrade arent too bad and invariably if you're upgrading it would mean a pad swap which would mean putting material on top of another which should always be avoided at this level


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## Phil_RS (Mar 2, 2010)

Cool - thanks for the info. From your earlier post, keeping the front calipers and upgrading the rear seems like a good way of spending money.


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## DaveB1970 (Mar 7, 2008)

Its a consideration for sure....

If you're just into doing 1/4 miles in a straight line then why bother, but if you like a spirited drive and on occasion need to brake from three figures because of an impending bend then the extra stability makes it a less stressful drive.

You can end up shedding a load of speed in a short space with no drama or braking much later and risk it breaking away if you fancy risking that for an extra second a lap.

Speak to people with the rear kit on for an opinion it doesnt matter if its the four piston kit or the adapted stock calliper it does work


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## Phil_RS (Mar 2, 2010)

I would put myself in the spirited drive 1 track day a year category


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## DaveB1970 (Mar 7, 2008)

Dont want to turn the thread into an advert im probably close to the line already....

Few guys on here with the rear kit and a couple of S3 Drivers with an early S3 kit that I sacked off because it was just too expensive ask them what they think.

The kit price has halved now and its a neat tricky mod, its not as effective on mainly FWD cars with haldex as unlike centre diff equipped cars they cant engage the rear wheels when engine braking but with a bigger disc and some (not necessarily stupid expensive) high bite quick working rear pads you can get the same effect.

Think it was the UR Quattro that started it all with 4 wheel engine braking for dynamics think the rear wheels has a slightly larger diamter tyres too

For us mere mortals a stable drive is better - said it before if you've lots of talent a roll cage and a fireproof suit then lets have a loose rear end for ultimate lap times


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## robokn (Feb 21, 2006)

I have upgraded as well and have a very different view to the rest as my car didn't really go on track of 1/4 mile sprints,

I found Daves kit to be more than required for normal ish driving (Mine and the wifes opinion of normal is very different :lol: ) but when I went on the track at the National Meet the brakes came into thier own, like Dave has said braking later 'cause you have supreme confidence in the brakes, that said I am by no means an expert driver / reviewer so my view is that of ME a complete novice when compared to others on here BUT I felt very safe if that is the right word.

I suppose when it comes to brakes then yes it is.


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## jamiekip (Nov 12, 2006)

Having run this kit for 2 years now I'll chip in.

All these complaints about the OEM system, warped discs, squeaking brakes and uneven braking force haven't been an issue for me. I was one fo of dave's test mules on the kit and there was a degree of evolution in those early days, but fundamantally the specification has not changed with regards key componenets, the evolution was more around making the set up civilised (trust me, only the hardcore would have put up with floating disc without the spring bobbins stopping the chatter!).

Either way, due to family circumstances, I've not had the chance to use the kit in anger on track, but from a day to day perspective I can recommend this kit whole heartedly. It's civilised, the pedal has better moderation, it works from cold (on RS42 blues), it never squeaks, it weighs less which you do notice straight away (despite some saying taking this weight out of the brakes is a waste of time!). 
Most importantly that better brake pedal feel makes day to day driving more enjoyable, so on those occassions where you're on the right road, at the right time and conditions permit, you can have fun safe in the knowledge that you're safe. 
I found the OEM set up on heavy stops used to cause the car to 'shimmy' due to the different braking forces at work on the front OEM discs creating twist on the front axle. The front BBK kit gets rid of a lot of this, but the better braking does cause the front of the car to dive more than OEM. The rear BBK kit by applying a degree more force causes the rear to squat down and get better purchase in big stops creating a more stable overall braking experience.
Whether you're on track or your favourite b-road that is a big thing and untmately makes a difference day in day out.

Front kit - RS4 8pot (Suzuka Grey  ), AP Disc and Pagid Blue pads:



Rear kit - Boxster Brembo 4pot, RS6 335mm discs












Both front and back upgrades are well worth while, and ultimately if you go with the bigger calipers it looks realy good, which I'd be telling porkies if I didn't admit that was a motivation also!

To top it all, dave is a great guy to work with, albeit a very busy one, but he really does stand by his product and will always lesson to reasonable feedback/concerns and go out of his way to remedy.

Hope this helps others now taking an interest in this kit.


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## neilc (Aug 8, 2011)

I just bloody knew it , If I read this thread I would want to chuck £2000 at my RS :lol: Those Suzuka brake calipers look very cool too.


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## TootRS (Apr 21, 2009)

How about sepang blue


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## moncler1 (Sep 28, 2008)

Well, I know a better value way to get hold of all of that as fitted to JK's car, but slightly newer and better treated.


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## SuperRS (Mar 7, 2012)

moncler1 said:


> Well, I know a better value way to get hold of all of that as fitted to JK's car, but slightly newer and better treated.


Mmmm are you splitting rob? My car has brand new 370mm discs and pads on the car, was still running them in at the pod!


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## jamiekip (Nov 12, 2006)

moncler1 said:


> Well, I know a better value way to get hold of all of that as fitted to JK's car, but slightly newer and better treated.


Cause I drive properly old man


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## davectr (Sep 9, 2012)

Some very positive comments there, decisions decisions!


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## Martinski (Nov 15, 2013)

Hi All,

I am new to the forum and would like a info how to get in touch with DaveB re brakes upgrade. I am based in Germany, where people tent to spend money for the sake of spending money, but no real testing. Seems that this upgrade is actually working, which that is my intend, rather than having very cool looking ceramic brakes, which due to high temperature causing the bushing to melt...
Thanks


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## SuperRS (Mar 7, 2012)

Try facebook (send me your email address and I'll add you to our private tuning group) and you can find Dave there.

Alternatively he also posts on vagoc.co.uk


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## TraderGuy (Feb 3, 2013)

SuperRS said:


> Try facebook (send me your email address and I'll add you to our private tuning group) and you can find Dave there.
> 
> Alternatively he also posts on vagoc.co.uk


New to the forum, looking for information on the Dave B brake upgrade for my TTRS. Can anyone provide contact information for Dave?

SuperRS, I'd send you a PM but don't seem to have authorization to do so.


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## robokn (Feb 21, 2006)

Join TTF and it comes automatically


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