[V8] UFO brakes at Audi

[Ingo Rautenberg]

The UFO's have a bowl of steel that attaches to the wheel hub on the inside
and attaches to the rotors on the outside, allowing the caliper to be
mounted inboard.  The idea is that this setup can handle strong braking at
Autobahn speeds while still allowing use of a 15" wheel for ride comfort.
The design allows for a larger effective brake swept area.  I have one '91
V8 5 -speed with that setup and the braking is almost comparable to my other
91 5-speed equipped with Porsche Big Reds and Coleman Rotors, but the
Big-red equipped car requires 17" wheels -- and I refuse to run 17's in the
winter/snow.

Ingo

On Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 12:24 AM, Seamus O'Carey
<cheshirecatsbox at gmail.com>wrote:

> Can someone explain to me the UFO brakes?  I've seen pictures of the
> rotors,
> and I just don't understand them.
>
> Also, it sounds like they warp pretty easily?  This might be why I have a
> slight pulsing in my steering wheel (or the wheels could be just out of
> balance).
>
> On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 8:18 PM, too many quattros <
> thequattroking at yahoo.com
> > wrote:
>
> > over the years i have read posts from a die hard few that just love the
> UFO
> > brakes.  honestly, i am not sure why.  i have had two cars with them.
>  yes,
> > they did seem to stop better then G60 brakes when used in day to day
> > driving
> > (although i never did measure the distances).  but, one romp in the hills
> > and it was so easy to cook the UFO brakes.  when i converted my V8q to
> > Willwood brakes back in 1994 or 1995 (by this time, i had already been
> > through 3 or 4 sets of UFO rotors), i was highly impressed with the
> > rigidity
> > of the Willwood brakes.  the Brembo rotors did not heat soak like the
> UFOs.
> > the overall braking of the car was GREATLY improved.  imo, there is NO
> > comparison.  in short, what is the point of a set of brakes if you have
> to
> > replace a warped pair after just a spirited drive or two?  BTW, the
> fastest
> > set of UFO brakes i ever warped was warped in about 2 weeks.  i put them
> on
> > and two weeks later i had to make a panic stop from about 75 MPH when a
> > truck pulled out in front of me on the highway (ambient temp was about
> 105
> > that day).  i slowed to about 20 mph.  that was it, another 800$ (back
> > then)
> > to replace the rotors.  about 6 months later i had the willwoods on.  the
> > UFOs were a great idea, poorly executed.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Shayne
> >
> > PARTING:  1972 Mercedes Benz 280 SE 4.5
> > PARTING:  1986 Audi 4000 CS quattro
> >
> >
> > > From: Roger Woodbury <rmwoodbury at roadrunner.com>
> > > Reply-To: <rmwoodbury at roadrunner.com>
> > > Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:32:20 -0500
> > > To: <b.homburg at web.de>
> > > Cc: V8 Audi Fans <v8 at audifans.com>
> > > Subject: [V8] UFO brakes at Audi
> > >
> > > Perhaps I should have said that Audi USA is no longer supporting the V8
> > > Quattro's UFO brakes.  Here in this country, a great many V8's and 200
> > > 20Valve cars were converted to G60s due to warping.  I am not surprised
> > that
> > > they may be unavailable here now, as there are some hoses for the 200
> > > 20Valve turbo that are no longer available through Audi.
> > >
> > > UFO calipers in the US from the franchised Audi dealer were about
> $1400.
> > > That is one reason why I was so interested in aftermarket brake systems
> > for
> > > this car.  IF it came down to $1400 for UFO calipers and $12-1300 for a
> > > conversion to something else, I would have to think long and hard about
> > > which way to jump.
> > >
> > > Roger
> > >
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