[V8] $500 V8 For Sale

[Roger Woodbury]

Hello, Bastian:  The problem with my UFO calipers was that they appeared to
be leaking.  The car had sat for some time and we believed that the calipers
might need to be rebuilt or replaced since it appeared that the seals might
have dried out or otherwise deteriorated.  

However, now that I have been driving the car regularly since last May, the
calipers no longer seem to be seeping, and it does not appear that I will
need to replace the calipers.  

We tried very hard to find rebuilding kits for the calipers.  The authorized
dealer has said that the rebuilding kits are not available from Audi USA,
and despite contacting around 30 parts retailers on the Internet and
directly, NO one that we contacted actually had the kits OR calipers.  

Recently another lister located what appear to be nine UFO rebuild kits
somewhere in the middle of the US.  He is going to try to buy all of the
kits and will, IF they are indeed the ATE rebuilding kits for the calipers.


If it is possible to send the calipers to Germany or to Europe for rebuild,
that would solve the issue in the future as well.  I will prefer to maintain
the UFO's on my cars that have those brakes rather than to go to larger
wheels and a completely different brake system.  

Did you meant that you pay 250 EU for one UFO Brake caliper or brake disc?
That seems to be quite a lot for a rotor or disc, but it would be less than
1/2 what the Audi dealer charges for a caliper.

Roger

-----Original Message-----
From: Bastian Preindl [mailto:bastian at preindl.net] 
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2009 9:24 AM
To: rmwoodbury at roadrunner.com
Cc: 'Ed Kellock'; v8 at audifans.com
Subject: Re: [V8] $500 V8 For Sale

Hi Roger,

I wonder what kind of wearout your calipers suffer from. If it's 
mechanical wearout (the tolerances become bigger and bigger so that it 
starts vibrating on braking), I see no chance to overhaul them. If it's 
only about leakages, it's pretty cheap and simple to overhaul them. We 
have one guy in charge who does any kind of hydraulic overhauling 
(auto-leveling suspension cylinders, hydraulic pressure buffers for both 
the suspension and the brakes, streering gears (both servotronic and 
normal), hydraulic pumps (all fassions, also type 44) and also all of 
the calipers front UFO and back). He speaks English very well and he is 
definetely somebody who would support you and deliver to the U.S. He 
usually works on an exchange base, so you pay in advance only the 
repair, he sends you overhauled calipers and you send him back your old 
ones. Get in touch with "Tim A." from the Audi V8 forum (I have no mail 
address).

Concerning UFOs in Germany: We get still all parts we need but rumors 
talk about Audi given the last contract to the company still factoring 
UFO brakes and people talk about 1000 pieces or so. But that are rumors 
and I won't give much for it. Currently we pay 250.- EU for one UFO 
brake disc. And approx. 180.- EU for four brake pads, when buying from 
Audi. No UFOs available on the spare market. By the way, Audi has put 
the UFO in all Audi V8s over here from 1988-1994. There are experimental 
vehicle Audi V8 out there with HP2 instead of the UFO but this was never 
sold on a broad base. All Audi 200 20V have UFOs and so have the Audi S4 
with 2.2 5-Zyl Turbo engines (AAN).

Concerning UFO brake alternatives: HP2 is the easiest. Try getting 
MacPherson struts from the Audi C4 S4 or A6 S6, they are compatible. 
I've already seen an English howto somewhere. Brake power is even better 
on the HP2, most of all the strafing behavior after several full brake 
applications and you can still driver 16" rims, no problem. But the UFO 
brakes are nevertheless very good brakes and I would only exchange if I 
plan to tune e.g. my Audi 200 20V for >350HPs or if I would often be on 
the German Autobahn and drive >200km/h all the time. Both doesn't apply 
to me ;)

Bastian