Re: 4000 Rear Brakes/Center Bearing Help!

[Wolff <quattro200@earthlink.net>]

> > 4.  Who makes a good rear brake upgrade kit for the 4000?...
> >
> IMHO the OEM brakes are good enough. Save your money for electrical
> system fixes :( . If you compare the wear of your rear pads to the front
> ones you would probably notice that the rears wear out not nearly as
> much as the fronts.
> 
> Some audifans might disagree....
> 

Yep, since the rears on a 4kq are run off a fixed proportioning valve
that is set very weak, they don't do much (unless you apply the
handbrake). My easy solution was to run metalmasters (aka slagmasters)
in the rear only. This significantly changed the bias. All 4 rotors get
hot now under hard braking. 
   Warning and disclaimer: Don't do this unless you are sure you can
live with the possibility of the rear brakes locking up before the
fronts. I can get the inside rear to lock up in a hard turn if the
inside rear hits a bump. 
   If you really want to get fancy, you can get a bias adjusting knob
installed and set the bias the way you like.
    And on the other end of the spectrum, my 5kcstq had full metal pads
on the front only when I got it. The rear rotors had rust on them since
all the braking was in front. The pedal was unusually sensitive. Felt
overassisted. I put slotted rotors and Mintex semi's on the front and
all is well. I now have normal pedal feel and the rear rotor rust is
nice and worn off.
Wolff