147 GTA Front Brakes

John.Heidemann · February 25, 2011, 12:54:38 PM

Hello

I had the GTA serviced this week and the dealer tells me that the front discs and pads require replacing in the next 5000ks. Quoted $1300 to supply and fit of which I understand that $255 is labour and the rest parts.

I am looking at EB spares and they supply drilled and slotted discs for GBP148 a pair and pads for GBP48. Works out at around A$325 give or take with freight yet to be advised. They also supplied my Q2 which the dealer fitted for me.

What is the thinking on these? EB has the standard discs for a saving of around GBP20 which isn't much really. The dealer did state that I should stick to genuine as otherwise they are very noisy but I get an occasional squal from the stock ones anyway.

What do others think about this?

Thanks!

Brad M · February 25, 2011, 01:57:00 PM

Looks like you're been sold genuine replacement parts from Italy.

Find yourself a good Alfa specialist that will offer an alternative, as you're in Qld another banana bender will have to give you advice there... My recommendation of Brunswick in VIC is a little far to go

ANG156 · February 25, 2011, 06:20:30 PM

Even if they are genuine discs you've been quoted on most likely they are manufactured by brembo. So if you buy brembo discs you ahould be fine. EB spares pricing sounds good but need to know freight. You could always try a brake shop in QLD or even superstop in melbourne for a comparison

wankski · February 25, 2011, 07:57:36 PM

i would buy the genuine discs from Uk or germany - much cheaper - replace the pads too... the oem fronts are like 30 quid. you do not want el cheap drilled discs... just no.

any generic brake shop can do the work - its a very simple job, nothing unique on the alfa.

thats the cheapest way - second cheapest good specialist labour only.

colcol · February 25, 2011, 09:51:43 PM

What kills good prices from overseas is the freight on these heavy items, it can sometimes cost as much or more as the product, if you are not sure how to judge the qaulity of the product, go genuine as the oem has to be warranted by the dealer, and they don't like comebacks, however if you do a bit of homework you can find known brands that are sometimes oem anyway at brake suppliers, Alfa spare parts suppliers, E-bay, etc, but be aware of delivery prices, i have found that brakes are noisy when they are too hard or are glazed up and there is not enough friction and they vibrate, that has nothing to do with genuine or aftermarket, rotors are drilled or slotted so that the pad is continuously being "wiped" clean to remove junk from the pad face, but this causes more brake pad wear, also drilling rotors makes them slightly noisier, not screaming but more of a "grurr" noise, and because the rotors are drilled and are therefor lighter they don't tolerate heat as good as a non drilled rotor, but that depends on how much "meat" has been drilled out, Colin.

wankski · February 26, 2011, 03:11:57 PM

yea that's true to an extent, but even 2 week airmail from ger for a whole q2 kit is like 50 euro... not a big deal cf the >$1000 mark up here for the part.

for brakes and stuff - if its not urgent u can always stick it on a boat for like 20 quid. no biggie.

aus prices are just farked and i wont support them (distributors) as long as indies are happy to install imported parts, most i have spoken to totally understand and even advise you to do so...

Craig_m67 · February 27, 2011, 10:26:24 PM

I bought front and rear rotors incl. pads (ie. everything) for our golf mk4 last week.

Parts (OE) £69./
Shipping via TNT (five days) £89./
That's about a quarter the price from local suppliers in Aust. (farken)!!

I wouldn't bother with slotted or drilled, although the slotted brembos with the depth wear indicator is a great idea. That said, nor would i be fussed about the disc manufacturer, so long as it meets OE specs.

DS2500 pads seem to be popular, i always go OE again as the bite is the same... Your choice.

Fronts take no more than ten minutes aside to replace (1x philips head screw, 2x 7mm hex bolts). Rears may need a special piston wind back tool that spins the piston as it pushes it back. There's a threaded rod which adjusts the handbrake (... I watched the guys fit my 156 as it was cold, did the Golf myself. Too easy).

John.Heidemann · February 28, 2011, 11:49:52 AM

All good feedback. Thank you!

EB have the stock ventilated Brembo discs for about GBP20 less than the drilled/slotted. My goal here was saving on the parts cost in Oz. The Q2 was a similar advantage purchased overseas. I will ask them about freight but that doesn't scare me that much.

As an example I was also told in the same service that my Pirelli Zero Neros were approaching end of life which I was aware of. Alfa quote A$480 per tyre. I can get that down to A$390 at Bob Jane but they won't be available until end April. I can get them from TireRack in the states in a week for US$132 a tyre and about US$240 shipping and stay well under the GST threshold. I am going that way for tyres but wanted to assess the A$1,000+ for the brakes which is just too expensive.

Brad M · February 28, 2011, 02:01:37 PM

Quote from: John.Heidemann on February 28, 2011, 11:49:52 AM
I can get them from TireRack in the states in a week for US$132 a tyre and about US$240 shipping and stay well under the GST threshold.

Very nice tip there, Cheers.

shiny_car · February 28, 2011, 10:08:13 PM

I've sourced parts from EB Spares and tyres from TireRack too. Both are great to deal with.

For a street car, drilled and/or slotted discs is primarily 'bling', but there's nothing wrong with this

, and myself have Tarox G88 discs on one car (40 slots) and Tarox F2000 on another (curve slots). I sourced from an Italian online store who were very good at the time (couple years ago), but another Alfista recently said he had no luck with email communication (I didn't follow-up, but maybe the English-speaking tech guy was on holidays over Christmas/NY). You could email them yourself to see if they are back onboard: http://www.ricambituning.it/en/index.asp

Pads makes a bigger difference. As suggested, Ferodo DS2500 series are a popular option on GTAs and V6 GTs. I have these on the front, with Ferodo DS Performance (next level down) on the rear; being FWD, I was advised that this was a good combo, and I've no complaints. They are fine for a street car (ie: bite well from cold, and no squeal), yet tolerate much higher braking temps for better bite.

All up, they cost under what you've quoted for OE parts from the dealer.

As for noise and squeal, I do not find the thrumb from slotted discs to be intrusive. Almost reassuring actually. It isn't loud in my cars. Regarding squeal, as has been eluded to, it's important to first clean the calipers of grease and crud before fitting new pads; then apply copper grease to the edges and back of the pads where they contact the calipers. If the pads you buy require a bedding-in procedure (as do DS2500), then it's important to perform this.