Feedback

09/25/03 - "Nice Product!"

12/03/02 - "You guys rock!"

06/09/01 - "Thank you BIRA, I love my brakes!"

07/10/00 - "Your brakes: Dreamy. Consistent. Linear. Powerful. What more can I say?"

3/24/99 - "Nothing brings a bigger smile to my face than "Yankee ingenuity." Go fellas!"

3/25/99 - "Where do I send the check?"

Paul Waterloo's experience at Road America, Sept 2003

Eric Fluhr's post to the Quattro list (06/06/00), reprinted with permission

Track testing results

Member Testimonials

"Buzz" January 2002

First track event with the system 2 installed on my A4 1.8T.

I picked up a set of Pagid Orange pads from Performance Products in Van Nuys on the way out to the track.  They were extremely easy to install by simply pulling out a clip and a pin and then pushing in the pistons to install the new pads. The brakes performed as well as I had hoped.  Very progressive, nice pedal feel and very aggressive stopping power.  I was checking my brake point against other cars going into the first turn after the main straight and I was able to go in deeper than nearly every car that I watched.  More importantly to me, there was no longer the brake fade near the end of each session that was there with the stock set up.

It rained the second day and I was able to get in to the ABS quite a bit.  It too, seemed to work flawlessly.  The corner going in to the Cotton Corners section of the track I routinely went in to full ABS action in order to slow for the corner.  If  there was going to be any unbalance to the system between the front and back brakes it should have been apparent there.  At this point in the track you go from 65mph to 25mph.  The car tracked straight as can be. I am using the stock non-slotted S4 rotors and they did not show any indication of warpage of any kind.

"Murray", January 2002

Finally I have my system 3 on the car. This has taken a long time for a number of reasons that I will not get into now. But as fate would have it the day I get my car with System 3 back on the road we get enough snow to make the roads too slick to really get a feel for how good the braking power is (I am in the frozen north, Canada). But I must say that the difference in feel is exactly what I was looking for. I now have the kind of brake feel that I assumed this car should have had from the get go!!!!! (large smile) As for the performance of the System 3 I will do another post once the roads improve to a point where I can actually push the brakes.

"Don", June 2001

While many people looking at the BIRA systems for an older Audi intend to race the car at a track, there may be some, like me, who are more interested in increasing the safety of driving on a highway in adverse circumstances. Based on several thousand miles of mostly highway driving, including snow storms, heavy rain, and mild flooding, I can report that the BIRA System 1 seems to significantly improve the braking capabilities of my car.  Further, it is relatively simple to have installed and does not seem to have any negative impact on any other aspect of the car. Finally, an independent appraisal of the parts and design assured me that, while BIRA may not be a commercial operation, their product and approach appears perfectly valid and in many ways quite clever.

First, some background. My car is a 1995 S6 with an MTM Engine Control Unit upgrade and an H&R spring and Koni shock upgrade. The brake upgrade was the last modification done, so my impressions are not biased by having simultaneous upgrades. The tires are 225/50-16 Dunlop winter tires mounted on the original 16" wheels.

As my interest is neither racing nor appearance, I will comment on other aspects of the BIRA process. First, purchasing the parts is straightforward. There is now a single source for all parts, but the parts list provided by BIRA is very detailed, so ordering various parts from several vendors is not difficult. This is important, as there is choice in brake pads and rotor style. I decided to get slotted rotors and Kerr Friction street brake pads. Of note, my brake pads have been absolutely quiet, without any need for "dampers".

Since I am not a mechanic, my greatest concern was in having the brakes installed properly. I am very happy to report that, even though the system seems "non-standard", the use of off-the-shelf parts makes the installation actually relatively simple. The most difficult aspect of the installation is making sure the calipers are properly oriented. The instructions provided by BIRA are very detailed and complete. Having seen it done once, I feel I can maintain the system, and in a pinch could install it myself on another car.

As to performance, the "feel" of the brake pedal is about the same, but the "grab" seems much improved, especially in rain and snow. The system certainly performs as advertised, providing improved braking for highway use at a considerably lower price than brake kits intended for track use.

BIRA System 1 allows owners of older Audi models to have brakes with functionality very similar to those on current Audi models. For people concerned about the quality of their brakes, and who plan to keep their older Audi for a while, the parts and labor cost of an upgrade to BIRA System 1 may be very worthwhile, even for highway driving.

"Russ", June 2001

I installed my BIRA System 3 on my 95.5 S6 over the weekend.  All I can say today is WOW!  The brake pedal is much firmer, has much less travel, and requires a bit more pedal pressure.  The Hawk HPS pads hardly ever squeak and that's with absolutely nothing on their backing plates. I didn't use the Porsche anti rattle clips (yet) nor any goop on the pads since I want to swap the street pads for track pads a couple of times this summer. Hopefully I can find some room for making some fast stops!

I have a set of EBC Green Stuff pads on the rear and the overall braking balance is much better than stock. The car exhibits very little brake dive until you REALLY haul it down fast.

The BIRA setup weighs about 1 - 2 lb. more than the stock setup according to my bathroom scale.  The stock rotor weighs 15 lb. and the euro S6 rotor weighs 22 lb.  The stock caliper with pads and bolts weighs between 15 and 16 lb.  The new caliper, bracket, pads and bolts weighs 10 lb.  Borbet Type T 17x8" wheels have great clearance; my stock 16x7.5" six spoke AVUS wheels also have good clearance between the spokes and caliper and about 3 - 4 mm. between the caliper and rim.

The only snag I hit was that my local Audi dealer apparently substituted a different bolt for the bracket to strut bolt.  The different bolt was the correct length and thread, but the head was 18 mm. versus 17 mm. for the stock bolt.  In 30 years of wrenching metric cars, I never before needed an 18 mm. socket so I didn't have one!  Fortunately, my local hardware store saved the day for me!

Let me put in a plug for the SpeedBleeders.  All I did to bleed my brakes was open each SpeedBleeder a 1/2 turn, pump the brake pedal until the fluid was clear, then close the SpeedBleeder.  The pedal was perfect after a single go 'round.

Thank you, Greg and Greg, my new brakes are exactly how I always wished my brakes felt!

"David", May 2001

With Systems 3, 4, 5 and 6 making their debut this year, plain old System 1 on an A4 might seem like old news these days.

Well, System 1 is what I have and, so far, it has been a fantastic upgrade.  The Boxster (non-S) caliper and the US-spec A8 rotor might seem to suffer size-envy with all the massive brake components that are out there now, but I say "Ur-Bira Rocks!".

To understand how good I think the System 1 setup is, let me describe my requirements:

1) It must fit under 16" wheels because my A4 is a daily driver and in the winter I use dedicated 16" snow tires.  17" snows are available, but they're typically wider, lower and fatter than is desirable for most snow conditions.  Swapping calipers and rotors each spring and fall is not an option.

2) It must offer much better braking than the stock A4 setup.  I run a few track days each year and the stock A4 setup just can't perform well enough to allow consistent braking points.  Nothing destroys a drivers confidence more at the track than not knowing where/when the brakes will slow the car down enough for a turn.

I use Mintex Red Box for the street and they've been great.  Good street performance, low dust, and no squeal.  I've now got my first track day in (2nd Creek Raceway, Denver CO) using Porterfield R4 pads. The track setup performed without a hitch.  Great ability to repeat hard stop after hard stop.  This setup actually increased my confidence so much that I was able to make my brake points later and later as the day progressed and as the brakes got more used and hotter.  Quite a nice change from the opposite results of the stock setup.

My A8 rotors are right off the dealers shelf.  No slots, cross-drilling, plating, freezing, heating, etc...  I run the Blau SS lines up front and left the rears stock.  Motul 600 brake fluid completes the setup, though the Ford HD stuff seems a much better deal. I'll have more track days as the summer progresses, and will swap back and forth between street and track pads as required.  I love how easy it is to change pads on these calipers.   I'll definitely keep track of rotor wear and watch for any signs of rotor warpage.  Stay tuned.

CM, May 2000

I didn't have my 200q20v sedan ready for the recent Lime Rock track event; need to solve a 'wandering' problem and find a solution to fairly tired brakes. However, after a tough week at work, taking off Friday and going to watch the two day Northeast Region Quattro Club USA driving school event was irresistible.

I met up with a number of fellow quattro owners, including several 200q20v owners. Greg Amy (200q20v sedan) and Brandon Hull (ersatz S2) were kind enough to put me up overnight Saturday night, as well.

Neil Swanson was at the track with his new (to him) 200q20v sedan, recently shod with 16" wheels and new tires, and an H&R and Bilstein suspension. His car had UFO brakes and combo street/race pads, and seemed to be doing pretty well on the track. (UFO = internal caliper front brakes, about 17% more swept area than the G60 brakes on the urS4/6 and V8). Neil said he was getting some fade and warping after repeated runs, and he flushed the brake fluid a number of times during the event to rid any bubbles from boiled fluid.

Greg Amy has a similar 200q20v, same suspension setup as Neil, but using the System 2 BIRA brakes, consisting of the new S4tt rotors, Porsche Boxster 'S' calipers, and race pads.

The difference between Neil's UFO brakes and Greg's BIRA brakes were dramatic. I went along on at least 3 of Greg's black group runs, and he was easily outbraking the others in his run group (various track cars, such as 911s, a BMW, etc.). Every run, we'd try going a little deeper towards the corner before braking, and each time had more brakes than we could use. I later saw a picture of Greg's car entering the corner after the big straight at Lime Rock (typically at 115-120 mph); even with his stiff H&R/Bilstein combo suspension, the nose was down and rear lifted quite a bit. In effect, any more brakes on the car could not be used, as the limitation was now the tires (which were a new set of RE-71s in 245/40r17, a very sticky tire).

My impression of his brakes, from the passenger seat? DAMN! Whoo hoo! Brakes are as addictive as horsepower (especially as a passenger, where they're much more important!). I can't see needing more brakes than these BIRAs. After each run, pads were fine, no boiling of fluid, no change in braking feel or performance.

Brandon Hull was running his ersatz S2 (a 1991 coupe quattro converted to S2 specs, including an engine from a 200q20v), also equipped with the BIRA System 2 brakes. What a fantastic car; he seemed extremely satisfied with the brakes as well.

Am I sold on BIRA? Absolutely; already started saving my pennies.

SR, 12/99

"I installed the BIRA (Boxster/A8) brakes on the S6 this past Sunday. From loosening the lug bolts to driving out of the garage took less than four hours. This includes time for splicing the wear sensors as well as coffee and bathroom breaks. I am very impressed with the quality of the components. Even while bedding them in, these brakes inspire confidence. I'll wait another 1000 miles for full evaluation, but am very pleased thus far.

"[Later] after 500 or so miles, the brakes are starting to wear in. The pedal response and bite is excellent. There is serious deceleration when the pedal is pushed hard. No fade or vibration is evident. I am very happy."

GT, 10/99

"I received all the correct parts for the BIRA system, installed it over the weekend (in between soccer tournaments), and had a chance to test it at Watkins Glen at the QCUSA event.

"What a drastic improvement over the stock system!  I was able to go much deeper into a turn, step on the brakes, and slow the car down with plenty of safety margin left.  It felt that, with these brakes, I could have gone even deeper, but my (limited) skills and (also limited) experience with the track prevented me from doing it.

"It took less than one full lap to get the brakes up to full working potential.  After seeing the severe damage done by an S6 owner to his stock pads and rotors by not properly heating them up, I was very aware of the need to bring everything up to operating temperature.

"We only ran two sessions on Monday since the track was closed in the morning due to fog.  On Tuesday, the first two sessions were with a somewhat wet track, so that the demands on the brakes were not that extreme.  I was running on stock Boxster pads.  In about 700 miles of road driving and 6 track sessions, I wore out approx. 0.074 in from the left side and 0.070 in from the right side.

"I will let you know how well these brakes operate on the road, but the initial impression is very positive.

"The installation of the brakes and the steel braided lines went well."

[Update - 01/17/00]

"I procrastinated installing the snow tires on my 95 A6Q since they are mounted on the stock 15" rims and that meant putting back the stock brakes. Finally, I had to do it last Wednesday night in view of the incoming snow storm.

"What a difference! I was beginning to take the Porsche Boxster / A8 set up for granted! The stock set up does not even come close to the BIRA system. And this is with the stock Boxster pads which I understand you don't like.

"Now that I have experienced the difference, I would not venture on a track with the stock brakes.

"The first PDA event is on April 14th at Lime Rock. Between now and then, the BIRA system and the 16" wheels are going back on."

JK, April 1999

"1^st impressions: improved pedal feel, hauls the car to a stop very fast w/o ABS, and stops the car immediately with ABS on and the brake pedal mashed as hard as possible. ABS pulsing is definitely more abrupt.

"Side benefits immediately observed: NO brake noise; fit perfectly under our 16x7.5, 35mm offset Ergon multispoke wheels and under a friend’s 16x8 stock S4 wheels; fills up entire space behind wheel; gray/black Porsche caliper is understated and looks stock; much easier to bleed the 2 bleed valve per caliper Boxster calipers than the G60s.

"Wife quote: "Good feel. I finally have BRAKES! I like it.

"The Boxster calipers/A8 rotors brake system worked great. In my opinion, it is an excellent street braking system. I pushed the braking system harder most anyone ever would (or a sane person would anyway) on the street, and the system did great. I am very satisfied with what we have done and am glad we did it!"