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Originally Posted by alboogiee Q - two questions since i know i am going to be odering in a few months...
1. Have the rear rotors arrived yet?
2. What is the differance between the AIMCO Super Premium vs. Wagner Thermo-Quiet pads, i know it's only $25, but noise/squeal is a big problem with the way my wife drives, so what are the benifits to each.
thanks,
Alex |
Alex -
The rear rotors are due very soon, during August, and am awaiting word. The Italians won the World Cup over a month ago (?) and so the parts should be here.... soon... (OY!)
Frankly, the difference between the brake pads offered by these two manufacturers revolves around proprietary formulations and price points for their market strategies. The parts do not really cost that much to make, after all. AIMCO offers two gas slots in their pad and Wagner has only molded one. The AIMCO pad is in stock at the moment and the Wagner is not ... AIMCO has provided better packaging and better end finish to their product than Wagner. This is a lot about your feelings for the companies that you buy products from - AIMCO is another brand name for the parent company of Raybestos, for example.
I favor the AIMCO product presently, so have stocked this into the warehouse. Wagner is just a phone call away, however. Noise should not be an issue with either product. AIMCO and Wagner both contain all OE features including chamfered edges and constrained layer noise supressant shims. Today, noise is largely a function of the quality and thoroughness of the repair techs labors - if surfaces that mate are not properly cleaned resonance frequencies are more likely to be heard, etc.
Now, this brings up an opportunity to address a thread that is playing on that 'other' Touareg site. There has been some talk about ceramic pads and I want to dispel the notion that this is even desirable for the Touareg.
Frankly, ceramics are nice in the aftermarket for lighter vehicles (smallish Japanese cars) and folks that are inordinately concerned about wheel dust to the detriment of any other concern. But if the German manufacturers wanted to make ceramic formula brake pads for OE, they'd do so! Voila! You would have them on this vehicle if those engineers thought they would be the way to go.
But they don't feel that way, do they?
In fact, the Touareg has a high-performance Brembo brake system with 6 piston calipers that needs to rock crawl over 6000 pounds up and down grades, etc. with absolute precision and only the carbon-fiber-binder brake pads will give the vehicle the edge here. So that is the reason VW installs them. Visualize all the different terrains VW designed the Touareg to drive into and then you will see the need for the aggressive brake design. Stick with what is a proven winner unless you feel the need to experiment.
As for the wheel dust, wash as needed and wax the finish on the wheels to prevent the dust from damaging the finish. This is the VW recommendation. I have simply used my local brushless car wash faithfully since new, about every three weeks or so, and the finish is unsworled and the wheels are like new (no curb damages!) Of course, a book of five washes costs $65...
Someone has gone ahead and had their calipers custom powder coated and this has created a stir. Well, my vendor, Wagner, has a program to offer black, red, or yellow powder coated calipers. I will inquire for anyone that wants to have their calipers professionally done as to the costs - it would require the caliper to be rebuilt completely, as powder coating would be done only to a disassembled casting. It would certainly take three to four business days at the factory as well. Let me know!
BTW, Brembo has multiple color schemes to designate different grades of braking action or systems, so our Touaregs are meant to be dark gray or black in color, not yellow or red. Who am I to judge if you feel the need to dress up?
Finally, Centric brand is mentioned on that other site. Centric is a recent player to the automotive aftermarket and represents off shore manufacturing, ie, China, mostly. The details that are mentioned on their website for their rotors are exactly like the Italians except for the electrostatic hub coatings, which is really playing dress up. Mill balancing is featured on our parts and non-directional finishes and all other OEM details. Which is what you should expect from our parts... so Centric has nothing strategic to offer that provides technological innovation, which is what all this verbiage is meant to convey.
Frankly, these are just standard North American-European industry practices today, enumerated to make it all sound good.
Don't be fooled into thinking the Kool-Aid is really there to quench your thirst...remember, the little mouse "Savoir-Faire" is Everywhere!
Bon Mot!
Geoff
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